Citizens Chairman: ‘We Will Win Back Credibility in the Eyes of the Public’

As Gov. Rick Scott has called for an investigation into how internal issues have been handled, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board chairman, Carlos Lacasa, vowed Tuesday the bloated state-backed insurance provider will regain its "credibility."

We will win back credibility in the eyes of the public, Lacasa said as the board opened a workshop on Tuesday in the Capitol.

Lacasa was responding to an editorial by the Palm Beach Post on Tuesday that declared board members of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. can accomplish a lot at todays meeting by acknowledging that the state-run insurer has become a corruption-ridden scam artist that threatens Floridas economic recovery.

The workshop is getting a report from Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway on why the corporate integrity team was dismantled this past summer, as well as a report released Nov. 16 that claimed that the integrity team was investigating how leadership at Citizens handled a number of internal issues, including allegations of sexual harassment, indecent drunken behavior in public, questionable payments and falsified documents.

Gov. Rick Scott has directed Chief Inspector General Melinda Miguel to study the termination of the four members of the watchdog team.