In 2004 , Blumenthal sued Computer Plus Center of East Hartford and its owner , Gina Kolb , on behalf of the state . It was alleged that CPC overcharged $ 50 per computer , $ 500,000 in total , on a three-year , $ 17.2 million contract to supply computers to the state . Blumenthal sued for $ 1.75 million . Kolb was arrested in 2004 and charged with first degree larceny . Kolb later countersued , claiming the state had grossly abused its power . Kolb was initially awarded $ 18.3 million in damages ; however , the Attorney General appealed the decision and the damages initially awarded were slashed by 90 percent to $ 1.83 million . In ruling , Superior Court judge Barry Stevens described the jury 's initial award of $ 18.3 million as a " shocking injustice " and said it was " influenced by partiality or mistake . " Attorney General Blumenthal played a pivotal role in one of the biggest college athletics stories of the decade ; expansion of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the departures of Boston College , Miami , and Virginia Tech from the Big East . He led efforts by the Big East football schools ( Virginia Tech , Rutgers , Pittsburgh , and West Virginia ) in legal proceedings against the Atlantic Coast Conference , the University of Miami and Boston College , accusing them of improper disclosure of confidential information and of conspiring to dismantle the Big East . According to Blumenthal , the case was pursued because " the future of the Big East Conference was at risk — the stakes huge for both state taxpayers and the university 's good name . " The suits cost the schools involved $ 2.2 million in the first four months of litigation . The lawsuit against the ACC was initially dismissed on jurisdictional grounds but was subsequently refiled . A declaratory judgment by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts exonerated Boston College in the matter . Virginia Tech accepted an invitation from the ACC and withdrew from the suit to remove themselves from the awkward position of suing their new conference . An out-of-court settlement in the amount of $ 5 million was eventually reached , which included a $ 1 million exit fee that Boston College was required to pay the Big East under the league 's constitution
Big East
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Richard Blumenthal