Grand jury investigating anti-poverty agency

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A lawyer for a Hartford-based anti-poverty agency says a federal grand jury is looking into potential criminal activity at the organization, which receives tens of millions of dollars a year from federal and state agencies.

The attorney, Dove A. E. Burns, said in a court document filed last month in an unrelated case that the Community Renewal Team is "under suspicion of criminal fraud and conspiracy" and a "grand jury sitting in Hartford is currently investigating the matter." The Hartford Courant first reported about the grand jury in Sunday's editions.

Burns said the investigation involves whether there was mismanagement in a state-funded program that helped low-income people make repairs to their homes and septic systems.

Federal agents seized thousands of paper and electronic files from the agency in April.

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Information from: The Hartford Courant, http://www.courant.com