Et tu, Delmar?
Greer and Johnson were thick as thieves — literally — as they plundered more than $200,000 in party contributions from the RPOF’s coffers after setting up a secret shell company known only to the two of them. The pair set up Victory Strategies to siphon off commissions on large party donations.
Florida Trend reports that Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution has released hundreds of pages of evidence in the corruption case that investigators say could implicate Gov. Charlie Crist and future House speaker, Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, a close friend of Greer’s. Crist, who appointed Greer as RPOF chairman, denies knowing about Victory Strategies or Greer’s creative bookkeeping.
The extent of Johnson’s treachery was evident in the transcript of a 56-minute phone that Johnson placed to Greer in March and the state prosecutor’s office taped:
In the call, the two men spent the first minutes discussing the persistent rumors of a criminal investigation.
“Tell me what kind of rumors you’re hearing,” Greer tells Johnson.
“Just that I’m going to be arrested any day. I’m going to be indicted, and you’re cooperating with the FBI. All kinds of crazy stuff,” Johnson says.
“Delmar, let me tell you about that,” Greer replies. “I heard the same thing about me, that I was going to be indicted and I was going to be arrested. And the exact opposite, that you were cooperating with people. Which is almost a joke, because what would you or I be cooperating with — against each other. I mean, it’s comical.”
Maybe, but it wasn’t funny. A week later the state prosecutor’s office announced it was investigating Greer. In another classy turn in this soap opera, Greer’s wife Lisa sussed out it was Delmar who snitched on Big Jim, so she called Johnson to give him a piece of her mind:
“The only way they would have gotten the information was from you,” she said in an angry voice mail message. “I’m shocked … I can’t believe you came in to my home … you’re the godfather of my child and acted like everything was fine.”
Now that is comical!
Though Johnson has proven himself to be lower than a snake’s belly, his attorney spins it a different way:
Records indicate Johnson worked to hide the secret, profitable arrangement, but his attorney Bob Levinthal said his client went to authorities with information before being asked.
“What would the state party auditors and state law enforcement know if not for Delmar Johnson?” he asked. “Maybe you could equate him with a whistle-blower … who gets rewarded for his cooperation.”
Greer, for his part, had money woes and apparently was trying to peddle his influence as chairman for cash:
Dozens of witnesses interviewed by investigators portrayed Greer as a power-grabbing leader who needed money to cover bad real estate investments. One major party donor, Harry Sargeant, gave him $10,000 a month “so he did not have to continue hearing Greer complain about his financial problems.”
Greer is also shown in the records trying to capitalize on his influence through a contract with Mardi Gras Racetrack and Gaming Center in Hallandale during the 2008 legislative session to help generate support for a tax break the company sought on its slot machines. Greer was to be paid $7,500 a month to head up a petition campaign to put an amendment on the ballot to lower the tax rate for the state’s dog tracks, said Dan Adkins, head of Mardi Gras.
Among other revelations in the documents released by the state office of prosecutions reported by Florida Trend:
• John Harris, a government consultant for the GrayRobinson law firm, told FDLE he helped Greer set up Victory Strategies and intentionally hid — at Greer’s urging — the fact that his name was listed as an owner. Harris said he “has personally known Greer for many years,” dating back to when Harris led a state regulatory division that oversaw a hospitality business Greer owned.
• Dorworth, listed as a top priority witness for prosecutors, told Greer legislative leaders such as Speaker-designate Dean Cannon and Senate President Mike Haridopolos wouldn’t criticize Greer about party finances if he kept quiet about the secret severance agreement they signed to pay him $124,000.
• Susan Wright, the party’s office manager, said she believed the party was paying the rent for Johnson’s Tallahassee residence and rental car. She told investigators that “many of the charges incurred by Greer and Johnson were charges for personal items and not charges that could be legitimately made.”
Stay tuned for more Florida Republican shenanigans in the ongoing saga of Big Jim and Delmar.
