State Sen. Louis DeLuca declined to testify under oath Monday, but did provide a statement and entertained questions posed by members of a Senate committee deciding whether he should be punished for asking a trash hauler with alleged mob ties to threaten his granddaughter’s husband.
Craig Raabe, DeLuca’s attorney, said he was concerned federal authorities might try to use DeLuca’s sworn testimony against him to charge him with another crime, which is why he advised DeLuca not to testify under oath.
DeLuca did provide three photos of his granddaughter to the committee to prove she was being beaten, but he doesn’t remember bringing the photos to Waterbury Police Chief Neil O’Leary. He said he did attempt three times to get O’Leary to intervene, before he asked trash hauler James Galante to threaten his granddaughter’s husband.
O’Leary has denied that DeLuca told him about the alleged abuse and has refused to waive his federal privacy rights to let the committee see the notes taken during his interview with federal authorities.
“If we accept your statement today then his letter is untrue,” Sen. William Nickerson, R-Greenwich, said. “The two are irreconcilable.”
“Why didn’t he do anything? I don’t know. I don’t know,” DeLuca said.
The committee members also questioned DeLuca about his offer to Mr. Galante’s associate that he would help Mr. Galante by making appointments to the state trash agency. DeLuca said he never made any appointments that would benefit Mr. Galante. He said there was no quid pro quo.
“Would you recommend this committee make a recommendation to the Senate?” Nickerson asked.
“I hope the information I have provided would show you there was no close relationship, there was nothing of special interest or special favor given to anyone…The integrity of the Senate was not infringed,” DeLuca said.
At the end of the meeting, the committee asked for another 15-day extension before it recommends to the full Senate whether to expel, censure, reprimand or take no action against Deluca. It has already received one extension and currently has until Oct. 27 to make its recommendation.
