Grand jury to investigate Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom

House Speaker Ray Sansom issued a statement declaring his innocence after a grand jury announced that his relationship with a college warranted a criminal probe.

BY ALEX LEARY
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE -- A grand jury decided Monday to launch a formal investigation into Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom and whether his six-figure job at a Panhandle college was payback for helping the school get millions of dollars in construction money over the past two years.

The 21-member panel concluded that Sansom's relationship with the school warranted a criminal probe after reviewing the facts outlined in a series of articles by the Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau.

Many of the stories focused on a $6 million airport facility that Sansom added to the 2007 state budget. The school had not requested the money, but agreed to use it for a large building that will provide classroom space for first-responder courses and will double as a staging area for emergency workers in time of disaster.

Questions about the building arose when the Herald/Times reported that it is almost identical to a hangar that a longtime Sansom ally was hoping to build for his private jet business. The college plans to construct it on land it leases from the jet business owner, on the plot of land where he planned to put his hangar.

''We will now begin to bring them evidence and documents,'' including e-mails, budget records and witness statements, said North Florida State Attorney Willie Meggs.

RESPONSE

Sansom, R-Destin, quickly issued a statement Monday declaring his innocence.

''I have acted honestly in all matters, including in my work as a state legislator,'' he said. ``The complaints are based on news articles, not personal knowledge of the facts. Once the facts are fully aired, I expect the outcome of this inquiry will be positive. I will cooperate fully and look forward to a speedy conclusion.''

The investigation is likely to cast a shadow over the Capitol through most of the Legislature's regular session, which will begin March 3. The grand jury does not meet again until mid-February, and Meggs said it could take several months to reach a resolution.

Also Monday, the House Rules Committee announced it would appoint a special investigator to look into the same reports after a voter made a formal complaint about the issue.

Sansom, who recently hired a criminal-defense attorney, took an unadvertised $110,000-per-year job as a vice president of Northwest Florida State College on the same day in November that he became House speaker. He announced several weeks ago that he was resigning the college job effective Saturday.

EDUCATIONAL USE

Sansom defends his record, saying that all the money the school got was designated for educational use and could not have been used on other state needs. He also noted that the final budget for 2007 and 2008 is, like every other budget, a public document that anyone can read before the Legislature approves it.

Grand jury investigations of state lawmakers are rare. The last time a sitting House Speaker was the subject of a grand jury probe was 1991, when Rep. T.K., Wetherell, D-Daytona Beach, was one of more than two dozen lawmakers accused of accepting trips from lobbyists and not reporting them. The prosecutor: Willie Meggs. Wetherell pleaded no contest in Leon County Court to misdemeanor charges.

HOUSE RULES

Sansom also faces a review of whether he broke House rules. Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, who oversees the House Rules & Calendar Council, said he was recommending that a special investigator look into a citizen complaint that alleges Sansom violated a rule saying public office ``is a trust to be performed with integrity in the public interest.''

Galvano could have asked for a legislative panel to determine whether there was probable cause, but said an independent investigator would provide more objectivity.

Legislative reaction was mixed Monday.

''What's sad is that this is all going on while we go into a session with a $4 billion deficit,'' said Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando. ``It makes it very difficult for him to have the authority that he needs to do to get things done in the House.''

Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa expressed confidence in Sansom. He said it was normal for ranking officials to get money in the budget for their districts, adding: ``I don't think his area was unique.''

Herald/Times staff writers Steve Bousquet and Lucy Morgan contributed to this report.