From the New York Times:

Former Connecticut Governor Leaves Prison


Save Article By WILLIAM YARDLEY

Published: February 10, 2006

LORETTO, Pa., Feb. 10 — John Rowland, the former Connecticut governor, was released from prison early today, two days before his scheduled release on federal corruption charges.

Ruth Bracken, a spokeswoman for the Loretto Federal Correctional Institution, said that Mr. Rowland was released at 5:20 a.m., with little fanfare.

"It was not anything like it was the first go-round," Ms. Bracken said, referring to the crowd of cameras and reporters that had surrounded Mr. Rowland when he arrived at the prison to begin serving his one year term in April. "That's it, 5:20, he left."

Mr. Rowland, a three-term governor who was once one of the rising stars in the Republican party, pleaded guilty in Dec. 2004 to a federal charge of corruption in office, admitting to accepting $107,000 in gratuities and failing to pay taxes on them.

Mr. Rowland, now 48, had resigned from office in July of 2004 in the face of a widening federal investigation and an impeachment inquiry.

Ms. Bracken would not say who had picked up the former governor. Friends of Mr. Rowland's had said on Thursday that they expected him to be picked up by his wife, Patricia.

Ms. Bracken said that because Mr. Rowland's official release date, the 12th, fell on a weekend, the early departure fell within the warden's discretion. While she would not disclose the reason for the decision, she said that four to eight inches of snow is predicted for the area on Saturday.

The Loretto prison, in western Pennsylvania, is a minimum security facility without fences. Mr. Rowland was one of 140 inmates.

William Yardley reported from Loretto, Pa., for this article and John O'Neil contributed reporting from New York.