Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Money
  • Election 2020
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Money
    Election 2020
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Richard Foley, a GOP chief who taunted the FBI, dies at 71

  • Politics
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • January 2, 2021
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Marty Heiser Show

From left, J.R. Romano, Dave Mathus, Matt O’Brien and Richard Foley during the 2019 campaign for GOP chair.

On his way to prison in January 1994, the 44-year Richard Foley said he knew how his obituary would begin: There would be a mention of his service as a state lawmaker and Republican state chairman, followed by the fact he was convicted of taking a bribe.

Dick Foley wasn’t known for flinching. He was the blue-collar guy who led the state GOP from 1989 to 1992, when Connecticut was a presidential swing state and the party struggled to decide if its future was in Fairfield County or the post-industrial Naugatuck Valley.

When it became clear in late 1992 that he was in the crosshairs of the FBI, Foley called a press conference to call the feds bumblers and bureaucrats. “We’re going on offense. Put up or shut up,” Foley said. “They picked on the wrong mick.”

The quote ended up on the wall of a semi-secret office the FBI kept for a time in Waterbury, a corruption target. Foley was convicted of four felonies in connection with $25,000 he accepted from two corrupt businessmen, a developer and a banker.

When asked for an interview before he left for prison, Foley said, “Yeah, why not?”

Foley, 71, was found dead at his condominium in Danbury on Saturday. His friend, Ben F. Proto, said Foley’s daughter called with news of his death. No cause was immediately evident.

An Irish memory

He came head-on at pretty much everything, from politics to prison. He had an Irish memory, forever remembering friends and foes. He was a state representative, a salesman and a student of human behavior.

His conviction was overturned on appeal, and Foley managed a second act in political life as a lobbyist and campaign consultant. He attempted a comeback last year, challenging J.R. Romano for state chair of the GOP.

He won and lost plenty of political bets. In 1991, he was convinced that passage of the income tax by a Democratic legislature and an independent governor, Lowell P. Weicker Jr., would be the GOP’s ticket to the majority. It wasn’t.

“I talked with him earlier in the week,” said Proto, who joined Foley in the 2018 floor fight at the GOP state convention that led to Steve Obsitnik of Westport obtaining enough delegate support to join the party primary for governor. “We were going to have lunch next week. He was a dear friend. He was the kind of guy you wanted to have as a friend.”

Proto said that Foley was steeped in Connecticut’s political history and was among the very young Republicans who, in the early 1970s, made up Gov. Thomas Meskill’s “kiddie corps.” 

Chris Healy, a former GOP state chairman, said Foley prized – and exuded — loyalty.

“He was the most-loyal, steadfast person you could find,” Healy said Saturday. “I am grief-stricken because I lost one of my best friends. You either loved him or hated him, and those of us who loved him, we would have done anything for him. He loved to have fun, and he loved to laugh at the absurdity of things. You always ended up laughing during a conversation with Dick Foley, at some point.”

MSNBC

Richard Foley

Foley was blunt, often coarse. He had no patience for the timid or cautious. To them, he would say, “If you want a guarantee, then buy a f—— refrigerator.”

He could be flippant, but his advice to candidates seeking counsel on issues of morality was not: figure out where you stand; don’t be cute; your constituents will tolerate a principled difference.

He offered himself as an example. For 10 years, he represented a conservative and largely Catholic district, but he was more pro-choice than pro-life in his voting. 

Facing time in prison

His legal troubles came from an association with Richard D. Barbieri Sr. and John A. Corpaci, key figures in a Waterbury corruption scandal. They told the FBI they had built a favor bank with politicians as they established a real estate and banking business.

To curry favor with a bigger banking chain, they said they paid Foley $25,000 to help pass a bill liberalizing state banking laws. The story had some holes: Foley, for one, was in the minority. Second, he voted against the bill and urged its defeat.

Foley never denied accepting ten $2,500 payments, but he insisted they were a consulting fee in return for seeking tenants for a commercial property. He was convicted and sentenced to 40 months in prison.

He went to prison uncertain about winning his appeal.

Over coffee at an Abdow’s Big Boy on the Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield, Foley talked for three hours about prison and his expectation he might have to serve three years before qualifying for a good-behavior release.

He smoked a cigar, one that he promised would be among his last. He was loud. An elderly woman in the next booth gave him a long sideward glance, mouth agape.

Foley talked about quitting tobacco, losing weight. If he was going to lose three years going in, perhaps he could gain five more on the back end by clean living.

But he had no illusions about how he would be remembered, even if he won his appeal.

“In most situations, death pays the debt. Not in this one,” he said. “This one you pay after you die. That’s hard. That’s hard. But that’s one you gotta accept. That’s the way it’s going to be.”

A federal appeals court voted 2-1 in January 1996 to overturn his conviction, concluding he had been improperly charged under statutes that covered the illegal acceptance of federal funds.

Foley served four months in prison, then was freed on bond during his appeal.

Ken Dixon of Hearst Media contributed to this report.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas Mark is a co-founder of CT Mirror, a frequent contributor to WNPR and a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Connecticut’s $90M lobbying industry has a new player: former Speaker Joe Aresimowicz
by Mark Pazniokas

Former House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz is becoming a lobbyist, but a revolving-door law limits him for a year.

Spiking tax revenue will wipe out state budget deficit, analysts say
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Projected state revenues skyrocketed by $1.7 billion Friday, positioning officials to balance the next state budget without tax hikes.

Without vocal dissent, Senate confirms Justice Andrew McDonald
by Mark Pazniokas

The state Senate acted quickly Friday to confirm Andrew J. McDonald to a second term on the Supreme Court.

Once controversial, Justice Andrew McDonald backed for reappointment to CT’s high court
by Mark Pazniokas

Blocked as chief justice, Andrew J. McDonald is a shoo-in for another term as a Supreme Court justice.

CT’s U.S. Representatives join the vote to impeach President Trump, and the state braces for protests
by Mark Pazniokas

Donald J. Trump was impeached on a day when lawmakers in capitals like Hartford assessed threats that may await them.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Evidence not clear that Trump incited Capitol destruction
by Alan Calandro

Defending President Donald Trump is not popular and I have no interest in writing this other than adherence to truth. Recognizing the truth (if we can find it, which is not always possible of course) should make us be able to come together around that and move on with a common understanding.

Opinion Securing our nuclear legacy: An open letter to President-elect Joe Biden
by Erik Assadourian

Dear President-elect Biden: As you noted in a tweet shortly after protestors stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, “Today is a reminder, a painful one, that democracy is fragile.” Indeed it is. And so are nation-states.

Opinion Last votes of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others
by Gary A. Franks

Finally, the election season is over. The historic elections we saw in this cycle were intriguing. The runoff elections for the U.S. Senate in Georgia put a cap on the campaign season. For many people this could be described as a COVID-19 election. I would argue that this was an election influenced by a pandemic but determined by the killing of unarmed Black people with no adequate justice for the Black community.

Opinion Not just environmental problem; Killingly plant is a great target
by Joel Gordes

In 1990, I was one of five legislators to introduce the first climate change legislation that became PA 90-219, An Act Considering Climate Change, the most popular bill of that session. Back then I considered climate change a national security issue… and I still do.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO