Connecticut’s lauded ethics laws allow state officials to make vague disclosures about their sources of income in some cases, but for Commissioner Dan Esty his wife’s filings as a member of Congress reveal more details than his own.
Esty joined Gov. Dannel Malloy’s administration to run the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, then in the process of being formed, in 2011.
During 2012, according to the most recent disclosure by U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th – Commissioner Esty’s wife – he received two payments, one for a speech delivered in February 2011 and another for consulting work.
Dennis Schain, a DEEP spokesman, said the consulting work for Catterton Partners, a private equity firm, also occurred in 2011.
“His activity for these two businesses clearly took place before he was nominated to serve as commissioner,” Schain said.
Commissioner Esty’s state ethics disclosure lists the income as coming from Esty & Asscociates LLC and describes it as “prior year speaker fees, consulting fees, expense reimbursements.”
According to Rep. Esty’s disclosure, Savage Services Corporation paid a $15,000 honorarium for a February 2011 appearance. The company describes itself as a “leader in supply chain management solutions that are tailored to meet the needs of our customers across a variety of industries including electric power generation, coal production, oil refining, railroad, chemical and other industries.”
According to the same disclosure form filed by Rep. Esty, Commissioner Esty owns a stake in CGP Interest Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Catterton, worth between $100,001 and $250,000.
A previous filing by Rep. Esty listed her husband’s 2011 income from Catterton affiliate CGP Managers LLC as falling between $100,001 and $1,000,000.
According to his own state ethics filings, Commissioner Esty set up a limited liability company, Green Alpha Partners, in 2011 before joining the administration. Schain said the company was “never operational.”