Republican lawmakers held a press conference today calling out what they believe to be a weak state response to corruption at the Capitol.

The group, led by House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, and Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding Jr., R-Brookfield, cited a number of scandals involving state personnel in recent years, and demanded an expansion of the State’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to combat them.

“My constituents, and all of our constituents behind us, are sick and tired of sending money up to Hartford in Connecticut and getting told that’s it getting spent well when you see people getting arrested for corruption,” said Harding. “That’s why we’re here today calling for an expansion of the Inspector General, who already exists, and they do a great job and get asked and incentivized to investigate cops. How about the Inspector General investigate us?”

This is not the first time State Republicans have floated the idea of an expanded OIG’s office. Candelora said he first heard the idea proposed in 2003, by former Republican Sen. John McKinney, saying “we have continued to carry that torch all of the way up and through last year.”

As it stands currently, the State OIG is charged with investigating allegations related to police and corrections officers. Candelora proposed that the office be expanded to essentially act as follow-up investigators for the State Auditors, to investigate cases of financial fraud and corruption, lack of governmental transparency and waste of tax funds.

“So what we are asking for today is to bring an independent body into the state of Connecticut, an Inspector General that would have subpoena power, would have the ability to look at the State Auditor’s reports and determine whether or not further investigation should be done,” said Candelora. “Our auditors do a great job looking at all the transgressions in these agencies, not an easy task, given that our employees work from home, but that’s another story, but those reports should be scrutinized by somebody else.”

Both Harding and Candelora cited various examples of “waste, fraud and abuse;” the questionable expense reports of CSCU Chancellor Ken Cheng, the recent backroom deal orchestrated to get PURA Chairwoman Marissa Gillett’s renomination approved, former OPM Deputy Director Kosta Diamantis’s involvment in both a multi-million dollar school construction fraud case and Medicaid fraud, and the discovery of a DMV employee who allegedly schemed with tow companies to cheaply purchase towed vehicles and profit off of their resale. The two insisted that “enough is enough,” and that the level of punishment for these scandals, as well as others, have been too light.

“Where’s the accountability?” asked Harding incredulously. “Once in a while, maybe someone loses their job. That’s the best we get in this state right now. Is that acceptable to any logical person?”

The lawmakers brought with them a piece of poster board containing various news clippings and photos of government officials to illustrate what Harding called “a line of corruption, waste, fraud and abuse that Senate Democrats and House Democrats have seemingly wanted nothing to do with.”

Candelora criticized Gov. Lamont’s response to the Cheng expense scandal, especially Lamont’s comments made last December in which he referred to the audit’s findings as “small ball.” Candelora said that Cheng should not remain the Chancellor, nor should he still have control over the same purchasing card system he was accused of abusing, but should instead be the subject of criminal investigation.

“We should be looking at criminal investigation of the activity from this Chancellor, not continuing to have conversations of giving him more money in the current state budget, where we’ve already discovered he’s been stockpiling over a billion dollars, or over $640 million of taxpayer money, all the while he continues to have his hand out for more money,” said Candelora.

Candelora criticized Lamont’s defense of Office of Health Strategies Commissioner Deidre Gifford for her alleged role in cancelling an audit into $600,000 of Medicaid overpayments to optometrist Helen Zervas, the fiancee of a former Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Chris Ziogas. Both Ziogas and Diamantis have since been indicted on corruption charges for their role in the fiasco. Zervas pleaded guilty to federal healthcare fraud and public corruption charges.

“The governor hasn’t even asked the commissioner whether she is a subject or a witness to that investigation,” said Candelora. “The best that we’ve gotten out of that office is ‘No comment at this time.’ Right now, we are negotiating a hospital tax with our hospital association and all of our area hospitals, to the tune of $900 million – we have the very person that could be the subject of a grand jury investigation in the room negotiating that deal.”

Both Candelora and Harding said the accountability issue is a symptom of the state’s “one-party rule.” They also accused Democrats of using developments coming out of Trump’s presidency to serve as a distraction from the various scandals that occur at a state level.

Candelora accused Lamont of purposely scheduling a press conference in response to the Federal Department of Human Health and Services’ announcement of grant funding cuts to various Connecticut programs at the same time as the Republicans conference for the purpose of pulling away media attention.

“They are doing everything in their power to cover things up, to the point where the governor calls a press conference to try to distract the press away from hearing the minority voice in this building,” said Candelora. “And so this is why we think we need an independent voice.

When asked by a reporter whether or not the OIG would be equipped to handle an the addition of governmental investigations, Candelora said that the office would “need an expansion, no question,” and that the state could consider moving around staff from the Attorney General’s Office to bolster it.

When asked on how Republicans’ definition of fraud may differ from that of Democrats’, Candelora told Inside Investigator that “you know it [corruption] when you see it.”

“I think there’s certainly enough here, that I think people would label it as corruption,” said Candelora. “I think the sheer will to do nothing, and to cover this up is because, you know, the governor doesn’t want the accountability to fall back on him, so he would rather deflect it and ignore it, and not be held accountable.”

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