The ongoing saga involving the city treasurer, a private insurance broker, and $670,000 in missing insurance premiums continues to roll on. Today, the city's audit commission will meet and decide whether to formally investigate the matter.
It would be the latest authority to do so, including the state's insurance department. The Hartford Courant is reporting that some at City Hall have asked for a criminal investigation, too.
To recap, news broke a couple of weeks ago that Hybrid Insurance Group hadn't paid $670,000 in insurance premiums on the city's behalf. As part of that revelation, it was also alleged by city hall and board of education officials that elected Treasurer Adam Cloud had a conflict of interest -- they say he steered business to Hybrid, while Hybrid did business with his family. Cloud denies the charges and says he's a scapegoat for Mayor Pedro Segarra, who has been having troubles of his own.
Meanwhile, O'Garro is having serious personal and financial problems. The state has filed a complaintagainst him, saying, among other things, that he hasn't paid lots of bills for his clients. A lender is foreclosing on his home in Marlborough. And more.
But now, a review of city land records in Hartford show that O'Garro's financial troubles may have started a few years back.
In January 2008, he bought a condo at The Linden building in Hartford. Then, just six months later, his condo association filed a notice of foreclosure. A month after that, O'Garro got out of the situation by selling the condo altogether.
Foreshadowing? Hard to say. O'Garro won't comment.
