Two state vehicles assigned to the Office of the Governor appear to have been used extensively and in violation of state policy between June 2023 and September of 2024, according to state vehicle records received by Inside Investigator. Most of the vehicles’ movements originate or end at locations adjacent to former Lamont Chief of Staff Jonathan Dach’s New Haven residence and, later, at his Hartford residence.

The vehicles, which are tracked electronically, were used 311 days, racking up more than 12,000 miles of travel over the course of roughly a year and half. According to a review of the data, roughly 190 trips totaling more than 2,300 miles appear personal in nature, with more than 900 miles of travel across 80 trips occurring on weekends.

Those weekend trips included stops at the beach, grocery stores, doctors’ offices, pizza runs, restaurants, private residences, tourist destinations, out of state destinations, and a Dave Matthew’s concert at the Xfinity Theater. In five instances the vehicle stopped for various periods of time at breweries, like Cheshire Craft Brewing on Wednesday evening, August 30, for a couple hours or Still Hill Brewery in Rocky Hill on Sunday, June 16, 2024, before returning to park in either New Haven or near Colt Building apartments in Hartford.

The electronic tracking system on the vehicle also record the top speed for each trip. On numerous occasions, the vehicles reached speeds in the 90s, and on three occasions vehicle speeds surpassed 100 miles per hour. On November 14, 2023, the state vehicle reached 113 mph while traveling from New London to Hartford; on February 9 and April 1 of 2023, the vehicle reached 102 mph. according to the data.

Driving more than 85 mph is considered reckless driving in Connecticut and subject to arrest. State Police have been arresting more people for reckless driving on highways in an effort to stem Connecticut’s high number of fatal vehicle accidents.

Dach, who in 2023 earned $215,036, was listed as residing at 900 Chapel Street in New Haven until roughly May of 2024, when he purportedly moved to an apartment in the renovated Colt building in Hartford, according to insiders with knowledge of the situation. Of the 477 days accounted for in the vehicle tracking data, the cars spent 254 nights, or more than half the time, parked overnight in places other than the Capitol, most often within a block of Dach’s New Haven residence, in parking lots for Yale University and Gateway Community College. After May of 2024, the car is commonly parked on streets in Hartford near the Colt Building.

According to the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) General Letter 115 Policy for Motor Vehicles Used for State Business, state vehicles are to be used “only to conduct official state business.”

“Personal use of a state-owned or rental vehicle for social, recreational, religious, educational, as a commute vehicle, or any purpose, whether on duty or off, is not permitted,” the policy on appropriate use state. Furthermore, the policy states that state vehicles should only be parked overnight in state owned or leased facilities.

Based on the vehicle tracking data, here are some notable trips made by the vehicles that do not appear to comport with DAS guidelines for state vehicle usage and raise the question as to why an individual earning well into the six-figures didn’t purchase, lease or rent a personal vehicle – or at least use a ride-sharing service – for personal trips.

• On Friday June 10, 2023, the vehicle left a Yale University parking lot at 310 Temple Street in New Haven where it had been parked overnight, traveled to GastroPark in Hartford, before parking for more than four hours at the Department of Labor’s Hartford American Job Center at 60 Weston Street, just a couple blocks down from the Xfinity Theater when the Dave Matthews Band performed. The vehicle then returned to the same parking lot in New Haven. The following day the car made stops at a restaurant, a West Haven beach, the grocery store, and a private residence.
• Following a July 12, 2023, meeting between First Lady Jill Biden and governors from across the country in Atlantic City, the vehicle spent the weekend in Brooklyn with forays into Manhattan before being parked in New Haven around the corner from Dach’s residence Sunday night.
• Saturday, August 12, 2023, the vehicle left New Haven, traveled to Seaside Beach in Bridgeport for several hours before spending several hours at a private residence, and then to a restaurant before returning to New Haven. The following day it made trips to Yale Farm where Dach worked as a volunteer during his time at Yale, a grocery store, and another private residence.
• On Memorial Day weekend of 2024, the vehicle appears to make a brief stop at Bradley International Airport on Friday before traveling back to Hartford, stopping at the restaurant Bar Taco, and then parking on Vredendale Avenue in Hartford where it sits for 38 hours. On that Sunday, the vehicle travels to West Haven to the beach and two restaurants before going to a private residence in New Haven. On Monday, it travels to Ikea, another restaurant, and Sleeping Giant State Park.
• The weekend of June 15, 2024, the vehicle left Van Dyke Avenue in Hartford where it had been parked overnight and made stops in Waterbury at Los Garcia Mexican Fusion, the Basilica in Waterbury – next to the Mattatuck Museum – then to Queen Street Gifts in Newtown, a private residence in Redding, and then back to Hartford. The following day, the vehicle stopped the Salad Bar and Still Hill Brewey and Tap Room in Rocky Hill, and then an IGA grocery store before returning to Van Dyke Ave in Hartford.

