By Mark Pazniokas
The pep talk for the Connecticut delegation to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., came from the host, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. But the drinks were on the worldwide beverage company, Diageo North America.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was guest at the 2012 Diageo reception. So was Westport’s Martha Aasen (r). (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ctmirror.org photo
Nearly two years later, Diageo and Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company that hosted a separate reception, are each paying $5,000 to the Office of State Ethics, conceding they failed to report the receptions as a lobbying expense.
In settlements released today, both companies said they failure was inadvertent, based on an erroneous belief that neither function exceeded the reporting threshold of $10 per person. Each has filed supplemental expense reports.
“Lobbyist reports must fully disclose all expenses as required by the Code of Ethics,” said Carol Carson, executive director of the Office of State Ethics. “It is worth noting that the public officials and employees that attended did not violate the Code, because the total cost per person did not exceed the $50 limit.”
Click here for more of story
