Mayor Anthony Staffieri’s 2009 re-election campaign should have disclosed one of its donors also had a contract with the city worth at least $5,000. Not doing so violated state election law, even though the campaign returned the money before a complaint was filed.
That is according to the state Election Enforcement Commission (SEEC), members of which investigated a complaint brought against “Staffieri for Mayor” by James Castelot, a union official with Council 4 AFSCME.
Castelot’s complaint was filed Oct. 19, 2009. A consent order — an agreement between the State Elections Enforcement Commission and the treasurer for Staffieri for Mayor — was finalized Dec. 19, 2011.
The Valley Independent Sentinel first reported in October 2009 that Richard Antonucci twice donated to Staffieri’s 2009 re-election campaign without disclosing the fact he was the principal partner in Annex Associates, LLC, a private company the City of Derby hired to operate the city’s transfer station.
State law dictates that anyone who donates more than $400 to a candidate is supposed to disclose whether they have or are associated with a business that has a contract with the local government in excess of $5,000.
Campaign finance disclosure documents show that Antonucci checked “no” to the question as to whether he did business with the city and had a contract worth more than $5,000. He also listed restaurant manager as his primary occupation.
Antonucci made a $400 donation to Staffieri’s campaign during an August 2009 fundraiser at the A.M. Club on Hawthorne Avenue. A second, $250 donation took place during a fundraiser at the former Connie’s restaurant in September 2009.
Antonucci and the campaign were obligated to disclose his connection to city business once he made the second donation, according to the SEEC.
“Staffieri for Mayor” returned Antonucci’s $650 in donations one day after the Valley Indy published its story.
No punitive action was taken against Staffieri’s campaign or its treasurer, Barbara Dybas. However the SEEC ordered “strict” future compliance with state campaign finance laws.
The report from the SEEC, a copy of which is posted below, is essentially a statement of facts regarding the 2009 donation.
In the report, the SEEC notes that Dybas admitted making an error and fully cooperated with the fact finders.
Phil Robertson, Derby’s chief administrative officer, called the SEEC report accurate.
Speaking on behalf of Mayor Staffieri, Robertson said the donations were returned as soon as the error was pointed out.
“(The campaign treasurer) sits at a table at a fund raiser collecting checks and normally asks the necessary questions. There are times where there is a rush at the entrance and to be honest, she did not realize Richard had a city contract. When the Mayor became aware, he ordered the check returned,” Robertson told the Valley Indy in an e‑mail Wednesday.
Bringing in Annex to run the Derby transfer station displaced Derby Department of Public Works union employees, who filed a series of complaints with the state labor board to protest the city’s action. In late 2009, state labor authorities eventually ordered Annex out and the union workers re-instated.
Castelot represented the union workers in their battles with the city.
When the Valley Indy first reported on the donations, the Staffieri campaign had first claimed the donations were proper because the city didn’t have a traditionally-defined contract with Annex. That was not correct.
Staffieri was re-elected Derby mayor in 2009. He won another two-year term in November 2011.
Here is the consent decree approved by the SEEC:
Here is the original Antonucci donation information from the campaign’s 2009 financial disclosure report: