Feds: Corrupt Developer Deserves Prison

As part of a successful campaign to buy the influence of Shelton officials, developer Robert Scinto handed out envelopes stuffed with $100 bills in City Hall, let Mayor Mark Lauretti use his Aspen vacation home for free and doled out cash every time he received a certificate of occupancy for one of his projects.

Then he lied to investigators about it — and that’s why he should go to prison, federal prosecutors argue in a sentencing memo submitted to court Friday.

The document is posted below.

Scinto, 63, pleaded guilty Oct. 21 to one count of lying to FBI agents who were probing allegations of bribery within Shelton government.

Prosecutors claimed that Scinto provided gifts to Lauretti, now famously described as ​“public official no. 1,” but the mayor has never been charged with a crime.

Lauretti has constantly denied the charges — and has challenged prosecutors to bring a case against him if they have one.

So far the Shelton corruption probe has convicted:

• Developer James Botti, who his now serving a six-year prison sentence.

• Botti’s 83-year-old father, Peter, who was sentenced to probation in February.

• And Elliot Wilson, who took payments from Scinto and is still employed by the city, even though he’s scheduled to report to federal prison April 6.

April 6 is also the day Scinto will learn whether he’ll do time.

In a memo submitted by his attorney earlier this week, Scinto is portrayed as a self-made man whose natural generosity got the better of him.

He wasn’t charged with bribery, he didn’t gain anything through his gifts to Shelton officials and he deeply regrets lying to the FBI, his attorney wrote.

Hogwash, prosecutors say. Scinto’s payments stretched from 1999 to 2008.

Corruption in Shelton was so ingrained, Scinto allegedly flew into a rage when he learned that Lauretti was trying to interfere with an approval of a commercial development.

Scinto was angry because he thought he had already bought off the mayor, prosecutors allege.

Scinto, in a recorded conversation, called ​“public official no. 1” a ​“f****** prick,” ​“one of he worst people I’ve dealt with my whole life,” prosecutors said.

“These payments and benefits were provided for one reason — as Scinto himself candidly explained in a conversation that he did not know was being recorded — Scinto provided these items of value so he could ​‘own’ the public officials,” prosecutors wrote.

“In the government’s view, such an arrogant intent to corrupt the public processes of the town of Shelton is surely worthy of a prison sentence.”

Anything less would send the wrong message, prosecutors argued.

THE FEDS on Scinto