FL law chief fired by Scott says he was asked to falsely accuse someone in criminal case.

[madfloridian]

From the Tampa Bay Times today. Shocking to hear this about Rick Scott, but not really surprising at all.

Ousted FDLE chief raises new allegations about meddling by Gov. Rick Scott, aides


TALLAHASSEE — Ousted Florida Department of Law Enforcement commissioner Gerald Bailey claims he resisted repeated efforts by Gov. Rick Scott and his top advisers to falsely name someone a target in a criminal case, hire political allies for state jobs and intercede in an outside investigation of a prospective Scott appointee.

In a new series of allegations, Bailey says former Scott chief of staff Adam Hollingsworth pressured him to claim that the acting clerk of court in Orange County, Colleen Reilly, was the target of an FDLE criminal inquiry after two prison inmates used forged papers from the clerk's office to plot an escape from the Franklin Correctional Institution. The 2013 case embarrassed the prison system under Scott's control.

But there was one problem, Bailey said. It wasn't true, and he told Hollingsworth that.

"The most shocking thing was being ordered to target another individual without any justification," Bailey said. "I don't know why this woman was in the cross hairs."

After a tense meeting in Hollingsworth's office, Bailey said, Scott press aide Frank Collins drove to Bailey's office at FDLE headquarters and asked Bailey if he was defying a direct order from the governor's office. When Bailey again refused, Collins "turned on his heel and left," Bailey said.

Of course Scott's office denied it.

The whole article is well worth reading. Bailey apparently "felt he was losing his grip on his job by refusing to bow to the demands of Scott's aides."

[Drale]

1. Is this really that shocking?

I mean it should be shocking as hell in fact it should be the worst scandal to come out of Florida ever but we kind of expect this kind of behavior from Republicans at this point.

[madfloridian]

2. It is shocking. Scott is so secretive. When people start speaking out....

is when we may realize the full extent of the harm he has done to Florida.

[onethatcares]

29. he's already hung the lower level

staffers out to dry. According to a TampaBayTimes article, they are responsible for retrieving any emails or correspondence involving state business on their private accounts, they are also responsible for any penalties. The gov says he's always been in compliance. I am sorry but I don't have the link, I believe it was in todays' issue.

Florida hasn't had a crook like this in office for a long, long time.

[Luminous Animal]

17. Not all information needs to be SHOCKING to be useful information.

[mcar]

3. Not surprising at all madFL

I don't think we've heard the last from Bailey, though.

[annabanana]

4. k&r . . .n/t

[RockaFowler]

5. There were a lot of shenanigans with our election

I swear I wouldn't put anything past them to steal this past election. The night looked good for Charlie Crist even before South Florida's numbers came in. All of the people voting for Scott were mainly in the panhandle. So how did he pull it off?? Shenanigans!!

[madfloridian]

18. A lot of us wondered the very same thing.

[blkmusclmachine]

23. Trust the Corporations. Their secret, black box vote "counters" wouldn't LIE to you...

[Ramses]

13. Its systemic to America's corrupted just-us system

Rick Scott is an asshole and slimeball, but sadly, those exactly like him infect our courts nationwide. From local all the way up to the joke of a Supreme Court.

[d_r]

27. and Don Siegleman

Is still in jail while this is the gop common practice.

[DeSwiss]

7. He should have arrested him right there in his office.

- And then frog-marched his ass all the way to the jail.

K&R

[kag]

8. I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you!

You mean Rick Scott is corrupt!!!????

Well, Of course Eric Holder is going to march right down there and indict him...right? Right?

[Jack Rabbit]

11. No, but he'll send him a strongly-worded letter

That'll fix him, just like it fixed Legs Dimon and Pretty Boy Lloyd.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. Scott should be removed for this.

Typical crooked tactic to use the police chief and code enforcement board for political reasons. Those that stand up to the political crooks should be commended and rewarded.

[madfloridian]

10. And then deny,deny, deny.

It is a crooked tactic done by crooks in office.

