State Sen. Thomas Gaffey, D-Meriden, was officially taken to the woodshed Wednesday by the state Election Commission for double billing his expenses to the state and his political action committee. Gaffey, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership and co-chairman of the Education Committee, will pay a $6,000 fine, and forfeit another $20,000 to state coffers from his Govenment Action Fund or GAFPAC. That fund was used as the Senator’s discretionary fund for  many years, often to pay for travel, meals and cell phone bills that had nothing to do with political activity.

Gaffey’s long suffering Treasurer Dennis Ceneviva,a Meriden lawyer, was tagged with a $3,000 fine as well.

This was the sercond time Sen. Gaffey has been caught “double dipping,” having been outed in 2002 for getting reimbursed for his mileage twice as a legislator and employee of the Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority (CRRAA) where he serves in a patronage position for over $100,000 a year.

Sen. Gaffey, we all recall, was the same legislator who managed to get another $1 billion set aside two years ago for the Connecticut State University System to impress his gir friend, who works at a state lobbyist for the CSUS. Recently, Sen. Gaffey lost a son in a tragedy unimaginable to any parent. It is another sad story and one hopes this will be the last time Sen. Gaffey will be brought to task for being fast and loose with tax dollars.

However, in his January 2009 filing for his 2008 Thomas Gaffey for State Senate campaign, Gaffey lists a $2,390 payment to Luby, Olsen, PC  for legal services. It is unclear what legal services Gaffey would require, having won reelection handily three months prior.  The payment could be interpreted as compensation for his lawyer, Tom Luby, who represented Gaffey before the Eelections Committee on his GAFPAC matters.

But the Everyday Republican is comforted that the Elections Commission will notice this as part of their auditing process.