In 2010, federal agents and prosecutors tightened the net on their corruption investigation in Shelton — and snared the city’s head building official and two powerful developers.
In January, city building official Elliott Wilson pleaded guilty to lying to a grand jury about accepting cash, gift certificates and other favors from developers doing business in Shelton.
Then in April, Botti was convicted on one out of three federal corruption charges. (At a separate trial in 2009, Botti was convicted of structuring cash deposits and conspiracy to structure cash deposits.) He’s now serving a six-year prison sentence.
And in October Scinto made headlines when he pleaded guilty to making a false statement to federal agents. He is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced on March 9 at U.S. District Court in Bridgeport.
The Probe
The three cases left many in Shelton wondering who might be next in the federal probe, which the U.S. Attorney’s office promises is still very much underway.
For years, federal agents have been investigating Shelton politics and developments — wire tapping informants, listening to phone conversations and conducting interviews in their search for corruption.
The target — “Public Official #1,” identified in federal court hearings as Mayor Mark A. Lauretti.
Lauretti has denied any wrongdoing and challenged the feds to come forward with their evidence against him.
“Put it on the table and let’s go,” Lauretti said during a February interview about the then-upcoming Botti trial.
During the trial, several witnesses testified about Botti’s connection with Lauretti — saying he gave cash, gifts, and favors to the mayor in exchange for influence getting his development projects approved.
But Lauretti has never been charged with a crime.
Meanwhile, after almost two years of work on a proposed ethics ordinance, the Board of Aldermen rejected the proposal in December, saying they’ll approach the topic again in January.
