State fines Groton business owner $6,000 over $30 in illegal campaign donations

A Groton business owner who supported former state Rep. John Scott’s 2016 campaign for re-election has been ordered to pay a $6,000 fine for covering $30 worth of donations with his company credit card.

The donations violated state laws, the State Elections Enforcement Commission found.

In a settlement the commission approved this week, Charles Bowe, a Madison resident who owns two Grand Wine & Spirits stores in Groton as well as locations in Mystic, Old Lyme and Waterford, agreed to pay the fine: $1,000 for each of six “impermissible contributions” he made for employees who completed online contribution forms.

State Rep. Noreen Kokoruda, a Madison Republican who counts Bowe among her constituents, said Friday that each of the contributions was for $5 and that a bookkeeper working for Bowe used a company credit card to pay for them.

Read more: https://www.theday.com/local-news/20181221/state-fines-groton-business-owner-6000-over-30-in-illegal-campaign-donations