Metropolitan District Commission of Connecticut

In 2015 the MDC faced criticism over a deal with Niagara Bottling that provided the first bulk discount since the District began operating. They kept the deal secret until after it had been completed and did not offer a chancellor public comment. The Bloomfield Town Council faced criticism for not consulting or notifying the public of the bottling plant, and a significant tax abatement, until after the deal was made. There have been calls for increased transparency.[18]

In 2016 the MBD Board voted to discontinue the Niagara discount, the change was part of an effort to restore public trust after the scandal over secrecy and lack of public oversight.[19]

In 2008 MDC Chairman William A. DiBella was ordered to pay $795,000 in restitution for his key role in a fraudulent investment scheme involving former State Treasurer Paul J. Silvester and Thayer Capital Partners. DiBella and his associates were paid kickbacks from Thayer in return for placing money from the Connecticut State Retirement and Trust Fund into their funds.[20] The scheme unbalanced the State Retirement and Trust Fund portfolio, potentially putting a huge number of State Retirement accounts at risk.[21]

DiBella was MDC Chairman at the time and there have been widespread calls for him to step down, mainly citing his SEC case, the ethics of public office, and the inherent moral corruption of his acts leading to questions about his character.[22] The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations has added DiBella to their “Hall of Shame” of politicians who grossly betray the public's trust in addition to calling for him to be stripped of his MDC position.[23] Fellow MDC Commissioner Mark Pappa stated that “If this was a publicly traded company this conversation wouldn’t even happen because there’s no question Mr. DiBella would not be sitting here.”[24]

In 2002 the MDC paid $1.5m to settle claims of discrimination against female and minority employees. MDC Chairman William A. DiBella claimed that the settlement was a result of ``The district wanted to get this behind them.’’[25] A jury in 2000 had awarded the plaintiff, Sharon Harper, $4.6m after finding that MDC officials had defamed her. The Officials spread rumors about Harper that were of a sexual nature and the jury found them to be on their face defamatory, this was seen as highly offensive to Harper because she was a Churchgoer with a conservative southern background. This was the third time in eight years that the MDC was found to be at fault for discriminating against minority employees.[26] Despite the communities it serves being highly diverse the Hartford Courant in 2002 classified the senior management of the MDC as "overwhelmingly white.”[27]

In 2016 the MDC paid $350,000 to settle the case Lebert Thomas v. The Metropolitan District et al. It was alleged that the MDC discriminated against Mr. Thomas on the basis of his race. A confidentiality clause was included with the settlement.[28]