Mistrial in Luxenberg, Farina lawsuit over juror tampering

Dec. 4—HARTFORD — A Hartford Superior Court judge on Thursday declared a mistrial in the civil case between state Rep. Geoffrey Luxenberg, D-Manchester, and his former business partner Michael Farina, because one of the parties involved in the case violated a rule that prohibits them from contacting or communicating with a juror, court documents state.

This type of violation could result in sanctions and a finding of contempt of court, a court order filed on Thursday said.

The court order didn't specify which party violated the rule.

Farina said Friday night that he was disappointed with the ruling.

Luxenburg said he couldn't comment on the case due to ongoing civil litigation.

Rules of juror conduct require jurors to promptly report to the court if anyone attempts to contact them regarding their corresponding case. Jurors are similarly prohibited from looking up any information about the lawyers or the parties they represent, either in reference books or on the Internet.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in 2019, Luxenburg claims Farina owes him $150,000 from a political consulting firm called Vinci Group LLC that the two men operated together. The now-defunct firm was based in Manchester.

Leading up to the 2016 election, the Vinci Group was the biggest winner among candidate consulting groups, receiving more than $1.3 million from Democratic candidates. Its services included mailing, fieldwork, and strategizing for candidates.

Luxenberg left the Vinci Group in 2017 to pursue other interests. He served in the Connecticut General Assembly from 2011 to 2015, and was re-elected in 2018 to the House district seat that lies solely within Manchester.

Michael Farina, a former member of the Manchester Board of Directors, now runs another political consulting firm called Blue Edge Strategies LLC, which is based in Manchester.

Austin Mirmina is the Journal Inquirer's business reporter and also covers the town of Windsor.