When 黑料新闻 lawmakers finalized the state budget two years ago, they included earmarks worth millions for local organizations.
Earmarks let powerful lawmakers funnel money to favored groups in their districts. But critics say these budget carve-outs bypass public oversight, and allow legislators to direct funds in secretive negotiations leaving little trace of who was involved.
Legislative leaders are now remaining silent on why one such earmark, for a youth workforce program, went to a nonprofit with scant resources and little time in existence.
Records obtained by 黑料新闻 show an organization known as SHEBA Resource Center, Inc. was the sole beneficiary of an appropriation included in the state鈥檚 previous two-year budget for the Department of Education.
That same organization is now being eyed in a wide-ranging federal probe of grant funding, documents show. Among other things, the investigation is examining state Sen. Doug McCrory鈥檚 relationship with the nonprofit鈥檚 founder, and his role in securing state money for charitable groups.
Funding for the earmark appeared in the budget just days before it was finalized. The origin remains unclear, shrouded by a veil of secrecy that surrounds state budget negotiations. Budget documents give no public accounting of who lobbied for the money to be spent, or how it was intended to be used.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding said the questions surrounding the appropriation underscore the lack of transparency in 黑料新闻鈥檚 budget process.
"There's seemingly countless different nonprofit organizations, that no one seems to have any background on, getting hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money, with little to zero follow up by our state government,鈥� Harding said.
Earmarks swell under legislature's watch
The budget lawmakers passed in 2023 provided a one-time appropriation of $100,000 for the youth workforce initiative. The money was allocated within a bigger bucket of funds, the 鈥淥ther Expenses鈥� line item of the education department's budget, a catch-all for disparate programs that don鈥檛 fall into another major category.
Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont proposed funding this line item with about $2.1 million when he handed off his budget package in February 2023.
But it swelled to $8.9 million in the version lawmakers later adopted, thanks in part to the addition of 23 earmarks for organizations around the state. They ranged from a youth sports league in Bridgeport to a summer camp teaching marine science on Long Island Sound.
Nearly all of the earmarks name a specific organization being funded. But the budget was silent on the youth employment initiative, specifying only that money would be available for a 鈥淵outh Summer Workforce鈥� program.
Relationships probed
Records obtained via a Freedom of Information request show the recipient of that funding was the nonprofit Society of Human Engagement and Business Alignment, or SHEBA.
The entity is controlled by Sonserae Cicero, a consultant named in a pair of grand jury subpoenas served on state officials in recent weeks. Subpoenas are not charging documents, but rather indicate investigators are screening evidence to determine if a federal crime has been committed.
Among other things, investigators are probing whether Cicero had 鈥渁ny personal or non-professional relationship鈥� with McCrory, the subpoenas show.
McCrory is an influential Democratic lawmaker who represents parts of Hartford, Bloomfield and Windsor. He is Senate chair of the Education Committee, and sits on an appropriations subcommittee on elementary and secondary school funding.
McCrory and Cicero have not responded to multiple requests for comment. In a , McCrory said he has not done anything illegal. Both he and Cicero said they have not benefitted from any relationship they may have.
'Provide them with the funds'
According to documents it filed with the state, SHEBA Resource Center provides technical assistance, coaching and training to minority entrepreneurs. Cicero first incorporated the nonprofit in the state in January 2022, a certificate shows.
The organization reported having no cash, savings, investments or other assets by the close of its first year in operation, according to a tax filing. It lists only the receipt of $150,000 from the state, an apparent reference to funding the group received from the Minority Business Initiative Advisory Board for its small business accelerator program.
Nevertheless, records show the nonprofit came to the attention of one of the state鈥檚 most powerful lawmakers. In a 2023 letter, state Sen. Catherine Osten, co-chair of the Appropriations Committee, directed the commissioner of education to award grant funding to the nonprofit.
Osten specified that SHEBA Resource Center should receive the funding available for the youth summer workforce initiative, and provided contact information for Cicero.
