Fla. Gov. Scott’s Undisclosed Interest In Zika Mosquito Control Company

(Editor’s note: While the governor of Puerto Rico is turning away Naled and not letting them spray it on HIS people or any of the island, Rick Scott seems like a “Spray happy usual suspect” as one local reporter called him (some think he should be jailed because of the conduct of his corporations in the past). Read on.)
According to FloridaBullDog.org (a big publication here in the state), “Gov. Rick Scott has an undisclosed financial interest in a Zika mosquito control company in which his wife, Florida First Lady Ann Scott, owns a multi-million dollar stake through a private investment firm she co-owns.”
That’s right folks, it appears Scott isn’t just concerned about the well-being of Floridians but the cash to be made via Mosquito Control Services LLC of Metairie, LA. Perhaps that was a large part of the reason that he signed an executive order, on June 23rd, which allocated $26.2 million in state emergency funds for Zika preparedness.
MCS, whose services include monitoring and aerial spraying, may still benefit from Florida government funds- we just don’t know because they haven’t responded to requests for comment. We do know that the company is not a registered state vendor.
But that is really the tip of this disgusting iceberg.
From the article:

“Ann Scott’s large stake in MCS is via G. Scott Capital Partners, an investment firm that boasts $291 million of client assets. The firm manages several private equity funds and various “family accounts primarily comprised of trusts and family entities,” according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission records.
The Florida Bulldog reported in 2014 that Scott Capital, as it is known online, is operated by a trio of men who once worked at Richard L. Scott Investments, the private equity firm where Gov. Scott made millions for himself and his family putting together big-money investment deals when he was in the private sector.
Scott Capital posts its portfolio online. All nine listed companies are current and former investments of the governor and/or Mrs. Scott, including Mosquito Control Services.”

Lovely.
But Ann doesn’t just stop there. She’s also “employed” by the firm she’s a co-owner of. That means she just funnels the money into the money she owns as, “…an interior decorator and owner of AS Interiors LLC, as a “passive investor” in G. Scott Capital. Gregory Scott owns 50 to 75 percent of the Delaware holding company that owns 100 percent of G. Scott Capital, according to the SEC. The First Lady owns the rest through the Frances Annette Scott Revocable Trust, which owns Tally 1, a Delaware company that in turn owns 25 to 50 percent of G. Scott Holdings LLC.” Has your head started spinning yet?
Thankfully for Gov. Scott, state and federal law are different so he doesn’t have to disclose his ownership interest in his wife’s investments. AND he won’t talk about it, he or his wife. The governor’s office has declined to discuss the matter or make the Gov. or First Lady available for an interview. Super duper.

“The Republican governor, a multimillionaire, puts his personal investments in a “qualified blind trust” that his office has described as being overseen by “an independent financial professional.” Florida public officers who use such a trust to “blind” themselves to the nature of their holdings get in exchange immunity from prohibited conflicts of interest under a law that Gov. Scott signed in 2013.
FloridaBulldog.org has reported, however, that the person overseeing Gov. Scott’s trust is yet another former employee at Richard L. Scott Investments and that the trust has been ineffective in keeping the governor’s assets secret.”

If he seems shady, it’s only because you know how to read. Check this out:

• When Scott took office in 2011, he transferred millions of dollars in assets to his wife, including a $62-million investment in the walk-in clinic chain Solantic. Mrs. Scott reportedly sold the stake in Solantic the same year (this caused an uproar about perceived conflicts of interest- Florida ethics laws “generally prohibit public officials from having an ownership interest in companies that do business with the state or are subject to state regulation”).
• In 2013, Scott had an undisclosed ownership stake in Spectra Energy when Florida’s Public Service Commission (five members appointed by Scott) unanimously approved construction of the $3-billion Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline (a joint venture of Spectra and NextEra Energy).
• Scott also has a $712,000 stake in Energy Transfer and its affiliates and subsidiaries; Energy Transfer owns a 50 percent interest in the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline, which delivers nearly 65 percent of the natural gas consumed in Florida.
• In 2012 Scott owned a $210,000 stake in the private equity firm that owned 21^st Century Oncology. That year the all-Republican governing board of taxpayer-supported Broward Health awarded the company an unprecedented 25-year, no-bid contract to supply radiation oncology services (the governor appoints Broward Health’s board members).

