There’s a bankruptcy trial in New Haven that has grabbed the interest of Ireland. Bankrupt Irish property developer Sean Dunne is the defendant in an action initiated by his American bankruptcy trustee to recover assets Dunne conveyed to his wife as his fortunes deteriorated.

The proceedings have included mentions of former leaders of Ireland and South Africa, providing glimpses of Dunne’s far-flung real estate dealings.

Here’s a recent Irish Times account of the case, which continues.

Daily Ructions readers, I want to share a personal note. It has been my good fortune to know the incomparable Phyllis Salvin Tierney for the past 35 years. Phyllis departed this world in peace Wednesday night. I cannot properly convey the joy of knowing Phyllis, but this beautiful tribute does. I’ve known people as funny as Phyllis, but no one funnier.

What is the matter with Ned Lamont? The CTMirror.org highlights his stunning offer to get his toll proposal passed: Vote for it and I will give you money.

Lamont’s promise to raise money for Democrats who are reluctant to vote to punish working people is causing considerable unease in the Capitol village. Lamont’s tawdry inducement would be a violation of the law if it was made by others to legislators considering legislation.

Lamont has spent $50 million of his fortune in three statewide elections, losing two of them. It is unlikely that he would have been a serious candidate in any of those races if he were not the lucky descendant of a wealthy American family. Money spent on campaigns has been the critical element of Lamont’s viability as a candidate. He made the mistake on Wednesday of letting the mask slip and revealing he thinks Democratic legislators share his calculation.

Lamont embarrassed them and diminished himself with his taste for the naked transaction of legislation for donations.

The press of legislative business will preclude Governor Ned Lamont and Democratic State Chair Nancy Wyman from holding a tele-town hall this evening.

An unusual announcement from Commissioner James Rovella of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection:

“Effective immediately, Major Arthur Goodale, Jr., [employee number omitted] police powers will be suspended until further notice. While Major Goodale’s police powers are suspended, he is not authorized to hold himself out as a member of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and is not authorized to access or utilize any COLLECT/NCIC; or any other law enforcement computer database.”

Goodale has been serving as Commanding Officer of State Police Western District Headquarters in Litchfield.

Governor Ned Lamont’s renovation of economic development agencies continues with the search for someone to lead  the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). The new co-chairs of the non-profit organization, Indra Nooyi and Jim Smith, are “partnering” with the international executive recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles to find a new president and CEO for the organization.

They are looking for “ideal candidates” who “would likely have significant private sector leadership experience, an understanding of BD/External Relations/Sales and Marketing as well as a 24/7 action-orientation and dynamism. Familiarity with Connecticut would also be advantageous.” It certainly would.

If this describes you or someone you know, contact Elizabeth Zessman, Engagement Manager at the New York office of Heidrick & Struggles.

There may be a permanent template in the editorial offices of the Wall Street Journal that sets forth Connecticut’s most recent economic policy blunders. The newspaper used it again today to take apart Governor Ned Lamont and the legislature’s most recent misbegotten decisions. The editorial is shorter but no less painful than usual.

You have your choice of chilling paragraphs. The last two are especially painful:

Population flight is taking a toll on the state’s economy and budget. Last week the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that Connecticut’s GDP grew a paltry 1% in 2018, 44th in the country and the slowest in the Northeast after Rhode Island. The U.S. economy grew about 3%.

Slow economic growth has depressed tax revenue and contributed to a $3.7 billion budget deficit that Democrats are now scrounging to fill with new taxes that will drive more taxpaying citizens out of Connecticut.

The regular session of the legislature concludes four weeks from today. It will not be a surprise if Journal editorial writers find another occasion to give the state’s leaders another barracking.

State Senator Alexandra Bergstein (D-Greenwich) declared to a TEDx event at Wesleyan University on Saturday that she’d had enough with privilege and the patriarchy.

The Wesleyan Argus provides this summary of Bergstein’s contribution to the event:

Alexandra Bergstein ’88, a state senator for Connecticut’s 36th district, discussed a similar experience to Hayes regarding resistance to her candidacy, but in her case, the problem was internalized rather than external. Bergstein says that patriarchal values shaped the course of her life, holding her back from pursuing what she wanted. However, at the insistence of her friends, she ran and became the first woman to hold the position of state senator for her district, and the first Democrat in 88 years. 

“When I turned 50, I made a simple decision that changed everything,” she began. “I decided to live fearlessly, and to reclaim my narrative of what success was. Because after 50 years on the same path, I realized that I had been giving my power away to two of the strongest forces in our society: patriarchy and privilege.”

“I have never felt more alive and fulfilled, and I didn’t even know it was possible,” she said. “And the more I put myself out there, the more love and purpose I got back. And all those layers of conditioning telling me who I should be and what I should want melted away. I was breaking the bonds of patriarchy and privilege and anything else that told me I was not enough.”

Bergstein’s taste for privilege may be winning her internal war against it. An April 4th contempt motion filed by Seth Bergstein, the defendant in Alexandra Bergstein’s divorce action, asks the court to intervene to put the brakes on the victim of privilege’s spending. The motion included examples and also mentions Senator Bergstein’s hiring a private aide to assist her in discharging her public duties duties.

Privilege is an especially heavy burden when you try to persuade others you don’t possess and enjoy it.

Susan Hatfield, the 2018 Republican candidate for attorney general, is seeking support to become the vice chair of the state party organization. Elections for state central members are held in mid-May. The newly elected members choose their leaders in June.