Image Copyright Sever Oprisan, 2013.
Used under license from Shutterstock.com
The former chief financial officer of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation won big when he left his position in 2011, pocketing $50,000 under a separation agreement.
The CLC and John Ramadei entered the agreement in November 2011.
Under the agreement, the CLC paid Ramadei$50,000. State auditors criticized the payment in their recent report.
“As an enterprise fund of the State of Connecticut, all operating income of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation is transferred to the state,” auditors said. “As such, the $50,000 payment results in a loss of revenue to the state.”
According to the 17-page separation agreement, Ramadei filed an “administrative complaint” in October 2011. Lottery officials redacted the next line in the agreement, obscuring the reason for the dispute.
Subsequent paragraphs state that the CLC and its president deny the allegations and assert that Ramadei’s rights were not violated.
The agreement stipulated that the CLC “shall pay Ramadei separation pay in the gross amount of $50,000.00 provided he abides by the terms of
this Agreement and he signs the Supplemental Release attached hereto.”
In fiscal year 2012, the Lottery paid Ramadei $182,959.86, according to the state’s transparency website. It is unclear whether this amount includes his $50,000 payout. Ramadei earned nearly $150,000 in each of the two previous years. He also receives an annual pension of $22,560.
Ramadei was on paid leave between Nov. 18 and Dec. 30, 2011, when his employment officially ended. He submitted a letter “voluntarily and irrevocably” retiring from his employment with CLC, effective Jan. 1, 2012.
Ramadei has worked a real estate agent in Cheshire since July 2012. He declined to comment on the termination of his employment with the CLC, other than saying he retired from his position there about a year and a half ago.
“I’m not interested in the past. I’m focusing on moving forward,” said Ramadei.
The CLC did not return requests for comment.
A confidentiality clause in the agreement reads that Ramadei “agrees not to disclose this document, its contents, or its subject matter to any person other than his spouse, attorneys, accountant, or income tax preparer, taxing authority or as required by law.” Additionally, the agreement stated that if the CLC was asked to provide information or references concerning Ramadei and his employment, they will provide only dates of employment and final base salary, and will “describe Ramadei’s separation from employment as retirement.”
Jordan Otero is a summer 2013 Yankee Institute journalism intern. She is a senior studying journalism at Franciscan University of Steubenville. She lives in Southington.