The Shuster Project

Tobacco Industry Fraud & False Claims Issues

Click HERE To Read Our Letter Sent to Senator Kerry's Presidential Campaign

This correspondence on the part of The Shuster Project clearly expressed our ever-present readiness to work with CT Governor John Rowland to address the issues of tobacco industry fraud and false claims crimes on a broad basis and to work with anyone in his administration who was sincere, honest and open in their approach to us.

It must be noted here that this Gene Gavin NEVER contacted The Shuster Project despite Governor Rowland's office's suggestion that he would be brought into this matter.

In fact, within a few weeks of Gene Gavin being brought into this matter, he RESIGNED HIS POSITION within the Rowland Administration!

Dear Carolyn,

                Surely, that is a far more appropriate direction for Governor Rowland to have taken with the information we have long provided to him, with respect to tobacco industry fraud and false claims issues/crimes.

Given the magnitude of the ongoing, negative financial impact these offenses wreak upon the proper collections of CT State sales taxes and, to a lesser extent, the proper collections of CT State income taxes, serious investigations and other actions must take place, not only at the legislative level, which The Shuster Project has been consistently addressing with every CT State representative and CT State senator since May of 1999, but also at the Executive level.

The sheer enormity and scope of tobacco industry fraud and false claims policies, practices and procedures, with respect to just the sum of the referenced, defrauded CT State tax revenues involved, conservatively estimated to now exceed $300+ Million Dollars, dictates that this Governor take an active role in directing those within his administration who's responsibilities are to:

1.)     Investigate those tobacco industry fraud and false claims crimes that defraud specific municipal services and specific CT State tax revenues and ...

2.)     Prosecute those tobacco companies and those within these same tobacco companies that direct and control those offenses/crimes that defraud municipal services and CT State tax revenues and ...

3.)     Submit to the legislature, as The Shuster Project has already done (HB5602/HB6942), any "new" legislation(s) that prevents these crimes from continuing to defraud municipal services and CT State tax revenues and/or to strengthen and enforce all appropriate, existing legislation(s) that will also prevent these crimes from occurring and that will close any possible, existing "loopholes" to any and all current, appropriate existing legislation with respect to these crimes.

I have contacted my senior staff in regard to this new, positive development, so we at The Shuster Project will wait to see what develops now, in terms of Gene Gavin ... someone we have wanted to contact for such a long time but did not, feeling it was more appropriate that he be brought into the knowledge of the tobacco industry fraud and false claims issues/crimes from someone within an office of authority above his own, as is now being done … or anyone else Governor Rowland brings into these issues, including the Governor, himself.