THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Supreme Court Backs Crist’s Corruption Grand Jury
Dec 2, 2009
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA published this article on December 2, 2009
By JOHN KENNEDY
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Dec. 2, 2009….The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday approved Gov. Charlie Crist’s request for a statewide grand jury aimed at rooting out public corruption following a string of high-profile arrests.
Two days after dismissing the governor’s first petition – saying it failed to “meet the minimal allegations,” justices approved Crist’s revised paperwork that better detailed his reasons for seeking the investigation.
Broward County Circuit Judge Victor Tobin was named by the court to preside over the grand jury, whose work is expected to last a year. Broward County has emerged as ground zero in the scandals that seemed to prompt Crist’s call – first made in October.
The governor’s request was made within weeks of several Broward County officials being charged with money-laundering and public corruption, and the indictment of politically connected opthalmalogist, Alan Mendelsohn, in a fund-raising and lobbying scheme.
Since then, Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein’s law firm collapsed amid charges that he was running a Ponzi scheme maintained by investments in phony legal settlements. Rothstein has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to Florida politicians and political parties, including Crist and Republican U.S. Senate rival Marco Rubio.
Florida’s major political parties and candidates have been scrambling to return contributions and distance themselves from the disgraced lawyer since Rothstein’s scam was revealed last month.
Rothstein was arrested Tuesday and faces federal racketeering charges.
In making his case to justices, Crist said he has been forced to remove 33 public officials from office in less than three years as governor because of varying instances of wrongdoing.
Crist said that the statewide grand jury probe is needed because the offenses sometimes span multiple court circuits. Other times, the crimes may be confined to one circuit, but the underlying reasons for corruption are the same statewide.