Well, at least we now have a window into why in-coming Senate President Mike Haridopolos hired that Blago P.R. firm…
From the St. Pete Times:
With almost no discussion, the Florida Commission on Ethics accepted a de factoguilty/no contest plea from Senate President Mike Haridopolos over his failure to properly fill out his financial disclosure forms over a period of five years. Download Stipulation
But due to constitutional rules, the commission can’t set a fine or penalty, so the Senate’s Rules Committee, chaired by Haridopolos friend and appointee, Sen. John Thrasher, must decide a penalty. Thrasher said he’ll ask veteran legislative staffer/Florida historian/Rules staff director John Phelps to research the matter and make a recommendation to the full committee.
Haridopolos’ lawyer, Pete Dunbar, says Haridopolos shouldn’t pay any more money. “The embarrassment is enough.” Dunbar noted these were “clerical errors” by Haridopolos, who failed to list addresses and, on a few occasions, failed to disclose income to his consulting business, MJH Consulting.
Just before Haridopolos’ case, the commission slapped a $3,000 fine on South Palm Beach Mayor Marty Millar for allegedly misusing his official position during a strip club altercation at Rachel’s “to intimidate or impress a club manager and police officers to secure special privilege and benefit . . . for himself.” Dunbar said Haridopolos’ case is completely different because the senate president didn’t misuse his office. He just failed to fill out forms properly.
Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff had this to say:
“Everyone knows Mike Haridopolos has a problem with following the rules and arrogantly thinks he is above the law, but to kick off a U.S. Senate campaign while also pleading guilty to breaking the law is a new low even for Senate President Haridopolos.
“Over the past decade, Haridopolos’ career has been marred by his numerous ethical lapses, defined by his sweetheart deals that he personally profits from.
“To show Floridians he isn’t continuing to hide his income, Haridopolos today needs to immediately release his tax returns from the last four years in question to allow for public scrutiny and apologize to the people of Florida.”
So who gets to decide Hari’s fate? Why John Thrasher, who chairs the rules committee, and who also happens to be the head of Republican Party of Florida. Nice. And of course, Thrasher’s also got other issues, dodging federal subpoenas of the party’s financial records and all…
No comments:
Post a Comment