This guy is slimy.

http://www.healthnutnews.com/fla-gov-scotts-undisclosed-interest-zika-mosquito-control-company/

Florida Pays $800K To Fix Governor’s Mansion

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — Did you know your hard-earned tax dollars are paying for upgrades at Gov. Rick Scott’s Tallahassee mansion? Gov. Scott has repeatedly pledged to slash government spending since his 2010 election yet more than $800,000 has been spent for substantial improvements to the Greek Revival mansion where he and his wife live.

Taxpayers have footed the bill for things like the cleaning of oriental rugs and refinishing the oak flooring at “the People’s House,” a sprawling edifice at 700 North Adams Street that serves as private residence as well as official entertainment venue for the state’s chief executive. Some money, though, has come from lobbyists and corporate donors with business before Scott and the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Nearly $3 million was spent during Jeb Bush’s eight years in office, but that included some expensive, post-9/11 security upgrades. And what has been spent under Scott far exceeds the money spent while Charlie Crist was in office.
Most of the money spent on the mansion— nearly $600,000 — has come from taxpayers and goes toward upkeep of the grounds and what is called the “public side” of the mansion, which includes the garden and rooms where public receptions are held.
But more than $200,000 spent on both public rooms and on the personal quarters used by the Scott family came from a handful of the state’s most powerful companies. Records from the Governor’s Mansion Foundation show that U.S. Sugar, Florida Crystals and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida each donated $100,000.

On top of that came $20,000 gifts from fundraiser and lobbyist Brian Ballard; Scott’s political adviser, Tony Fabrizio; and George Zoley, the CEO of private prison company The GEO Group, which runs two Florida penitentiaries.
House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, questioned the state spending money on the mansion while it has been pushing cutbacks elsewhere.
“Maybe the first place in government cutbacks is where you are staying at,” said Thurston.
Thurston also said he was surprised to hear about private donations for the mansion and said he doubted anyone in the public was aware of it.
“There’s a real concern there,” said Thurston. “What are they expecting to receive from their contributions?”
Scott, a multi-millionaire who owns a mansion in southwest Florida, did not put any of his own money to the renovation effort, although foundation records show that he and his wife donated furniture, lamps and exercise equipment valued at more than $93,000.

I want your tax dollars for myself

Scott spokeswoman Melissa Sellers would not answer questions about whether accepting private money might risk posing a conflict of interest. Her answer in an email was that “mansion foundation members raise money.”
Located 10 blocks north of the Capitol building, the governor’s mansion is hidden from view by aging commercial properties that sit along a Tallahassee main street. Large iron gates block the street in front of the mansion, keeping visitors away. Ballard said he was glad to make his 2011 donation, which came at a time when there were discussions of using the private money to help purchase the commercial property. The idea was to create a kind of “mansion park” that might qualify as a national historical landmark.
“I believe in Tallahassee and I live here,” Ballard said. “I think we should more things to make Tallahassee a special place. Rick Scott certainly doesn’t need money from me. If they asked again, I would do it again. And I would do it if it were for Gov. (Bob) Graham, Gov. (Lawton) Chiles or Gov. Crist.”
The long list of renovations to the governor’s mansion includes a $2,000 mirror for first lady Ann Scott’s bathroom and $38,000 in new rugs. Private money paid for those items. The mansion also boasts new wallpaper, pillows, furniture, drapes, paint, window repairs, new screens for the swimming pool and an upgraded kitchen.

First lady Ann Scott

The amount of public money spent on the mansion the last three years far exceeds what was spent between 2007 and 2011, when Crist was governor. State records show slightly more than $27,000 was spent during Crist’s term, although he spent most weekends outside Tallahassee.
Nearly $3 million was spent between 1999 and 2007 when Bush was governor, but that includes nearly $1 million to acquire property near the mansion and to close the street due to security concerns.
Ben Wolf, a spokesman for the Department of Management Services, said improvements paid for by taxpayers were for historical preservation, to improve health and safety and for routine maintenance of the 60-year-old building. For example, Wolf said, the walls and ceilings hadn’t been painted in more than 15 years.
Wolf said that the repairs were undertaken after an assessment by DMS, which manages real estate owned by the state among other functions. The improvements were not done at anyone’s request, Wolf said.
Melissa Sellers, a spokeswoman for Scott, also said that neither the governor nor the first lady requested any renovations.

