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The Knicks are NBA champs. The whole tristate area is celebrating. Sunday’s hangovers have (hopefully) faded away. Summer is in the air. And the Tip Sheet is in your inbox.

This week, we’re diving into the federal grand jury subpoena sent to New Britain as part of an investigation into Erin Stewart’s conduct in office.

Plus, House Speaker Matt Ritter is hitting the road today. Where’s he heading? We’ll discuss it.

Finally, the Lamont campaign has made an important new hire, with more to come.

Let’s dive in…

Feds cast wide net in Stewart probe, seeking credit card records and information on mayoral charity 

It’s getting increasingly difficult to keep track of the sprawling web of probes into Stewart’s tenure as mayor of the Hardware City, but the 13-point grand jury subpoena that landed in the hands of New Britain city attorneys last Thursday offered the first public look at the early stages of a federal inquiry focused squarely on the conduct of Erin Stewart.

The federal investigation focuses on Stewart’s use of her city-issued credit card, the city reimbursements for Stewart’s masters degree, and the charitable fund that is also the subject of subpoenas sent by Attorney General William Tong and Bryan Cafferelli, the consumer protection commissioner.

Here are the 13 points of the federal subpoena issued to New Britain’s city government:

1. Purchasing Card (P-Card) Program Policies and Procedures Manual.

2. City of New Britain Purchasing Cardholder Agreement for Erin Stewart.

3. Records for P-Card training received by Erin Stewart.

4. All account statements for the P-Card assigned to Erin Stewart.

5. All expense reports and receipts related to purchases made with the P-Card assigned to Erin Stewart.

6. All documents related to reimbursements to the City of New Britain by Erin Stewart for P-Card expenses.

7. All documents related to audits of Erin Stewart’s P-Card. 

8. All documents and communications related to Erin Stewart’s use of her 

municipal P-Card, included but not limited to any internal complaints regarding 

such usage.

9. All documents related to New Britain’s municipal membership at The Hartford Club.

10.All documents or records of City of New Britain municipal accounts on Amazon, including purchases by any municipal employee on Amazon.

11. All documents, guidelines, financial records and memoranda of understanding describing educational reimbursement programs benefiting municipal employees.

12. All documents or records related to the Mayor’s Trophy Charitable Fund

(hereinafter the Fund), including to not limited any statements of any bank 

accounts used by the Fund, lists of contributions to the Fund, financial 

transfers by the Fund and payouts from the Fund.

13. The names of all the New Britain Directors of Finance and the dates when these individuals served in this capacity.

Of all the threads in the Stewart saga, it is the operations of charitable work associated with her that remains the most murky. Tong and Cafferelli’s investigation has identified two separate accounts with the same name: the Mayor’s Trophy Charitable Fund. One is managed by the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain. The purpose and operation of the other is unclear.

The federal team that sent the subpoena includes at least two veterans of high-profile public corruption cases. The prosecutor who requested the subpoena is Raymond Miller. Miller was on the team that prosecuted Danbury Trashers owner Jimmy Galante and led the case against former State Rep. Mike DiMassa. Jennifer Wagner, a seasoned FBI agent, is also named on the subpoena. She was a key part of the federal case against former school construction boss and deputy state budget director Kosta Diamantis.

Ritter heads to New Haven to stand with Dillon

Officially, House Speaker Matt Ritter’s Monday afternoon visit to the Elm City is exactly that. It’s an official trip made in his capacity as the legislative leader of the 102-member Democratic caucus. House Democratic staff say Ritter will join State Rep. Patt Dillon “to announce newly secured funding to improve park lighting and enhance public safety” in a 120-acre park in the 92nd House District.

But the speaker’s rare public appearance outside the immediate vicinity of his Hartford district will undoubtedly serve another, unstated purpose: highlighting the work of Dillon, a Democratic incumbent facing a spirited primary challenge from two younger candidates.

The issue of lighting in Edgewood Park has been a concern for Westville residents and business owners, who worry that a lack of illumination has dissuaded visitors from parking around the trendy neighborhood. The awarding of funds to shed light on the park provides a solid talking point for Dillon, whose political style emphasizes understated advocacy in Hartford and longstanding ties in her district.

Opposite Dillon are two younger Democrats who’ve both petitioned their way onto the primary ballot: Eli Sabin and Justin Farmer. Both men are known quantities in and around New Haven. Sabin, with his experience on the Board of Alders and dogged ground game, is widely viewed as Dillon’s potent challenger, though Farmer’s presence in the race promises to add a left-wing wildcard factor.

The primary in the 92nd District is one of two competitive House fights in New Haven. In the district being vacated by State Rep. Al Paolillo, Lelend Moore, an incumbent alder, and Wildaliz Bermudez, the head of New Haven’s fair rent commission, are set to duke it out. Paollilo was unanimously endorsed by the New Haven Democratic Town Committee to succeed Senate President Martin Looney. With no Democrats on the ballot to oppose Paolillo in the primary, he is effectively a senator-elect.

For the best coverage of the Elm City’s politics, turn to our friends at the New Haven Independent…and consider supporting their work through a donation.

Lamont team expands with new labor director

Gov. Ned Lamont is continuing to expand his campaign team with the hiring of CC Cieniawski to lead labor outreach efforts.

Cieniawski comes to the campaign after several years of organizing for Connecticut labor groups, first as an organizer with AFT and then with the state’s branch of the AFL-CIO. 

Expect more notable staffers to migrate over to the campaign soon.=

With healthcare centerstage, Flaks assumes CHA chairmanship

If Ned Lamont succeeds in his effort to secure a third term, his desire to overhaul state healthcare policy with his “Connecticut Option” plan will certainly draw a fair share of input (to put it mildly) from hospitals and the insurance industry. The Connecticut Hospital Association, long a heavyweight of the lobbying corps, is poised to be a major player in the potential debate, and the group’s board of trustees has chosen an influential executive as their new chairman: Hartford HealthCare CEO Jeff Flaks.

Flaks is no stranger to the Capitol or its complex machinations. He’s a fixture in Hartford’s political, social, and philanthropic scenes. Among his peers in Connecticut’s hospital industry, Flaks is arguably the most plugged in to the political goings on.

That’s all for this week. We’ll be back next week with another edition of the Tip Sheet!