Ethics commission tosses Teamsters complaint against Scott
by Dara Kam | October 26th, 2011The Florida Commission on Ethics dismissed a complaint filed by the Teamsters accusing Gov. Rick Scott of a conflict of interest in a prison privatization plan ordered by the legislature.
The commission found there was no legal basis for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ complaint alleging that Scott had a conflict of interest in the prison privatization plan because he oversees the prisons agency and is a trustee of the State Board of Administration that invests money in the state pension fund. The state’s investments include holdings in the companies bidding on the privatization plan, now scrapped after a Tallahassee judge ruled it was unconstitutional.
The Teamsters are engaged in a battle with the Police Benevolent Association to represent the state’s 22,000 prison and probation officers. Voting in the union election is now ongoing and the winner should be announced in mid-November.
The Teamsters also accused Scott of a conflict of interest because the companies vying for the privatization contract contributed money to the Republican Party of Florida for his inauguration.
But the ethics commission, meeting in an executive session Wednesday, didn’t buy that either.
“Alleged receipt by the governor’s inaugural fund of contributions from (private prison operators), coupled with the complainant’s use of the phrase ‘pay to play politics,’ does not equate to the quid-pro-quo, criminal-bribery-like understanding … required to indicate a possible violation” of the law, the dismissal order reads.
Tags: Rick Scott, Teamsters
October 26th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Ethics, what ethics?
October 26th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Three funniest words in the English language when stuck together?
“Florida Ethics Commission”
October 26th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Scott may have no ethics, but the Teamsters certainly don’t. Their complaint was laughable.
October 27th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Teamsters and ethics are like the Taliban and freedom.
October 27th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
@Howie,
In case you haven’t noticed, Rick Scott
embodies ALL the “supposed” worst qualities of the Teamsters, but without a band of brothers behind him! He ripped off the USA for MILLIONS of dollars in medicare fraud, and now, Howie, he is your governor!I don’t know enough about the privatization of prisons to comment on this case, but I don’t believe Scott does ANYTHING beneficial for anyone that doesn’t line his pocket personally.
October 28th, 2011 at 9:51 am
Teamsters????? Isn’t that the outfit that Hoffa’s kid rules over just like John Gotti did his crew?
October 28th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Ha Ha… Unions are a mess. More and more they are fighting each other for territory (read money). In this case the Police Benevolent Association is trying to fend off a take over by the IBT. In New York, the NYPD Union is threatening to sue protestors which are highly financed by several major unions and they’re filling these protests with thier members. Unions are imploding…
October 31st, 2011 at 7:11 am
where is the ethics?
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