I hope people read the whole article. There's another whole OP in that article just waiting to be posted by someone.

[Baitball Blogger]

12. There was so much there I just grabbed the first curiousity.

Last week, the Times/Herald reported on Bailey complaints including requests that the FDLE transport campaign workers in state vehicles even though the FDLE said its legal duty is to transport only Scott and his family. Also, Bailey said Scott's campaign asked him to help write its law enforcement platform, which the governor's office now admits was a mistake because Bailey led an independent state agency.

The start of Scott's second term has been thrown into disarray by the Bailey fiasco, as the former FDLE chief publicly called Scott a liar last week for claiming he resigned.

According to Bailey, Scott personally asked him if he could "bring in for a landing" an out-of-state investigation of a Miami businessman Scott wanted to appoint to a powerful state board. Bailey declined to identify the businessman.

The Times/Herald has confirmed that the FDLE conducted two criminal background checks in 2012 and 2013 on Bernard Klepach, 53, the owner of duty-free shops and the mayor of Indian Creek Village, an affluent enclave in Miami-Dade County. He was under consideration for a vacancy on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Klepach donated the maximum $25,000 to Scott's first inauguration celebration in 2011.

[madfloridian]

28. "FDLE chief publicly called Scott a liar last week for claiming he resigned."

I hope he continues to speak out.

[JonLP24]

14. This kind of thing is common except

going as far to falsely accuse of criminal behavior is stretching it. They're usually asked to ignore things or go quietly in favor of a high paying political favor down the road.

[Ramses]

15. Oh, and good piece

I commented in it but forgot to recommend it. Recommend

[Thinkingabout]

16. Wonder if Scott is going to shut down a bridge?

[madfloridian]

19. He's so secretive we'd never know unless it was a busy bridge.

[onethatcares]

30. oh gaud,

not the Skyway banghead: :

[sabrina 1]

20. I believe it. It reminds me of the US Attorneys who were told to investigate Democrats.

A huge scandal, for a while. Then it all went away with, once again, no one being held accountable.

[madfloridian]

21. "Then it all went away with, once again, no one being held accountable."

And you just hit the nail on the head. Just goes away with no one accountable.

[LiberalLovinLug]

32. Yup, just wait it out

I fully expect nothing to come of the Bridgegate scandal with Chris Christie as well. Drag it out...drag it out....until there are so many other scandals, whether simply MSM invented ones or real ones, since that happened, that it will just be drowned out. One day a small story on page three about how any wrong-doing by Christie is unproven and so the case is thrown out. And no one will notice. Well except for a few here on DU.

[sabrina 1]

34. We are easily distracted. We are not organized, the people I mean.

We react instead of pro-act. That scandal should never have been allowed to just 'go away'. It was extremely important to see how criminal our system is. That anyone would be allowed to threaten our elected officials to prevent them from exposing corruption, is simply stunning.

IF we had a functioning media, it would never have gone away.

But we don't, thanks to, sadly, one of our own, who authorized the destruction of the protections against the take over of the media, we no longer have anything to keep these stories alive, other than ordinary people.

[madfloridian]

35. And that would be the telecom bill of 1996...

signed by Bill Clinton after he once threatened to veto it

http://news.cnet.com/Clinton-signs-telecom-bill/2100-1023_3-204069.html

[sabrina 1]

36. Yes, he has since stated that he regrets that. He also has stated he regrets his Welfare Reform

which, airc, he promised 'would be fixed'.

True leaders think before they act so they do not have to regret so much.

[blkmusclmachine]

22. Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism

http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm

[onethatcares]

31. thanks for posting that

n/t

[Enthusiast]

24. Wow! Kicked and recommended!

[CanonRay]

25. This is what comes of trying to run a state like a corporation

Cheat, lie, steal? It's all ok in private industry and Republicans cannot seem so see the difference.

[Stephen Retired]

26. Not surprised at all

Scott reminds me of Nosferatu.

[FloriTexan]

33. K&R