Why Did Charlie Crist Return Jim Greer's Money?

When Charlie Crist split from the Republican party he was quite clear that he would not return any money that had been donated to his campaign fund. His position was that the money had been donated to Charlie Crist the man, not Charlie Crist the RINO. There’s been a small change in plans, at least where it concerns $10,000 donated to Crist by the disgraced former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and Crist best buddy, Jim Greer. Greer has asked Crist for his money back and Crist has returned it:

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist's independent U.S. Senate campaign is refunding nearly $10,000 to Jim Greer after the indicted former Republican Party chairman asked for the money to help pay for his legal defense. ``As you know circumstances have caused me to need money to defend myself and take care of my family,'' Greer wrote in an Aug. 5 letter. ``I know sending the money back is hard, but with what has happened it may be politically beneficial for you to do.''

Greer, 48, faces six felony charges, including organized fraud and money laundering, after authorities said he used a secret fundraising contract to funnel party donations to a consulting firm he owned.

So Mr. and Mrs. Average Floridian, no refund for you but a rat like Greer, no problem. A hint as to why Crist would refund Greer’s money can be found in this from Greer’s letter to Crist:

``Charlie over the last three years, I did all that I was asked to do by you and others. Your goals were my goals. When all of the others abandoned you, I remained loyal.''

Greer is still, for the time being, remaining loyal. But in some circles loyalty can be bought. Actually, $10,000 sounds cheap.

Cross posted at Pundit and Pundette

He Said/She Said, Florida Style

As I wrote yesterday, Crist knew all along that Jim Greer was illegally skimming money from Republican Party of Florida.  Heck, Charlie signed off on the deal.  So what is a beleaguered and ineffective governor to do?  Deny:

Crist says the entire Greer incident is "surprising" and "unfortunate" He says he didn't even know about the shell corporation Greer was using to funnel cash into his own pocket "until after Greer resigned in January." Crist's explanation for not knowing the specifics? He's too busy running the state. He can't be bothered with the little stuff.

When did ignorance become an excuse?

Actually, ever the opportunist, Crist attempts to take credit for Greer's current legal troubles by explaining "I'm the one actually who empanelled the state-wide grand jury that came down with this decision."

Greer's attorney contradicts Crist's ignorance excuse, explaining that Crist signed off on the diversion of GOP funds:

Chase said Greer and Crist discussed the fundraising deal at least three times last year: at the golf tournament in February, over the summer; and in the fall at the Fisher Island home of the governor's wife.

The governor knew about Victory Strategies from the very beginning," Chase said. "They all worked on it together. … They saw it as a way to save money."

"… They saw it as a way to save make money."  Fixed.

Jim Greer is to Charlie Crist what Rahm Emanuel is to Barack Obama.  Charlie Crist and Jim Greer are literally "thick as thieves".  They used each other to advance their mutual goals and now they are paying the price for all those corners they tried to cut while screwing the state as well as the state Republican party.  Charlie is a self-absorbed, ego maniac (remind you of anyone?) who, rather than living in the here and now, is always working on the next goal.  He's not the kind of guy to handle the details so he turned that job over to Greer.  Bad choice.

What Charlie Knew: EVERYTHING

From RedState:

Jim Greer has apparently decided that he has no intention of going down by alone and probably figures that Charlie Crist will adapt to life in the prison laundry room much easier than he will.

Gov. Charlie Crist personally signed off on his former Republican party chairman’s confidential fundraising role with the state party – according to Jim Greer’s attorney, whose allegation contradicts the governor’s statement that he “didn’t know anything” about the deal now part of a criminal investigation.

[...]

But Greer’s attorney, Damon Chase, said Saturday that the deal giving them a 10 percent cut of party donations was legal. What’s more, Chase said Crist’s former right-hand man, now U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, first proposed the idea that they earn a fundraising commission to save the party money and replace the $30,000-a-month contract with fundraiser Meredith O’Rourke.

“You guys work hard. You deserve it,” Chase said Greer was told by the governor as they played pool in February 2009 at a Palm Beach golf tournament.

So now we have the sitting governor and a sitting senator from Florida in danger of being indicted for theft, fraud, and money laundering. In addition, we have the spectacle of the national Democrat party apparently tossing their own candidate, Representative Kendrick Meek, an African American from a prominent Florida political family, under the bus in order to support the newly “independent” Charlie Crist.

I'm going to need more popcorn. 

Former Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer Arrested-Best Buddy, Charlie Crist, "Disappointed" UPDATED

From Daniel Foster at The Corner:

Federal authorities today arrested Jim Greer, a close Charlie Crist ally and the governor's hand-picked choice to run the Florida Republican Party. No word yet on charges.

As it turns out, Greer is looking at six felonies for fraud, an attempt to defraud and money laundering.  Bail has been set at $105,000.  Well, birds of a feather and all that-this doesn't look good for Good Time Charlie.

Pat at And So it Goes in Shreveport has all the details.

UPDATE:

Via TBO.Com:

The affidavit gives this account:

Johnson rose from Greer's travel aide to head of the party's Orlando office, to deputy executive director and finally, to executive director, a position that Greer said would include fundraising. Johnson told investigators that Greer told him they would take 10 percent of all major donor money raised and split it and that he would have lawyers set up a company for them "for tax purposes."

Johnson said he was told "not to disclose Mr. Greer's involvement to anyone, to take steps to hide the truth about Mr. Greer's involvement from RPOF and, if questioned, to deny Mr. Greer's interest in the company."

Under the papers drawn up, Johnson was listed as president/secretary/treasurer owning 40 percent of Victory Strategies, while Greer, who was not an officer of the company, owned 60 percent.

