Since 2018, two companies owned by Sen. Rick Lopes, D-New Britain, have been listed as some of the highest paid contractors to a New Britain based nonprofit agency that receives tens of millions in state and federal funding, with Lopes’ companies receiving $1.6 million between 2018 and 2024, according to a review of the organization’s 990 reports.
The Human Resources Agency of New Britain (HRA) is a nonprofit partner with the state of Connecticut, administering federal heating assistance grants to low-income families, offering early childhood resources, and acting as a community safety net with case managers helping individuals navigate everything from job searches to housing.
Since 2018, HRA has contracted with Amador Associates LLC, which is registered to Lopes’ home in New Britain and is listed as a consulting company on Lopes’ financial filings, and since 2019, has contracted with Excel Office Cleaning, an office cleaning company owned by Lopes and registered to a residential address in West Hartford.
HRA indicated that Amador Associates engaged in landscape and maintenance work for the organization. Lopes included both companies in his financial disclosures to the Office of State Ethics and indicated he receives a salary from both.
Payments made to Amador Associates since 2018 have totaled $882,265, although Amador’s appearance as one of the nonprofit’s top contractors and the size of the payments have fluctuated; Amador was not listed by HRA in their 2020 and 2021 990s, but saw a sizable increase to $355,748 in 2024, the most recent available 990 report. On average, the company has received $176,525 per year. Excel Office Cleaning has received a total of $773,301 and has averaged $128,883 per year.
The $20 million organization encompasses five properties in New Britain and one in Bristol and receives nearly all its funding through state and federal grants, taking in $17 million in 2024 through government grants. That year, $10.1 million came through the state of Connecticut, according to the state’s open records website, including $8 million in federal pass-through grants, $1.1 million in state grants from the Department of Social Services and the Office of Early Childhood, and nearly $1 million for education and other program expenses.
Peter Lewandowski of the Office of State Ethics confirmed that HRA contracting with Lopes’ companies is not an ethical violation under state statute and does not require disclosure on his financial filings because his companies are not directly contracting with the state.
Lopes does not currently serve on committees that have oversight over the Department of Social Services nor the Office of Early Childhood which account for most of HRA’s state funding. However, the nonprofit does regularly receive around $50,000 in earmarks through the budget process for its work with youth, and, as a state senator, Lopes is naturally included in efforts to secure funding for towns and organizations in his district.
In 2022, Lopes and three state representatives from New Britain announced $1.1 in bond funding to upgrade security at HRA. According to Lopes’ statement, Rep. Manny Sanchez, D-New Britain, led the New Britain delegation’s effort to secure the bond funds.
The HRA also thanked Lopes and newly elected New Britain Mayor and former State Representative Robert “Bobby” Sanchez in its 2023 annual report “for their efforts to ensure HRA received” $450,000 in ARPA dollars to help the organization purchase a new $700,000 facility to house their food resource center.
Lopes in 2025 posted to his Facebook account “Funding Wins for New Britain this Session,” listing various state grants to community organizations and projects obtained by the New Britain delegation, which included $100,000 for HRA’s food pantry.
Neither Lopes nor HRA responded to requests for comment.
According to state business records, Lopes started Amador Associates in 2013 and Excel Office Cleaning in 2003. Neither company has an online presence, although according to building permits issued by the City of New Britain, it appears Lopes gets some of his work through his political associations.
In 2023, Amador Associates was issued three permits for work estimated to total $55,000, including work performed for the head of League of Women Voters of New Britain, the executive director of the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, and Greg Gerratana, the head of Nutmeg Strategies, one of the leading election consulting companies for Democratic candidates. Lopes’ campaign contracted with Nutmeg Strategies in 2024, 2022, and 2020, along with most other New Britain candidates for state seats. Earlier permits include $4,900 in roofing work for HRA in 2020.
Lopes also owns two LLCs tied to rental properties in New Britain, and, in total, owns six properties in New Britain not including his personal home. Four of those properties have been purchased since 2018, according to city records. Lopes owned an additional home in Narragansett, Rhode Island near the beach, which was purchased in 2016, but that property was recently sold, according to multiple online listings.
HRA has been active in the community since 1964 and serves six municipalities as a state and federal grant partner. Like many other organizations, HRA saw its revenue increase dramatically during 2022 and 2023, according to 990 reports, as federal COVID funds poured into states and were distributed to nonprofits.
“The Human Resources Agency of New Britain, Inc. is a life-changing non-profit that has connected countless residents to job training, health services, and other vital community supports. Thank you to Rep. Manny Sanchez for leading the delegation’s efforts to secure these funds and to Governor Lamont for his support of the HRA’s mission serving residents across the New Britain area,” Lopes said in a press release following the bond commission’s approval of $1.1 million in funding for HRA. “These funds will further the HRA’s ability to serve its clients, while creating a safer space for both staff and clients.”
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