Elliot Wilson isn’t sophisticated — and he was scared.
So that’s why he lied to a federal grand jury about corruption in Shelton, according to his attorney, Michael Hillis.
But it doesn’t explain why Wilson, the city’s former head building inspector, accepted gifts, cash and favors for a decade before the grand jury inquisition.
For that reason, U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. said he had to sentence Wilson to jail for the single charge against him — lying to a federal grand jury.
Wilson, 67, was sentenced Wednesday to five months in a federal prison followed by five months served on house arrest and two years of supervised release.
He will have to pay a $5,000 fine. Wilson must turn himself in on April 6.
“I just want to say I’m sorry for any inconvenience I’ve caused my family, my wife especially,” Wilson said Wednesday during his sentencing at U.S. District Court in New Haven. “I just regret the decisions I’ve made that caused this.”
Wilson has been on unpaid leave from his job as the building official since his guilty plea in Jan. 2010.
‘I Made A Mistake. I Was Scared.’
Hillis had asked Judge Haight to give Wilson probation for a sentence, saying that Wilson had made a mistake when lying to the grand jury because he was scared and hadn’t consulted with an attorney. Hillis called Wilson “unsophisticated” in that he didn’t realize he should have talked with an attorney.
“If he had sought counsel, we wouldn’t be here today,” Hillis said. “He told me ‘I made a mistake. I was scared.’”
Hillis said Wilson immediately came forward after they talked and admitted he lied.
“There was no shading, no trying to make excuses,” Hillis said, arguing that WIlson’s character and community support should speak toward a lighter sentence.
“I think sentencing to prison a scared, unsophisticated man is uncalled for,” Hillis said.
Cover Up
But federal prosecutors argued that Wilson should serve at least some time in jail because lied to the federal grand jury to cover up his conduct over the past decade. In a plea agreement, Wilson admitted to taking gifts, cash and favors from developers from at least 1999 through 2009.
“He lied to cover up conduct,” U.S. attorney Rahul Kale said. “He was scared because he knew he was wrong.”
The gifts included gift cards, bottles of wine at Christmas time, and a deal to get a car purchased, federal prosecutors said.
Wilson also received cash, prosecutors said.
Hillis said the gifts and favors didn’t mean Wilson “was bought.”
“He pleaded guilty to what he was guilty of,” Hillis said.
He called Wilson a “stickler” for the rules, and said no bottle of wine or $50 bill made him sign off on a certificate of occupancy that wasn’t warranted.
Kale said the government didn’t claim that happened.
“The problem is the perception,” Kale said. “It created a perception of corruption, a perception that things may have been done out of the ordinary.”
Judge Haight said while the charge was for lying to the grand jury, he had to consider the conduct as well.
“Here is a self-acknowleded course of conduct over a decade,” Haight said. “So characteristics of Mr. Wilson as an unsophisticated and frightened person is somewhat at odds with a self acknowledged decade of accepting improper offerings from people in the business.”
Prosecutors asked for the low end of a recommended 10 to 16 month sentence.
The Bigger Picture
WIlson is the only Shelton public official to be charged or sentenced for having a role in corruption in Shelton.
FBI agents have also charged developers James Botti and Robert Scinto, as well as Botti’s father Peter Botti Sr.
James Botti is currently serving a six-year sentence for his conviction at trial for corruption and money structuring charges. Peter Botti Sr. was sentenced to a year of probation for helping his father structure the cash deposits.
And Scinto is awaiting sentencing for lying to a federal grand jury.
No one else has been charged, although federal prosecutors have identified Mayor Mark Lauretti as the target in the probe.
Lauretti has denied wrong doing, and called out the government for slinging his name through the mud without officially bringing charges against him.
Prosecutors say the investigation is ongoing.
Judge Haight said he had to look at other sentences in the multi-defendent investigation to make sure there was parity.
What do you think of Elliot Wilson’s sentence?customer surveysComparing Wilson to Peter Botti, Judge Haight said Wilson should receive a stronger sentence because his actions resulted in personal gain and because he was a public official.
“Peter Botti was not a public official. He did not betray the public trust,” Haight said. “Elliot Wilson was, and he did.”
Haight said Wilson’s sentence needed to serve as a message to the public that you can’t lie to the grand jury and get away with it.
“It is important that such a public be generally deterred from acting as Mr. Wilson did,” Haight said.
Support
Wilson was surrounded Wednesday by friends and family. Haight said 29 letters of support were submitted to the court.
Four people — including his wife — spoke on his behalf. They called Wilson a hard worker, a good friend and a good man.
“He always did his job with care. He always put his heart and soul into his work,” Wilson’s wife, Valerie, said. “His biggest flaw is trusting people to the point of being naive.”
Friend John Lynch said it would be “horrific” if Wilson went to jail, and said he worried about Wilson’s health.
In comments outside of court, Lynch said Wilson was a meek man who was being made an example of.
“As far as I’m concerned, the government is using him as a sacrificial lamb for this wasted witch hunt,” Lynch said.