鈥淭he intention of this line item was for the CT State Department of Education to contract with the below organization to provide them with the funds to accomplish this programming,鈥� Osten wrote, providing Cicero鈥檚 name, telephone number and email address.
Youth workforce initiative
A grant application filed in August 2023 shows SHEBA planned to use the funding for a youth empowerment program designed to help high school students learn about technology, coding, video game design and entrepreneurship.
鈥淪HEBA promotes and fosters an environment where creative ideas are designed to reduce high-risk behaviors, strengthen youth resiliency, improve protective factors, develop fundamental life skills, and establish a pattern of behaviors that lead to healthy choices and ultimately success in life,鈥� the application states.
The 10-week program offered to help students learn project management skills, culminating in a pitch competition in which they would present a program or product they designed.
It would also support students with the college admissions process, and provide scholarships or grants of up to $1,000, according to the application, which indicates students would later be placed in tours of historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs.
Records show the education department paid the nonprofit $100,000, providing the money in two separate payments of $50,000 each in October 2023 and April 2024.
Unanswered questions
It鈥檚 unclear how Osten identified the fledgling organization as the intended recipient of money provided in the budget earmark.
In an interview with 黑料新闻, Osten said she does not recall how the name of the organization was transmitted to her. Osten said it's customary for lawmakers to submit requests for earmarks to the leaders of the House and Senate. Once the budget is approved, Osten said she gathers contact information for the organizations named in the earmarks and provides it to state agencies.
Osten said she isn鈥檛 always familiar with the groups that are listed.
"That sounds to me like that was a list that was put in by leadership," she said.
Several other people familiar with the budget process said lawmakers typically request earmarks by petitioning House and Senate leadership, or speaking with staff from the governor鈥檚 office. Seniority and political alliances influence which earmarks are approved.
Funding can also be used to secure a lawmaker's support for the budget or other initiatives, such as legislation facing headwinds.
Negotiations take place largely outside of public view, and funding decisions are sometimes revealed only days before lawmakers vote to pass the budget.
A spokesperson for Lamont did not respond to an inquiry from 黑料新闻 about the education funding provided to SHEBA Resource Center.
Democratic House Speaker Matt Ritter declined to answer questions about how the appropriation made it into the state鈥檚 budget. A spokesperson said Ritter is unable to discuss it because the earmark is 鈥渘ot a House budget item.鈥�
Democratic Senate President Martin Looney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff did not respond to multiple interview requests.
State Rep. Toni Walker, a Democrat who co-chairs the Appropriations Committee, also did not respond.
Lawmakers deny involvement
Two area lawmakers said they have no knowledge of the earmark, and are not responsible for inserting it into the budget.
"I've never had any request or involvement at all with anything like that,鈥� said Sen. John Fonfara, who represents Hartford.
Sen. Saud Anwar represents East Hartford, where the nonprofit has a registered address. Anwar said he has never requested funding for the SHEBA Resource Center and didn't ask for it to be in the budget.
"I do not have anything to do with it,鈥� Anwar said.
An email obtained by 黑料新闻 shows a Senate staffer transmitted a partial list of groups getting state money to the Appropriations Committee after the budget was passed. The list includes the SHEBA Resource Center.
鈥淲aiting to hear back from some of our Senators on other items but here is some information,鈥� wrote Theresa Govert, a former policy analyst in the Senate Democratic Office.
Govert, who has since left the position, told 黑料新闻 she doesn鈥檛 remember the origin of the list.
"I don't recollect exactly how that information was conveyed to me,鈥� she said.
It鈥檚 unclear whether the earmark is now under review by federal authorities. Documents released thus far show investigators are reviewing economic development funding received by SHEBA Resource Center and other Hartford area nonprofits.
Staff at the state Department of Education did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A grants administrator at the department referred questions to legal counsel.
Tom Carson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office in New Haven, did not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. Carson said his office only provides comment on criminal matters when it comes forth with charges.
