Key witness cross-examined in trial of Connecticut ex-governor

By Richard Weizel NEW HAVEN Conn. (Reuters) - Prosecutors cross-examined a key witness in the trial of former Connecticut Governor John Rowland on Tuesday, aiming to undermine defense testimony that Rowland's contract with a nursing home operator was legitimate and not a cover for paid work on a political campaign. Brian Bedard, Apple Health Care Inc's executive vice president and chief operating officer, told the court that while carrying out his duties with the company, he was expected to work on the congressional campaign that his boss's wife was waging. In questioning Bedard in U.S. District Court in New Haven, prosecutors appeared to be attempting to show that the lines between company work and campaign work were blurred. The state contends the former governor's $35,000 Apple contract was a cover for his work as a paid consultant on the unsuccessful 2012 campaign of Lisa Wilson-Foley, the wife of Apple's owner, Brian Foley. Federal campaign law requires disclosure of all paid consultants. Bedard, likely to be the only witness the defense calls, revealed that he had met with the campaign's staff, attended campaign events and wrote a press release denying Rowland had a role in running the campaign. “It was very incestuous, and I was just doing what my boss asked me to do,” Bedard said in response to questions by Assistant U.S. Attorney Liam Brennan. Prosecutors say the Foleys signed the bogus contract with Rowland to keep the campaign's ties to him a secret, fearing that the Republican former governor's political corruption conviction a decade ago would bring negative publicity. Rowland's defense team, which could rest their case on Wednesday, insist he got paid to work for Apple, and he only volunteered for Wilson-Foley’s campaign. Under cross-examination, Bedard denied ever being told the contract with Rowland was a ruse. Still, he conceded he had misgivings about the campaign. “I never liked the campaign for a minute," he said. "I thought it could only hurt Apple.” On Monday, Bedard testified that Rowland attended numerous company meetings in 2011 and 2012, and actively participated in Apple's efforts to modernize and deal with the threat of unionization, among other services. Rowland, 57, was forced from office on political corruption charges and served prison time a decade ago. He has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of violating federal campaign laws. Wilson-Foley and Foley pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to make illegal campaign contributions. (Editing By Frank McGurty and Jonathan Oatis)