Charges against Rowland this time around involved Lisa Wilson-Foley's failed congressional campaign in 2012. As Rowland couldn't openly work for the campaign, he received secret payments through a nursing home company. Prosecutors alleged that while Rowland made it appear he was volunteering for Lisa, in fact, he was taking money by purporting to do work for Foley's company Apple Health Care Inc.
The sole witness produced by the defense was an executive who had worked for the nursing home company owned by Brian Foley, Lisa Wilson-Foley's husband. The witness Brian Bedard testified that Rowland did actual work for the nursing home and did not receive sham payments.
The Foleys pleaded guilty to conspiracy of making illegal contributions in March. Following the plea bargaining, Brian Foley became a witness for the government and testified that he had paid Rowland for the work he did for Lisa's campaign through the nursing home company.
The defense pointed out that Brian Foley was only trying to save his own skin; otherwise he could have faced significant prison time for funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars illegally into his wife's campaign.
