Convicted Criminal Canned from FL Consulting Contract

Fixing our pension, Mike?  Howzabout stopping the state wasting the hard earned pensions of state workers on shady real estate deals?

[TALLAHASSEE — Senate President Mike Haridopolos on Friday abruptly fired a consultant tied to an Alabama banking scandal, a day after the Orlando Sentinel disclosed his contract.

The Merritt Island Republican said in a statement Friday that although Winter Park consultant Charles LeCroy had served his time for a corruption probe in Pennsylvania, the potential for further federal legal action against him in connection with an Alabama bribery case could prove to be a distraction.

LeCroy was sentenced to six months in prison in 2005 after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud for engaging in a scheme to make payments to obtain municipal-bond business from the city of Philadelphia, on behalf of JPMorgan.

Haridopolos, a Merritt Island Republican, hired THGC Consulting LLC, a Winter Park-based shell company established this year, for a $90,000 consulting contract in November to provide advice on how to cut costs of the pension system, which has assets of $120 billion-plus. More on that here....

”While his criminal case has been resolved, I do not wish to have the outstanding civil case become a distraction to the hard work we must perform fixing our pension system and balancing Florida’s budget,” Haridopolos said in a statement.]  emphasis added

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2010/12/haridopolos-fires-consultant-tied-to-alabama-banking-scandal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+news/politics/politicalpulse+(Central+Florida+Political+Pulse)]  emphasis added