Federal agents investigating the corruption case against Broward County political kingmaker Alan Mendelsohn questioned Senate President Jeff Atwater this morning, Atwater’s spokeswoman confirmed.

Federal Bureau of Investigations agent Brian Szczepanski and four others met with Atwater this morning for about 45 minutes, Atwater’s spokeswoman Jaryn Emhof said.

They asked questions about the “committee process and structure,” Emhof said.

“We cannot comment as to the specifics of the questions, as this is an ongoing investigation,” Emhof said.

The agents from the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service have been poking around the Senate all week and have visited with at least five GOP senators, including Atwater.

Atwater’s spokeswoman Jaryn Emhof did not say what the agents asked the North Palm Beach banker about but others interviewed said that they were asked questions about former Sen. Mandy Dawson, Mendelsohn and other senators whom Mendelsohn had held fundraisers for at his Broward County home.

Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, spoke with four federal agents briefly on Monday. Sen. Paula Dockery said she spoke with two agents yesterday for at least an hour. Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said he was questioned on Monday as well.

The agents asked questions about how committee chairmanships are assigned, Dockery and Jones said.

Former Senate President Ken Pruitt picked Dawson to chair a health care committee, an unusual move because she is a Democrat. She also became ill during the 2008 session and was frequently absent but Pruitt allowed her to remain on as chairman of the committee in the GOP-dominated Senate.

The investigators include a lawyer who works in the public integrity section of the Department of Justice in Washington.

They asked questions about how committee chairmanships are assigned and about Dawson’s relationship with Mendelsohn, who was indicted in October.

Mendelsohn was the chief fundraiser for the powerful Florida Medical Association and played a major role in channeling hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to political parties and candidates.

The federal indictment includes the claim that Mendelsohn used three political action committees to funnel $87,000 to a former public official.

The indictment doesn’t name the official. It says the money was passed through an intermediary — also unnamed in the charging document — and disguised as payments for consulting services. The indictment details 10 of the purported payments, totaling $72,000 between May 2004 and December 2005.

The largest alleged payment was $25,000 on June 21, 2004 from “PAC #1.”

O

Haridopolos

The Melbourne Republican will assume the post after the two-year tenure of current Senate President Jeff Atwater ends next fall.

Atwater

Haridopolos’ ascension is a trifecta for the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast region and continue its domination of the top of the Senate for a total of six years.

Pruitt

The southeastern portion of Haridopolos’ Senate District 26 dips into St. Lucie County.

The three political leaders each previously served in the Florida House before joining the Senate.

Senate President Jeff Atwater tapped newly elected state Sen. Joe Negron to chair the Judiciary Committee, a plumb post for the freshman senator.

Atwater made few other changes in the committee line-up, leaving most chairmen in place in what for many will be their last legislative session because of term limits.

Negron, a former House member, won a special election last month fill former Senate President Ken Pruitt’s District 28 seat. Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, abruptly left office on the last day of the legislative session early in May.

Negron will serve the final 15 months of Pruitt’s Senate term and face reelection in 2010.

Negron, an attorney who served in the state House from 2000 to 2006, gained national attention when the GOP recruited him at the last minute to replace scandal-tainted U.S. Rep. Mark Foley. Negron narrowly lost the race to Democrat Tim Mahoney, who was later defeated by Republican Tom Rooney.

Former state Senate President Ken Pruitt said this afternoon that he’s not the unnamed former public official who received $87,000 in secret money from Dr. Alan Mendelsohn.
The Daily Pulp blog this morning reported that Pruitt is the unidentified former public official mentioned in the indictment against Mendelsohn, a Broward County eye doctor who is charged with skimming $300,000 in campaign contributions for his own use and illegally using campaign funds to pay for his mistress’ home and car.
Seated behind his desk at the law firm where he works in the Tradition neighborhood of Port St. Lucie, the Port St. Lucie Republican told Palm Beach Post reporter Daphne Duret that he hasn’t been contacted by any law enforcement official about the investigation and rejected The Daily Pulp blog’s allegation that his name surfaced in the investigation.
“It’s a criminal investigation that I am not a part of at all,” he said. “I’m not a part of it, my name, to my knowledge, is not a part of it. I don’t know what else to say.” (more…)

By MICHAEL C. BENDER
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE — A controversial college construction project in the Panhandle followed a similar initiative at Indian River State College, according to e-mails assembled in the criminal case against former state House Speaker Ray Sansom.
But the building in Fort Pierce has one important difference, former Senate President Ken Pruitt recently said in sworn pre-trial testimony:

“There is no airport hangar there,” Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, told state investigators.

(more…)

It’s costing taxpayers $475,000 to replace Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, who suddenly resigned with one year left on his final term and after 19 years in the legislature. The cost was reported this morning by tcpalm.com.

Pruitt is leaving the legislature - and the district that includes five counties — for a position with Weiss Handler Angelos and Cornwell, a job that could involve lobbying in the near future.

The election Tuesday features Democrat Bill Ramos and Republican Joe Negron, who won an endorsement this morning from The Palm Beach Post’s editorial board. Read the editorial here.

Former House Speaker Ray Sansom was the “kingpin” in a $6 million budget deal that ultimately resulted in indictments for himself, former Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg and RPOF donor Jay Odom.

Richburg referred to Sansom as the “kingpin in this whole operation” in an e-mail included in a set of records released today by the Leon County state attorney’s office. State Attorney Willie Meggs said his office received the records recently as part of a public records request to the college.

The e-mail is one of several that also include reference to then-Senate President Ken Pruitt, a Port St. Lucie Republican who gave Sansom, Odom and Richburg a tour of Indian River State College before the three started their project.

(more…)

Pruitt, with an eye on the statutory timetable for calling special elections, set his resignation for Aug. 4 so the district would not go unrepresented.

Former Republican state Reps. Art Argenio and Joe Negron, who clashed in a bitter special election primary in 1999 (won by Argenio) and another tough primary in 2000 (won by Negron) are running for Pruitt’s seat. Democrat Bill Ramos has also opened a campaign and frequent-filing Democrat Stan Smilan has expressed interest. Read more about the race here.

The period for candidates to officially qualify for the special election ballot will be from 8 a.m. on June 2 until 12 noon on June 3.

Former Republican state Rep. Art Argenio on March 31 put $40,000 of his own money into his 2010 campaign for the seat of term-limited state Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie. Argenio raised $3,050 from other sources. Former Republican state Rep. Joe Negron has raised $63,800 for the race.

First-quarter campaign finance reports are due today. We’ll have more updates throughout the day.

Argenio beat Negron in a bitter 1999 special election runoff to win a state House seat. Negron ousted Argenio in another rough-and-tumble primary the following year.

U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, sent a letter Thursday to legislative leaders warning the proposed cuts state support to local governments and the Everglades could “place at risk hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for Florida.”

“Many federal grants — whether they are earmarked by Congress or awarded by an executive agency — require a local match in funding before being awarded,” Hastings said in his letter.

(more…)

(AP photo)

Senate President Ken Pruitt wants to appeal Monday’s ruling to remove the property tax amendment from the ballot, but House Speaker Marco Rubio and Gov. Charlie Crist aren’t so sure yet.

(more…)