Sansom dealings headed to Grand Jury

North Florida State Attorney Willie Meggs says he will turn over complaints he has received about House Speaker Ray Sansom to a Leon County Grand Jury later this month.

Meggs said he has not investigated the circumstances surrounding the $110,000-a-year job Sansom accepted at Northwest Florida State College after funneling millions of dollars in state construction money to the college.

"I have received complaints from people who think it needs to be looked into," Meggs said.

The news was first reported by the the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau.

But the newspaper has learned they are David Plyer a Democrat from Clearwater, who last month filed an ethics complaint against Sansom and Ray Bellamy, a Republican from Tallahassee who has taken out newspaper ads condemning Sansom and calling for an investigation.

“Please investigate allegations that Ray Sansom, employed as the District 4 representative to the Florida State Legislature, used in excess of $30 million dollars of the public’s money for personal gain. Sansom funneled this money to Northwest Florida State College in the past several years. In return, that college hired Sansom at an annual salary of $110,000,” Plyer asserted in an e-mail to Meggs on Tuesday.

The Times/Herald has contacted Sansom for comment. He announced Monday he was quitting the job effective Jan. 31 and has denied wrongdoing.

Bellamy spoke to Meggs by phone on Monday and focused mainly on questions surrounding $6-million in state money Sansom secured in 2007 for a college building at Destin Airport.

The building resembles an aircraft hangar that Sansom’s friend and panhandle developer Jay Odom sought state funding for and planned to park his jets in unless there was a major storm, at which time local emergency officials would use the building.

Northwest Florida State College says it will use the building, to be built next to Odom’s private airport operation, for emergency training and also allow officials to use it during hurricanes.

“The airport hangar just seems criminally corrupt,” Bellamy said in an interview Wednesday.

The college and Odom deny private jets will use the hangar, though Odom’s airport manager recently told the Times/Herald that had been the plan.

Also Wednesday, a second ethics complaint was filed against Sansom by a Tampa-area woman.

Susan Smith,a Democratic activist from Odessa, cited a House rule stating that lawmakers “shall respect and comply with the law and shall perform at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and independence of the
House and of the Legislature.”

The Florida Commission on Ethics, which can recommend fines or removal from office, next meets Jan. 23.

Once the Grand Jury is empaneled on Jan. 26, Meggs will give the complaints to jurors, leave the room and let them decide whether it should be investigated.

“I know people say I can indict a ham sandwich if I want to," Meggs said Wednesday. “But I use a grand jury as a citizens committee. I try to tell them, here are the facts, the law, your responsibility and ask them what they think.’’

If jurors vote to investigate, “we’ll develop a plan,’’ he added.

The last time Meggs asked a grand jury to look into legislative deal making, 24 lawmakers were charged with taking illegal gifts and trips from lobbyists. Those charged included the house speaker and appropriations chairs in the House and Senate.

In 1991 a Leon Grand Jury sharply criticized lawmakers for taking exotic trips and gifts from lobbyists and recommended they all be charged with crimes. Jurors also urged legislators to adopt simple laws forbidding the acceptance of gifts valued at more than $50.

It took another 14 years and a few additional scandals for legislators to get serious about banning gifts from lobbyists, but in 2005 all gifts were banned.

Meggs, a conservative 65-year-old Democrat in office since 1985, said he has frequently asked grand juries as a citizens committee to decide what the state should do and routinely puts every police shooting in his jurisdiction before a jury.

“Sometimes they are very complimentary of the officers and say how brave they are and sometimes they say they weren’t justified in the use of force,’’ Meggs added.

In the early 1990’s after Meggs prosecuted so many prominent lawmakers, Meggs discovered that his hometown public defender’s budget was higher than his own. No other public defender in Florida received more money.

Asked Wednesday if he feared additional impact on his already dwindling budget this year, Meggs said he could never make a direct connection to the budget cuts in the 1990’s, but the fight did lead to a better funding formula still in use today.

Lucy Morgan and Alex Leary

Comments

Now we're talkin! Way to go concerned citizens of both parties, and of course the investigative team of the SPT!

Only took Meggs a week after his month long furlough and check for a cool half million to get to this decision

Now the house of cards is going to come crumbling down.

Sansom is going to be indicted. He may not be found guilty, but he will be indicted.

Rest assured, the US Attorney is also looking into this matter, is he has much more broad leeway in how he can prosecute crimes dealing with public corruption. Just ask Tony Masilotti and Warren Newell in Palm Beach County.

If you don't know who they are, google it.

Toast

There is no way a grand jury isn't going to want further investigation of these allegations. A cloud now hangs over the House, Ray should resign.

Sansom may want to ask those legislators who took free hunting trips in the 1990's what a Willie Meggs investigation leads to.

[Derek Cosson]

The wagons circle.

What a waste of taxpayer money on this witch hunt!!!! There are REAL crimes to spend Grand Jury time on--not this politically motivated media circus event.

Ray - you had to see that this was possible.

[Marc]

Let the crook lead Florida! Why not right. Wasting Millions of our tax payers Dollars with huge kick-backs to himself. But who cares! He is a politician and HE DESERVES to get rich, whilest us peasants eat dirt....wait didn't he say in the press conference: 'Let Floridians eat Key Lime Pie'?

Ray is going down the river... it is about time that someone force that crook to answer for his crimes.

[Michael Paris]

If you want to get Ray Sansome, do not let silly willie do the job. Get the FBI and U.S. Attorney to deal with this. Meggs is to busy doulble dipping.

The feds are coming also, Ray has been exposed by the Times and now everyone who has the capacity to conduct a criminal investigation is on the way... bye bye Ray!!!

[Chris Cantwell]

An educated public is an essential ingredient of a free society. Ambitious governments would have far greater difficulty implementing schemes that undermine liberty and prosperity were they faced with an informed and vigilant population. Our government and monetary system do not work for we the people, we the people work for it, as slaves. You'd think by now, with all the information, with all the abundant resources, and all the previous history, that we as a people would be able to be free in the sense of, absence of debt. We pay for food & water. we pay for light. we pay and labor our entire lives realistically to support an quasi-empirical empire who's only objective, being monetarily based, is PROFIT. Our society is being held back by the amount a time required to sustain any kind of decent quality of life. and for what? to be SAFE? to be Happy? No, to continue to fund a corrupt government that serves corporate interests, not the peoples, it serves profit interests. Wake Up!!!

Soft-spoken snake--he's had this coming for a long time.

Have a nice trip Ray.

[P.C.]

Forget it.

He like many other crooked officials have too many important friends to cover their butts.

The only good thing is that he may decide to resign.

Does anyone else wonder why Charlie has been so quiet about this matter?

It's about time Barry Goldwater walks over to the White House and tells Nixon that it's over.

Oh, but those were different times with real Republican leadership.

Nah Nah Nah Nah, Nah Nah Nah Nah ...Ray Ray Raaaay good buy.

Nah Nah Nah Nah, Nah Nah Nah Nah ...Ray Ray Raaaay good buy.

Sansom - Show some integrity - RESIGN NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

The most disturbing thing is that Sansom still believes that he has done nothing wrong. He only resigned the college job because it was a distraction and people misunderstood his intentions. He didnt apologize or admit any wrong doing. Keep digging Alex, there is more.

When the staff start singing they will also rat on Fausto Gomez and his involvement with Marco Rubio and his phony job at FIU. 2 Speakers, 2 jobs at colleges. Hmmmmmm........

Rivera must be wandering if Ester will keep her mouth shut or cop a plea and sell him out.

Ray Sansom is a criminal who stole state funds to fatten his wallet. Sansom is a disgrace and must either resign or be removed.