Former Majority Leader of Connecticut Senate Found Guilty in Fraudulent Investment Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that on May 18, 2007, a federal jury found William A. DiBella, the former Majority Leader of the Connecticut State Senate, and his consulting firm, North Cove Ventures, L.L.C., liable for aiding and abetting then Treasurer of the State of Connecticut, Paul J. Silvester in a fraudulent investment scheme. Pursuant to the scheme, Silvester invested $75 million in state pension funds with Thayer Capital Partners, a Washington, DC-based private equity firm, and arranged for Thayer to pay DiBella a percentage of the investment, though he did not do work to justify the payment.