A federal grand jury is looking into the business dealings of Hartford insurance broker Earl O'Garro. And from the beginning, what raised eyebrows was the relationship between O'Garro and city Treasurer Adam Cloud -- O'Garro did business with Cloud's family.
Now, there's another development. A woman who was a paid campaign consultant for Cloud's 2011 campaign also got a job with Hybrid.
"The Treasurer had nothing to do with her getting that job."
John Droney
Her name is Tonya Healis. According to campaign records on file with the city, Healis was paid at least $2,000 by Cloud's campaign between July and September 2011. Cloud won that election. Just a few months later, O'Garro's Hybrid Insurance Group moved into a downtown Hartford building owned by Cloud and his family. It got state funding to do so. And to help get the money, it hired Cloud's brother, Chris Cloud, to work as its lobbyist.
By around the same time, Hybrid had hired Tonya Healis, the treasurer's former campaign consultant. Emails obtained from the city show that Healis -- who has prior insurance industry experience -- was working for Hybrid in January 2012 as a compliance and regulatory manager. It's unclear, though, when she started that work.
We asked John Droney, Adam Cloud's attorney, whether his client helped Healis get that Hybrid job. In an email, he said this: "I understand that Tonya Healis was employed by Hybrid for a period of time. The Treasurer had nothing to do with her getting that job."
In a separate email, Healis told WNPR she got the job because of her experience and background as a licensed insurance professional -- not because of her relationship with Treasurer Cloud.
