Eight years after his first federal conviction, Rowland secretly worked on a 2012 Republican congressional campaign and conspired to hide his paid role by routing payments through a law firm
A jury found Rowland guilty on seven counts in September 2014, and he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison
President Trump pardoned Rowland for both convictions in May 2025
John Rowland left federal prison in 2005 and returned to public life. By 2012, he was breaking federal law again.
That year, Lisa Wilson-Foley was running in a Republican primary for Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District seat. Her husband Brian owned a Connecticut nursing home company and related businesses. Rowland — by then a twice-sanctioned former governor and convicted felon — proposed working on the campaign. Wilson-Foley wanted him involved but believed his felony record would generate negative publicity if his paid role became public, according to the Department of Justice.
The solution they devised was to hide the arrangement behind a fake contract. Rowland and a law office associated with Foley’s businesses signed a fictitious consulting agreement, and Foley routed $35,000 in campaign payments to Rowland through the attorney’s office to obscure their true purpose, according to the Department of Justice.
On March 31, 2014, Lisa Wilson-Foley and her husband each pleaded guilty to conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions, according to the Department of Justice. Wilson-Foley was sentenced to five months in federal prison, five months of home confinement, one year of supervised release, and a $20,000 fine. Brian Foley, who cooperated in the investigation, received three months in community confinement, three years of probation and a $30,000 fine.
At the time, Rowland was working as a conservative afternoon radio host on WTIC-1080, which hosted his blog, titled: “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up.” The former Republican governor left his radio career in April, 2014, citing “some personal issues,” the CT Mirror reported.
In September 2014, a jury found Rowland guilty on seven counts, including conspiracy, falsification of federal records, and causing illegal campaign contributions, according to the Department of Justice. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
In May 2025, President Trump pardoned Rowland for both convictions, according to CT Public. Rowland said he was “very humbled and appreciative,” CT Public reported.
