Friday, August 29, 2014

The Florida-For-Sale Governor, Rick Scott and Watson Island … by gimleteye

Gov. Scott's image as "The Florida-For-Sale Governor" raises a question: has crony capitalism ever been so engrained in Tallahassee as it is today? Thanks to the Tampa Bay Times, we have just had news of Scott's complicity in the King Ranch / US Sugar entertainment of top GOP officials in Texas and, this week, of secret emails hidden by the Governor and staff revealing US Sugar again kicking in six figures to another of the Governor's private schemes.

Ace Miami reporter Francisco Alvarado digs up another doozie with
"Miami developer hires governor's pal; Scott, Cabinet green light Watson Island project". The news report was published by the Broward Bulldog yesterday.

In a nutshell: a business crony of Scott's -- Billy Rubin -- is at the heart of a reversal by the state that skipped over a deed restriction on the property. By removing the obstacle last May, in a decision that wasn't even recorded by the Miami press, the developer won a plan to eliminate the prohibition against private development that had been deeded long ago to the city as public property.

Here's a kernel: "In the early 2000s, Rubin and Scott – along with then Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne – served together on the board of Cyberguard, a Deerfield Beach computer security firm in which both men had invested. Securities and Exchange Commission records show that Scott ultimately made more than $60 million from his Cyberguard investment.

The day Scott was elected, Rubin told the Tampa Bay Times that he’d met Scott in 1991 when the governor was building his Columbia/HCA hospital company. “We’ve stayed close ever since. I love him,” Rubin said at the time.

Rubin added that he would not benefit from Scott being in the Governor’s office. “I won’t be. I’ll quickly dispel that perception.”

In fact, Rubin is currently registered to represent 62 clients before the governor and executive branch agencies – including Flagstone and heavyweights like Florida Power & Light, Florida East Coast Railway and HCA Healthcare."

November is coming, and voters will have a chance to express whether they approve or not the crony capitalism that is now the engine of state government.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. There is even more corruption surrounding Island Gardens / Flagstone scam than we thought. And Gov. Scott? His last day as governor can't come soon enough.

Anonymous said...

Why vote between 2 known liars? Florida, we are fortunate enough not to be stuck picking one liar or the other this time. We actually have an alternative. Take advantage of the opportunity. Adrian Wyllie deserves my vote. He is a honest average Floridian just as you and I , that is willing to stand up and do something for the interest of all of us here in Florida. The other candidates both Republican and Democrat are owned and controlled by special interest, like puppets and will lie to your face to gain your vote, then continue the same old agenda that we complain about year after year. Time to get off this merry-go-round, election after election, thinking it will be any different. Take a stand, vote for the candidate that loves this state and is willing to take time out of his life, effort and money to SERVE the people of Florida and stop voting for these ‘paid for’ career politicians that are only out for money and fame and have zero interest in us Floridians. Even if it’s just for honesty alone, vote for Adrian Wyllie instead of the other two (Scott/Crist) which are proven liars. The choice is yours and yours alone, if you want the same old corruption and slap in the face, go ahead and vote for one of the two puppets (Scott/Crist) OR do what is right for our (yours and your children’s) future and vote for Adrian Wyllie. Support him by donating to his campaign, spreading the word and contribute to the super brochure program which I think is very powerful. Visit his website today

Anonymous said...

Two horrible choices. If Crist gets elected he will immediately start campaigning to be Senator. Scott is worse.

Anonymous said...

Miami Herald runs the Frank Alvarado piece. Island Gardens scam stays alive because Brian May hired another sleazy lobbyist, this time a dude named Rubin who is "close friends" with Rick Scott. Surprise, surprise...