But minutes from a May 2011 meeting of the Governor’s Mansion Commission— the state panel that assures the home maintains its original structure and character — show that first lady Ann Scott voiced concern about the home’s condition to state officials.
“It’s important to me to maintain its beauty and showcase its history, making the mansion a welcome destination for all guests,” said the first lady, who had run her own interior design business before her husband was elected and has pushed to make the mansion more available to public events.
Carol Beck, mansion manager and curator, was quoted as telling the group that top DMS officials “have been exceptionally proactive in addressing concerns of the first lady and myself as it relates to the current condition of the interior and exterior of the mansion proper, as well as the grounds.”
Sellers said that Ann Scott has been traveling a lot lately to spend time with her grandchildren and unavailable for questions about the mansion.
Meanwhile, Scott — who just announced he would seek to cut another $100 million in “government waste” next year — is known to be a strong supporter of the costly renovation to The Grove Plantation, the 180-year-old historic home of the late Gov. LeRoy Collins. It sits on a 10-acre site adjoining the governor’s mansion and could be opened to the public as soon as next year.
(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/10/28/florida-pays-800k-to-fix-governors-mansion/

Conflict Of Interest Questions Swirl Around Rick Scott, Solantic

Rick Scott and Ann Scott

With questions already swirling about his refusal to allow a legislatively-approved pill mill database to go into existence – even as the company he co-founded, Solantic, operates clinics that sell cheap prescription drugs, Florida Gov. Rick Scott makes another questionable move: transferring his interest in Solantic … to his wife.
Scott, who presided over the company that perpetrated the greatest Medicare fraud in U.S. history, has also appointed a former executive with that company, Columbia/HCA, to administer a trust related to his in-house share transfer. As the Palm Beach Post reports:

As Florida Gov. Rick Scott reorganizes health agencies, cuts spending and pushes for new free-market health policies, his ownership of Solantic, the urgent care chain, increasingly poses conflict of interest questions.
Solantic co-founder Karen Bowling says Scott has taken steps to distance himself from the chain. He stopped regular business calls with her after he was elected.
“I don’t talk to him anymore. Not since November. Really not much since April,” Bowling said.
Scott left the privately held company’s board of directors in January 2010, during his campaign.
But the most important step the governor must take to avoid a conflict of interest, some ethics experts say, is to divest his Solantic interests.
In January, Scott did transfer his Solantic stock – to his wife.
“The controlling investor in Solantic is the Frances Annette Scott Revocable Trust,” Bowling said.
Solantic’s new chairman, as of last month, is retired Columbia/HCA executive Charles Evans. Evans said he is the Scott trust’s representative.
“I have no communication with them at all,” Evans said.
Scott’s efforts to distance himself appear to be designed to meet the letter of Florida ethics laws, if not the spirit.

Legal experts suggests Scott’s efforts might not survive a legal challenge:

They may not succeed if challenged, warned legal and ethics expert Marc Rodwin, a law professor at Suffolk University who is the author of several books on health care and conflicts of interest.
“Placing his ownership in the name of his wife is not an effective way to control for conflicts of interest and not generally accepted because they are personally related,” Rodwin said.
Rodwin said Scott’s blindness to Solantic’s daily business decisions likewise does not relieve his conflict.
“His family still benefits from it,” he said.

And questions still remain about why Scott seems so adamantly opposed to the pill mill database, and whether Solantic clinics will benefit from his policies, which seem designed to drive more business to private medical operators, with less and less government scrutiny.
Scott’s intentions are hard to discern, because of the extreme secrecy of his administration, which routinely refuses to divulge its contacts with business.
Without disclosure, one can only guess whether Scott’s policies stand to enrich the company whose profits now flow to his wife.


http://blog.reidreport.com/2011/03/conflict-of-interest-questions-swirl-around-rick-scott-solantic/