Another friend of Charlie's has resurfaced at an inopportune time for the governor who would be senator.
On the eve of Charlie Crist's anticipated announcement that he will bolt the GOP to run for U.S. Senate independently, longtime Crist ally Jay Burmer grabbed headlines Wednesday with revelations of his $316,000 deal with the Republican Party of Florida.
Burmer's lucrative, 2 1/2-year payout was made during the tenure of Crist's handpicked RPOF Chairman, Jim Greer.
The party arrangement, which ended in December 2009, paid Burmer's Green Wolf Consulting Group as an outside communications consultant to the party, according to the RPOF's federal campaign finance reports.
The governor's spokesman, Sterling Ivey, declined to comment, saying, "Your questions are best answered either through the campaign or RPOF directly. As they do not pertain to state business, I'll leave others to offer response."
Crist' campaign manager Eric Eikenberg did not respond to Sunshine State News' requests for comment, but news reports said the governor knew of Burmer's work for the party.
Party spokeswoman Katie Gordon Betta was quoted as saying Burmer was hired by Greer to provide communications consulting to the party and Crist. But, she added, "I have never worked with him personally."
Neither Burmer nor Greer was reachable. Greer resigned earlier this year amid allegations of financial misdealing and is said to be the subject of state and federal investigations.
Green Wolf was incorporated at Burmer's South Tampa home two weeks after Crist was sworn in as governor in 2007. The timing -- coincidental or not -- highlighted the two men's relationship, which extended back to their days at Florida State University.
When Crist was elected state education commissioner, he hired Burmer to manage a regional office "to take government to the people." Burmer's salary for that position was $75,000 a year.
Two years later, when Crist became attorney general, he hired Burmer as "director of fraud."
It was not clear what qualifications Burmer brought to those jobs, but he clearly had inside connections. He managed Crist's campaign for education commissioner in 2000 and was a frequent political contributor -- though he filed for bankruptcy in 2004.
A career advertising and marketing manager, Burmer worked at WFLA and WFXL television stations in Tampa. Subsequently, he joined Florida Electronic Scratch Off, a Pinellas County company seeking to use video terminals for Florida Lottery scratch-off tickets.
State business records also show Burmer, 57, involved in several other companies, including the Tarpon Group, Franklin Consulting Group and Alia Group, LLC.
But Burmer's biggest jackpot was the $316,000 he received from Greer's party coffers.
In May 2007, Greer announced that Burmer would lead the party's efforts to organize a televised presidential debate in Orlando.
Even after the event, Burmer continued to draw monthly payments of $9,614, plus travel expenses, for unspecified work.
Like Greer, who named one of his sons "Charlie," Burmer has remained a close friend of Crist's, attending the governor's December 2008 wedding.
Now the notoriety of an amorphous six-figure contract involving two close Crist associates raises more still-to-be-answered questions about the governor's hand in RPOF spending under Greer.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
