Sleeping in the back row of Judge Gold's court: Big Sugar ... by gimleteye

The billionaire Fanjul's attorney Joe Klock, who works for the law firm of Ramon Rasco-- chairman of Florida's biggest recipient of federal bailout money, US Century Bank-- snoozed through yesterday's hearing in federal court from the back row. It was a performance. Why? Because Fanjul lands are in play (a bare minimum is the gamesmanship with the sugar billionaires holding the high cards) in the deal to fulfill Judge Gold's 2008 ruling; requiring enforceable remedies to fix Big Sugar's pollution of the Everglades.

The business model linking the Fanjuls, the Everglades and US Century and the economic crisis: socializing risk and privatizing profit.

From another perspective, the $15 billion public investment to save the Everglades is a work-around to accommodate Big Sugar. Klock's snoozing through the hearing meant; it doesn't matter what you guys (EPA, State) say, it is what we decide that either brings this matter of the Everglades to a close or not.

On a related note, it was the Fanjul investment through a massive assault by its lobbyists in the 2003 session of the Florida legislature that resulted in changes to the law-- including mixing zones to determine average pollution levels-- now deemed to be illegal. Jeb Bush and his lieutenants were its architects. Judge Gold's 2010 strongly worded ruling would have lead reasonable people to require its repeal, nicknamed: The Everglades Whenever Act.

But the GOP-led legislature sleeps like undisturbed babies. The FDEP website still includes the following: "The passage of Senate Bill 54A clarified amendments made to the Everglades Forever Act during the Regular Session." That is a lie. Maybe the reason is Jeb! has a constituency that wants him to run as president. Jeb! made his way to the governor's mansion in 1998 largely through the help of Miami production homebuilders, including the biggest arrayed around the US Century Bank constituency. Who can forget that it was his successor, Charlie Crist, who incurred the enmity of the Fanjuls for daring to acquire the lands of their competitor, US Sugar, without consulting them. Or, that the Fanjuls emerged as very big contributors to the Marco Rubio campaign for US Senate.

Reminding the public that Jeb! triggered so much delay and destruction in the Everglades would not help his presidential chances. The Fanjul billionaires don't seem worried, if their attorney's snoozing is any indication.