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Politics

Former RPOF Chair Jim Greer Under Criminal Investigation

March 30, 2010 - 6:00pm

Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer, whom Gov. Charlie Crist hand picked to lead the party, is the subject of a criminal investigation for authorizing a sweetheart deal between the party and a company in which he owned a majority interest.

On Tuesday, current RPOF Chairman Sen. John Thrasher, of Jacksonville, released an independent audit of the RPOF that he had ordered after taking over the state party.

The audit by Thomson, Brock, Luger & Company, an accounting firm based in Tallahassee, revealed the RPOF paid $199,255 to Victory Strategies, LLC for consulting services. The audit uncovered that 60 percent of the shares of Victory Strategies are owned by Greer, and the remainder was owned by Delmar Johnson, who served as RPOF executive director during Greers tenure.

Thrasher said in a release, On March 15, 2010, I was notified by the Republican Party of Floridas general counsel and outside legal counsel that during the course of the ongoing internal audit it was discovered that the Republican Party of Florida may have been the victim of illegal criminal activity on the part of one of its vendors, controlled by a senior-level official."

Thrasher said he then notified the office of Attorney General Bill McCollum about what he had uncovered.

Potential illegal activity on the part of this vendor and the former RPOF official involved is now the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation," said Thrasher. "Due to the nature of the criminal investigation, the Republican Party of Florida will not be able to comment further until the conclusion of the investigation."

McCollum confirmed this in a statement. This information indicates there may have been criminal activity surrounding a former senior official of the Republican Party of Florida and a company called Victory Strategies, LLC. Upon learning this very serious and concerning information, I immediately referred the matter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Despite growing criticism by Republican donors and party leaders over alleged financial mismanagement, Crist maintained his support of Greer throughout the controversy leading to Greers ouster in February.

"The governor has told me I'm not to consider resigning, Greer told The St. Pete Times in December.

Even after the chairman succumbed to pressure from GOP leaders and resigned, Crist released a statement renewing support of his ally:

I would like to commend my friend Chairman Jim Greer for his selfless dedication to the Republican Party of Florida over the last three years. Under Chairman Greers leadership, we maintained a strong majority in Floridas Congressional Delegation and overwhelming majorities in the State House and Senate.

Jim has long been a loyal servant to the Republican cause... Chairman Greer has and always will have my unwavering support.

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