LF: REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA: U.S. Subpoenas GOP Records

Title: REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA: U.S. Subpoenas GOP Records
Source: Miami Herald
URL Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/ ... /us-subpoenas-gop-records.html
Published: Dec 2, 2010
Author: BY MARC CAPUTO AND LUCY MORGAN
Post Date: 2010-12-02 13:30:42 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 1422
Comments: 1

BY MARC CAPUTO AND LUCY MORGAN

Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

Federal investigators slapped the Republican Party of Florida with a subpoena seeking financial records as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe by the FBI, IRS and U.S. Attorney's Office, the Herald/Times has learned.

The subpoena, delivered Election Day, sought documents related to big spending by top Republican honchos who were given party-paid American Express cards.

Top RPOF officials and investigators declined to comment on the federal probe or the subpoena.

For more than a year, the party has reeled from scandals tied to the credit cards as well as four unrelated state criminal probes into its former chairman, a fundraiser, a former Florida House speaker and a Capitol insider.

Federal investigators have already interviewed consultants, donors and numerous state senators -- some in their Capitol offices. The investigations are being handled in multiple offices throughout the state, from Pensacola to Miami.

The specific targets of the recent subpoena are unclear.

Republican Party of Florida Chairman John Thrasher said he wasn't sure about the details of the subpoena and said he couldn't give an opinion about them.

``We are not going to comment on subpoenas,'' party spokesman Dan Conston said in a written statement.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Pam Marsh of Tallahassee also would not talk about the subpoenas except to say that the office would not direct anyone to serve subpoenas on a particular day, including Election Day.

``We understand when we conduct an overt investigation we have to be sure and minimize the effect on an election,'' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Rhew-Miller.

The subpoena landed at the George H. W. Bush Republican Center in Tallahassee just as the party was brutalizing Democrats at the polls Nov. 2. One of the biggest wins for Republicans: the defeat of Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the party in a failed bid to win the U.S. Senate race. Republican Marco Rubio beat Crist and Democrat Kendrick Meek.

Many Republicans point the finger at Crist and his appointment of Jim Greer as chairman for the party's troubles. While the party was struggling to raise money and pay its bills, Greer charged about $500,000 to the party for meals and trips on his American Express card.

Greer was ousted from his post and was later criminally charged for allegedly funneling $165,000 in party and donor money to dummy corporation he established. He has pleaded not guilty.

AUDIT RELEASED

In September, the Republican Party released what it said was an ``independent audit'' of American Express card spending that found nearly $500,000 in expenses had little or nothing to do with party business.

The audit blamed much of the spending on Greer and, to a lesser extent, Crist. But it absolved other big-spending Republican bosses. They included current House Speaker Dean Cannon, incoming Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Rubio and former House Speaker Ray Sansom, who faces state criminal charges for his handling of the Florida budget. Sansom has pleaded not guilty.

The audit also noted that Greer profited off of an arrangement he struck with the party over an airplane he owned. But the Orlando Sentinel noted that Cannon, of Winter Park, had a similar arrangement with the party, but auditors didn't question him about it.

Greer's lawyer, Cheney Mason, said he believes the FBI investigated his client's aircraft use, but investigators have apparently dropped that area of their inquiry.

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The State of Florida just elected a Republican Governor who repeatedly pled the 5th during his testimony over the fraud investigation of his insurance company.