Rowland Says He Won't Resign as Conn. Governor

HARTFORD, Conn. – Gov. John G. Rowland (search), under pressure because of corruption allegations, told legislative leaders Tuesday he has no intention of resigning, lawmakers said.

House Speaker Moira Lyons said the 90-minute meeting with the governor was "serious and candid." She and House Majority leader Jim Amann plan to meet with fellow House Democrats on Thursday before deciding whether to pursue the impeachment of the Republican governor.

"We will get a consensus from the caucus and as their leader along with the speaker, we'll make a decision of whether it goes to impeachment, or whether we sit back and wait for indictments," Amann said.

Rowland had no immediate comment after Tuesday's meeting.

Rowland has been under pressure since he admitted last month that he lied about who paid for improvements to his Litchfield summer home.

Some rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers have called for Rowland's resignation, and others want to impeach him.

The legislature's top four Democrats and two leading Republicans met with Rowland on Tuesday morning.

"It's not a happy day for any of us and it's a serious issue, as you all know," Amann said. "But it's got to be done."

Rowland had denied wrong doing. He admitted last month that he accepted some of the work as gifts from the Tomasso Group (search), a New Britain contractor at the center of a federal corruption probe, and Lawrence Alibozek (search), a former gubernatorial aide who has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he helped steer state contracts.

Also Tuesday, The Hartford Courant and The New York Times reported that Rowland, a former congressman, sold his Washington, D.C., condominium in 1997 to a friend's business partner for $20,000 to $40,000 more than what similar units in the same building sold for.

The buyer, Woodbury antiques dealer Wayne Pratt, bought the condo for $68,500, about 19 percent more than Rowland paid in 1989. Pratt sold the condo about two years after buying it, taking what public records indicate was a $31,000 loss.

Ross Garber, Rowland's legal counsel, said Monday that the governor would have no comment on the condo deal.

Pratt also would not discuss the deal. "I can't say anything," he told Courant reporters at his antiques shop Monday.

Pratt told the Times last month that he bought Rowland's condo because "an investment opportunity was presented to me." He said he did not know the governor and had no business dealings with the state.