Front Page › Money & Influence
Campaign money, lobbying, political relationships, federal probes and conflicts of interest.
It sounds like something out of a political thriller: a sitting U.S. Senator writing directly to a private sports league, warning that their conduct could violate federal law—and invoking his senior seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee while doing it.
A sweeping federal grand jury investigation into state-funded nonprofits and political favoritism in Connecticut is exposing deeper links to cannabis licensing, questionable grants, and influence-peddling—centered around Senator Douglas McCrory (D-Bloomfield) and his longtime associate, Sonserae “Cicero” Hamlin, operator of the startup nonprofit SHEBA (Society for Human Engagem
HARTFORD, CT — A new Hartford Courant report confirms that the State of Connecticut is officially cooperating with a federal grand jury investigating the misuse of tens of millions in nonprofit grant funding — and cannabis licensing corruption is now on the radar.
A sweeping federal investigation has cracked open what cannabis advocacy groups have warned for years: Connecticut’s cannabis licensing system, social equity rollout, and COVID-relief grant distribution may be riddled with fraud, insider deals, and political favoritism.
Connecticut’s legal cannabis industry was supposed to create economic opportunity and social equity, but new allegations suggest the system may be rigged in favor of politically connected insiders. Concerns have emerged over selective enforcement, conflicts of interest, and questionable licensing decisions, raising the possibility of corruption within the state’s cannabis marke
