House special investigator Stephen Kahn:

“The speaker (Larry Cretul) hired me and gave me very simple instructions. He said .. as best as I can remember, ‘Mr. Kahn, I want you to conduct fair, independent and through probable cause investigation. I want a written report with your determination whether probable cause exists to conclude if Representative Sansom violated that rules.’ At that point he shook my hand, stood up and walked out.”

“If nothing else were a factor, the timing of the action of the board of trustees in confirming the hiring of Representative Sansom on the same day that he ascended to the speaker’s chair created an appearance of quid pro quo upon which I found it was reasonable that Miss Smith could base her complaint of diminished respect for the House of Representatives.”

“The precise factual issue that likely will be presented to you … is exactly when Representative Sansom first knew he was creating a $6 million facility that was intended at that time to be used at least some of the time as a hangar Mr. Odom, a constituent with whom Representative Sansom enjoyed long-standing, close, complicated, intertwined relationships.”

Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs:

“I just don’t want this complainant not to see some resolution to the complaint she filed back in January. I would prefer to see an independent counsel appointed sooner so they can get to work right away.”

(from gaggles after the hearing)

Rep. Rich Glorioso, R-Plant City:

“There’s a lot of questions I’d like to ask Ray and I know he’s not going to answer them before the court case and I don’t blame him.”

Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach:

“We don’t want to interfere with it (the criminal trial) but we are independent. We have certain rules and responsibilities that we have to live up to as members.”

Chairman Bill Galvano, R-Sarasota:

“There are certain instances where rank has its privileges. …When we look at the provisions of (House ethics rules) 15.1 and 15.2, those are general provisions that apply to all legislators and that’s how the committee will approach it.”

Tags: Ray Sansom

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Michael C. Bender, state budget, State House. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.