Sansom
TALLAHASSE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is criticizing a meeting state House Speaker Ray Sansom helped organize.
Tampabay.com reported Tuesday that McCollum is upset that Sansom apparently helped set up a meeting of the Northwest Florida State College board of trustees that he says was never publicized. McCollum sent a letter to the trustees but said he may not have the jurisdiction to pursue the matter.
"It raises the appearance of impropriety," McCollum said, according to the report. "Whether it is or not, that's not something I can say."
The trustees recently released minutes from their meetings. The Sansom meeting occurred almost a year ago.
Sansom said the meeting was publicized.
"The community college didn't meet in private," Sansom said, according to the report. "They advertised the meeting in Okaloosa County because people in Okaloosa County wouldn't read the Tallahassee Democrat about meetings for their college."
McCollum has notified a pair of state attorneys, one of whom is already investigating Sansom's relationship with the school.
The Republican held a six-figure job at the college, and a grand jury on Monday decided to begin a formal investigation into whether the salary was compensation for helping the school get millions of dollars in construction money.
From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com.