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May 21, 2008

Star witness Celona was a pronounced Pats' fan, but he sought work with rival Jets

PROVIDENCE -- Former Rhode Island senator John Celona not only sold out his public office ––he tried to sell out his New England sports allegiance, too.

Celona, who is serving a 2½-year federal prison term after pleading guilty to selling his office, is the star government witness in the bribery, fraud and conspiracy trial of two former CVS executives John R. "Jack" Kramer and Carlos Ortiz.

Kramer and Ortiz are accused of hiring Celona to help promote CVS’ legislative agenda at the Rhode Island State House.

According to evidence introduced today at the trial in U.S. District Court, Celona, the fan who proudly flew a New England Patriots flag outside his North Providence house and once tried, as a senator, to get the Patriots to build a football stadium in Providence, sought work from the New York Jets.

Sports is a major interest of Celona’s, as evidenced by his testimony today about his efforts to promote the CVS Charity Golf Classic and Downtown 5K road race in Providence on his cable-access television show.

Then, toward the end of today’s testimony, defense lawyer Scott Corrigan showed jurors a letter that Celona wrote in 1997, when he was seeking work following the failure of his family’s lawnmower store.

The letter was to Bill Parcells, who had just bolted as coach of the Patriots following a Super Bowl loss to the Green Bay Packers, to take charge of the team’s arch-rival, the Jets.

In his quest for work to support his family, Celona acknowledged sending out hundreds of resumes. On March 10, 1997, he wrote to Parcells pitching a new consulting group he had formed, The Image Group.

"With perception so important," Celona wrote, "we at The Image Group can train you and your team to manage the news and the media in a way that is positive and beneficial to the Jets."

A few minutes later, sparring with a defense lawyer over how many times he had met with FBI agents, Celona paraphrased the words of another Pats football coach and one-time Parcell's disciple, Bill Belichick: "If that’s what it is, that’s what it is, then that’s what it is."