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Update: Hartford, the Mayor, the Treasurer, and the Unpaid Insurance

Heather Brandon
/
WNPR

A couple of days ago, we told you the story of political name-calling in Hartford that centered around a basic fact: a broker for the city had failed to pay almost $700,000 in insurance premiums on the city's behalf. That broker, Hybrid Insurance Group, has ties to the family of city treasurer Adam Cloud.

Mayor Pedro Segarra said he's asked his auditors to investigate. Cloud, who is independently elected, said Segarra is hanging him out to dry. As we reported earlier, Hybrid rents office space in downtown Hartford in a building owned by Cloud and his family. And Hybrid has hired Cloud's brother to be the company's lobbyist.

Now, Kevin Rennie now points out that Hybrid got $100,000 from the state Department of Economic and Community Development to move his company from Windsor to Hartford in 2012.

Also, this: The man who runs Hybrid, Earl O'Garro, apparently also owns a restaurant in Middletown called Us. We've confirmed that with his attorney. 

But, according to The Middletown Press, that restaurant recently shut its doors, and is being sued for eviction. O'Garro did not return a call for comment earlier this week.  His lawyer, Corey Brinson, said he did not yet have permission to speak on O'Garro's behalf.

Jeff Cohen started in newspapers in 2001 and joined Connecticut Public in 2010, where he worked as a reporter and fill-in host. In 2017, he was named news director. Then, in 2022, he became a senior enterprise reporter.

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