Governor Charlie Crist wrote today to U.S. Attorney General, Thomas Kirwin requesting his office to investigate alleged criminal conduct related to former officials of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF). Crist’s letter came in the wake of a growing scandal within his own party, at the center of which is the former party chairman, Jim Greer.
After an internal audit revealed that Greer channeled party contributions to a consulting company he co-owned with former RPOF executive director, Delmar Johnson, Florida’s Attorney General, Bill McCollum referred the matter to Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on March 15th, asking that a criminal investigation be launched.
However, last week, Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer, and subsequently McCollum agreed that it was inappropriate for FDLE to lead the investigation, as the department reports to the Republican-controlled cabinet.
Crist agreed and in his letter to Kirwin stated, while FDLE would conduct a complete and thorough investigation, there could be IRS implications.
“..the alleged misconduct appears to raise a number of federal law issues, including but not limited to potential credit card abuses and financial irregularities that may have IRS implications,” Crist said in his letter. “Consequently, I request that you conduct a full, independent investigation into these alleged criminal activities.”
Greer, who was hand-picked by Crist to lead the matter in 2006 was forced to step down as chairman in January earlier this year, amidst numerous complaints related to poor financial stewardship of party funds.
The leadership of the party has said that they were unaware of Greer’s consulting company, Victory Strategies, to which monies from major fund raising activities were directed. According to reports, Greer has said that the leadership was aware of Victory Strategies.
Greer did authorize a contract which allowed Johnson to take a 10 percent fee on all major fund raising activities. The audit found that some $200,000 had gone to Victory Strategies in 2009.
Last Thursday, Greer filed a lawsuit against his party claiming that a commitment to pay him $124,000 under a severance package had not been honored.
