HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Former Connecticut Republican Party chairman Richard Foley Jr., a fixture for decades at the state Capitol and in state politics, has died. He was 71.
He was found dead Saturday at his home in Danbury, party officials said. No cause of death was given.
Foley served as a state representative from Oxford from 1983-93 and as state party chairman from 1989-1992.
He was convicted in 1993 of accepting a $25,000 bribe from two developers to influence state banking legislation and served four months in prison before the conviction was overturned on appeal. An appeals court ruled he was charged under the wrong statute. Foley said the money was a legitimate consulting fee.
Known for his sharp wit and political advice to GOP governors and candidates, Foley worked as a consultant and a lobbyist in Hartford.
Foley remained active in party politics as well and in 2019 unsuccessfully challenged J.R. Romano, the current party chairman, in an attempt to return to that job.
Romano, in a statement, called Foley a senior statesman with a wealth of knowledge whose loss will be deeply felt in the party.
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