Some of the private residences where the state vehicle made stops are owned by known associates of Dach, several of whom defended him in the Yale Daily News when he was caught up in a Secret Service scandal in 2012 while working for President Barack Obama. Other private residences the vehicle frequented, according to the data, are owned by influential individuals in academia, government, and government-adjacent roles, including prison education initiatives and major nonprofits.

On Tuesday September 12, 2023, the vehicle traveled to Albany, New York during the swearing in ceremony for Judge Rowan Wilson to New York’s Court of Appeals. Dach had previously clerked for Wilson, and Wilson described Dach as “brilliant,” and “very ethical, very high-minded,” to the Hartford Courant.

The DAS Letter 115 does distinguish between state employees and “appointed officials,” but the state vehicle usage section of the handbook for appointed officials merely states the vehicle use policy is “pending approval.” However, the section does distinguish between official and personal use and notes that personal usage of a state vehicle is subject to “certain tax consequences.”

According to DAS, personal use of a state vehicle, like commuting, is considered “fringe benefit taxable income.” According to a 2024 memo from the Office of the Comptroller, “When a state employee commutes in or uses a state vehicle for personal business, certain tax consequences may result,” and, “Connecticut generally prohibits personal use of state-owned/leased vehicles except for home-to-worksite travel as required by the employer.”

“Except for certain exceptions as set forth later in this memorandum, all State of Connecticut employees will be subject to taxation on any state vehicle use that is not documented as business use,” the Comptroller’s memo states. “State agencies will be responsible for enforcing this policy at the agency, taking disciplinary action in the case of a violation of this policy, and for implementing the applicable reporting requirements.”

Reached for comment, Office of the Governor spokeswoman Julia Bergman said the position of Chief of Staff is a twenty-four hour, seven day per week job that requires extensive travel, but after reviewing the driving log information it appears there may have been a violation of state policy necessitating “further review.”

“As chief of staff, Jonathan Dach regularly used state vehicles for state business purposes. The chief of staff role is an around-the-clock job that requires a lot of work after hours and on weekends including meetings with commissioners, legislators, and staff at public locations including restaurants, visits to sites seeking or receiving state funding, and many others,” Bergman said in an emailed statement. “While the majority of the trips were work-related, a review of the data revealed some that appear personal in nature, which could be a violation of state policy. As a result, this matter is being referred to human resources for further review.”

The information on the Office of the Governor’s state vehicle usage comes on the heels of a CT Insider article that detailed lavish and excessive spending by Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Chancellor Terrence Cheng who, among many other things, allowed someone to drive his state vehicle in violation of state policy and did not accurately track his personal use of the state vehicle for tax purposes.

Dach began his career in Connecticut working as a policy director for Gov. Ned Lamont’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign and then served as Lamont’s policy director until being promoted to chief of staff in January of 2023. 

Jonathan Dach was recently replaced as chief of staff by former General Counsel for the Office of the Governor Matthew Brokman, but Dach reportedly continues to work in an advisory role for Lamont. Dach earned $184,248 this year, according to the state’s open data website, and is reportedly living in Manhattan.

“The Governor’s Office is also making sure all staff review the state’s policy for motor vehicles used for state business,” Bergman said.

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