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Is this individual still with the force? Or are they now collecting a state pension? CSP refuses to discuss the matter citing ongoing investigations. The office of Gov. Ned Lamont likewise would not provide any details about the trooper, encouraging this reporter to file a freedom of information request instead.

“I am positive that they know who that individual is,” Ross says of CSP. “I’m not sure what they intend to do about it.”

In the initial wake of the audit, Lamont vowed that the state government would mount an “independent” investigation of CSP that would “get to the bottom” of the scandal. However the investigation has now been handed off to the office of the Chief State’s Attorney, who has, in turn, reportedly folded it into an existing investigation handled jointly with CSP. The Chief State Attorney’s office did not respond to questions from Rolling Stone.

Pressed on the conflict of interest posed by CSP helping to investigate documented malfeasance affecting up to a quarter of its troopers, a spokesperson for Lamont insisted: “We have faith in the independence of the Chief State Attorney’s office.” He added: “We also reserve the right to take any additional action we think necessary.”

CSP has a track record of sweeping trooper wrongdoing under the rug. Despite allegations that the four officers in the original fake-ticket scandal exposed by Hearst in 2022 had engaged in criminal activity by falsifying records, two received short suspensions, and the two others, the audit notes, “retired before any disciplinary action was taken.”