The state attorney general said Thursday that he has found "inappropriate" political use of taxpayer-funded resources in the office of Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz -- and has referred the matter to the state's top prosecutor, Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane, to determine if criminal laws were broken.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal made those findings in an investigative report issued Thursday -- saying also that it was "not proper" for his fellow Democrat, Bysiewicz, to include information on the "religion, race and ethnicity" of thousands of citizens in a controversial, taxpayer-funded "constituent database" assembled and maintained by her office.
Bysiewicz's inclusion in the database of information not essential to the official operation of her office "gives the reasonable perception that the state database was developed as a useful tool for political campaign purposes," Blumenthal said.