Thurman Calls on Law Enforcement Agencies to Investigate Sansom

NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY

For Immediate Release: December 9, 2008

Tallahassee, FL - Today Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman released the following statement calling on Governor Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum to order the appropriate law enforcement agencies to investigate the relationship between Speaker Ray Sansom and Jay Odom.

This weekend, the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau uncovered the fact that $6 million of the more than $25 million that Sansom delivered to Northwest Florida State College is being used to build an airplane hanger for Odom to store his jets. In response Thurman said:

"What began with Speaker Ray Sansom abusing power and the taxpayer's trust might be quickly turning into much larger corruption scandal. When we learned that Speaker Sansom took his $110,000 part-time job with Northwest Florida State College after steering more than $25 million to the college, I called for him to resign because the appearance of impropriety was too great for Sansom to as remain Speaker and keep his job with the Northwest Florida State College.

"On Sunday, the Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau reported that more than $6 million of the money he delivered to the college was to build a hanger at the Destin Airport, on land controlled by Sansom's friend and major donor Jay Odom. Despite being funded by taxpayer dollars, this hanger would be used by Odom most of the time to store his jets according to the Times/Herald, citing documents and Odom's airport operations manager. With these revelations, Governor Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum should immediately order the appropriate law enforcement agencies to investigate this matter to clear the ethics cloud around Sansom caused by the appearance of quid-pro-quo corruption."