The town of Bloomfield was surprised when a $100,000 state grant it was promised for its successful summer jobs program failed to arrive. It was stunned when it learned the money had been quietly transferred to a new nonprofit now the subject of a federal investigation.
Bloomfield's missing $100,000 had been quietly redirected, by an opaque transaction at the state Legislature, to the Society of Human Engagement and Business Alignment, known as SHEBA, the new nonprofit at the center of the grand jury investigation into the disbursement of tens of millions of dollars of state grants.
SHEBA was created and is operated by Sonserae Cicero-Hamlin, a close friend of state Sen. Douglas McCrory, an influential legislator and powerful voice in the distribution of government grants, particularly in Hartford where nonprofits play a vital role across the city's economically distressed north side. McCrory represents north Hartford and parts of adjacent Bloomfield and Windsor.
Since founding SHEBA in 2022, Cicero-Hamlin has collected more than $3 million in government grants and consulting fees, according to a variety of records. Among the services SHEBA offers are job training and placement for minorities.
Both McCrory, 59, and Cicero-Hamlin, 52, are subjects of the months-long federal investigation, according to grand jury subpoenas reviewed by the Courant, one of which seeks "all documents concerning any personal or non professional relationship" between the two. They have declined to discuss the matter. Subpoenas are requests for information; they are not accusations.
Last week, FBI agents were in Bloomfield asking questions about the on-and-off financing in 2023 for the town's jobs training program, known as Summer Bridge.
Town Manager Alvin D Schwapp Jr. acknowledged the funding interruption in a statement.
"For the past four years, Bloomfield's Summer Bridge Program has provided valuable workforce development opportunities for our youth, helping to prepare the next generation for careers and future success," Schwapp said..
"While the Town anticipated receiving $100k in state funding to run the program in the summer of 2023, those funds did not materialize. Recognizing the importance of this initiative, the Bloomfield Town Council was able to provide partial funding to ensure the program's continuity and preserve this critical resource for our community's young people."
The Summer Bridge program was created to provide part time jobs and training to high school students and began operation in 2022 through the efforts of Town Councilor Anthony Harrington. The town's partner in the program was Goodwin University in East Hartford, which provided the training component and, during year one, space on its campus.
When it began, the program involved a commitment of at least two years, according to a variety of officials. McCrory arranged a $100,000 grant through the state Department of Education for year one and promised to arrange state financing for a second year, an official involved in the program said.
Legislators like McCrory are able to quietly direct money to favored groups or projects through earmarks, which allow them to spend outside the normal budgetary process and without the transparency normally involved in government spending decisions.
With year one of Summer Bridge judged a success, plans were made for a second during the summer of 2023, for another $100,000. With McCrory's assurance that he would again arrange for the state to provide financing, Harrington said he obtained commitments to participate from Goodwin and Capitol Workforce Partners, a regional workforce development organization.
None of the participants in year two realized that, while the program was underway, the $100,000 that was supposed to pay for it was being allocated elsewhere.
The transfer of funds was set in motion by a letter from state Sen Catherine Osten, co-chair of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee, instructing the state Department of Education to move the $100,000 earmarked for Bloomfield to SHEBA.
Osten said last week that her letter was written in response to a routine legislative spending request, one of many prepared by staff and placed before her. She said the letter was based on an address list showing where money should be directed.
"These are normal things that we have going on every year," Osten said. "Legislative staff prepared the list. These are programs that need clarification. It is not unusual for this to happen. Most legislators, Doug included, don't contact me. I get a list from staff that are working to put everything together. I never heard about Bloomfield."
Osten's letter set in motion a flurry of email correspondence among education department employees who were under the impression that the transfer of money to SHEBA was to be carried out quickly and that McCrory had taken an interest. In addition to holding a Senate leadership position, McCrory is co-chair of the education committee.
"Sounds like it is on the fast track," one email said.
Said another: "FYI - Senator McCrory may follow up on this as he has called Laura already."
The transfer also started an email correspondence between Bloomfield and Goodwin, which had realized it wasn't being paid for its participation in the summer jobs program. Bloomfield's chief operating officer had taken the position that since SHEBA had the $100,000, it should pay the bill.
On August 31, 2023, Bloomfield COO William Guzman told Goodwin, "I have spoken with Kathy Demsey, Chief Financial Officer for the State Department of Education who informed me that the recipient of the $100,000 State grant to pay for the invoiced amount is the Society of Human Engagement and Business Alignment (SHEBA).
"Again, the Bloomfield Public Schools is not the fiduciary of the grant."
In its marketing materials, SHEBA describes itself as a "minority and women-owned full HR support service for entrepreneurs and candidates seeking job placement."
"We are focused on supporting those impacted by socio-economic and cultural challenges," the organization says on a website. "Our goal is to align our clients' needs with the talents and skills of diverse candidates and consultants."
Calculating how much money SHEBA has received in state grants since beginning operation in 2022 has proven difficult because of the number of state agencies disbursing an array of grants. In some cases, nonprofits are given millions in grants with the expectation that they will in turn distribute money to other nonprofits.
The $100,000 SHEBA received from the education department in the summer of 2023 means it has received at least $3.5 million in state money and is approved for another $1 million, according to figures provided by the Department of Economic and Community Development, a primary conduit for distribution of grant money.
Of the money SHEBA has already received, $500,000 was for consulting fees on human relations in 2022 and 2023 by the Blue Hills Civic Association, another nonprofit underwritten by state grants.
Blue Hills paid SHEBA $250,000 a year, at $280 an hour in both years. Among other things, SHEBA was paid to evaluate salaries paid to the 33 Blue Hills employees, provide management and leadership training, train the board of directors and update the employee handbook, according to a former senior Blue Hills official and a review of records.