The financial arrangement, the affidavit says, was never submitted for approval by the RPOF attorney.

Johnson signed an agreement with the RPOF to provide fundraising services through Victory Strategies. Subpoenaed bank records show the only sources of money to Victory Strategies was from Greer and the RPOF, and the only two benefactors of the money were Greer and Johnson.

An FDLE review of Greer's personal bank records showed that he "appeared to be suffering from financial problems in 2009," with bank accounts overdrawn by $25,392 in July and $3,794 in August. His accounts in the rest of 2009 were overdrawn by an average of $10,000. The affidavit says that Greer pleaded for financial help from a Republican donor, who sent him $3,000 a month over 18 months.  (emphasis added)

According to the affidavit, the Republican party was a constant and apparently trusting source of money for Greer throughout 2009, through invoices from Victory Strategies to the RPOF. Once the party wrote a check to Victory Strategies, that company in turn wrote a check to Greer. In all, the affidavit says, the party paid more than $199,254 to Victory Strategies. Greer took more than $125,161 from his interest in Victory Strategies. Johnson was paid $65,093.

At the same time this was going on, the affidavit says, "Mr. Greer was facing additional public and RPOF scrutiny related to party spending. In what was purported by Mr. Greer to be a show of fiscal responsibility, Mr. Greer stood before the media and RPOF officials and cut up an American Express card." The card, however, was not Greer's, but that of a staff member, Johnson told investigators.

When asked earlier today if he felt responsible for Greer's actions, Charlie Crist, Greer's #1 cheerleader, said, "I do not feel complicit."  "Complicit" means that a person has knowledge of a crime but does not report it.  But according to TPM Greer allegedly tried to strong-arm a professional fundraiser for the state GOP into giving him a percent of her earnings -- and when she refused, he cut off her access to his close ally Gov. Charlie Crist.  What are the chances that Charlie was not aware of that?

Is it any wonder that Floridians are fed up?

Read it and weep.  And then get mad.  Emphasis added. 

Secret contract, lavish spending push Republican Party of Florida to crisis

As a volatile election season gets under way, the Republican Party of Florida is facing its biggest crisis of confidence in decades.

Donors and party activists are livid over newly revealed records that suggest outgoing chairman Jim Greer used the party as a personal slush fund for lavish travel and entertainment. The records also show that executive director Delmar Johnson padded his $103,000 salary with a secret, $260,000 fundraising contract and another $42,000 for expenses — at the same time the once mighty Florida GOP was having to lay off employees amid anemic fundraising.

Another sign of trouble came Monday with news that incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon transferred $665,000 of party money in the days surrounding Greer's resignation to a separate political committee called the Florida Liberty Fund, suggesting lack of confidence in the party election machine.

Greer has long been known as a flamboyant chairman who enjoyed entourages, charter jets and belting out Elvis at party galas. But even the biggest critics of Gov. Charlie Crist's hand-picked chairman were stunned by revelations that he entered into a lucrative secret contract with a stealth company set up by his most loyal aide de camp, 30-year-old Johnson, a former Crist campaign aide. The contract would pay Johnson a 10 percent commission on all major donations to the state Republican Party.

How does that make you feel about money you've donated to the Florida Republican Party?  Not good?  Well, it just keeps getting better.

Greer made a show of rescinding the party credit cards of top elected officials and cutting up his American Express card last summer to stem criticism of party spending. But internal records obtained by the Times/Herald show heavy spending continued — on Johnson's card: $100 flower arrangement for the wives of Greer and Gov. Crist; thousands of dollars in meals; $15,000 to charter a jet to George LeMieux's swearing in as U.S. senator; and another $1,800 for in-flight catering services. The spending helped Johnson rack up more than 1 million American Express points.

I guess it really pays to be a friend of Charlie.  But then, money is no object when you are paying with other people's money.  Somehow, I don't think that this is what donors had in mind when they dug deep in to their pockets mistakenly believing that they were supporting Republican candidates.  Here's the kicker:

Crist has said he didn't know about Johnson's contract, but some activists aren't satisfied. Crist is the de facto head of the party and its biggest fundraiser.

Sorry, but if anybody believes that Charlie was unaware of what was going on in his own inner circle I would strongly suggest they put the pill bottle down.

I don't donate to the party anymore and I won't in the future unless I see some very big changes.  Any money I wish to donate will go straight to the candidate of my choice.  The way I see it, I can't afford to go jetting around and I'm sure not going to pay for party "leaders" to do it.

Florida GOP Chairman Resigns

Jim Greer, Chairman of the Florida Republican Party, has resigned. This is excellent news for those of us who believe that candidates should be chosen by the voters rather than appointed by behind doors by a cabal of party insiders.

"I cannot be a participant in the shredding and tearing in the fabric of the Republican Party," said Greer, blaming his conservative critics for their plan to stage a divisive fight over his post at a party meeting Saturday. His critics were willing to "burn the house down and try to destroy the Republican Party," Greer said.

Greer, a close ally of Governor Charlie Crist, is the highest-profile casualty to date of the conservative insurgency that, in Florida, backs Marco Rubio against Crist.

"I am not a purist," Greer said, begging his fellow Republicans to "stop the fight between moderates and conservatives [and] focus on electing Republicans in 2010."

Greer sounds eerily like Sen. John Cornyn, head of the NRSC. Both cling to the fallacy that the voters don’t know what is good for them and therefore need the “leadership” to make all their important decisions for them. The Florida race between Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio is a perfect example of this line of elitist thought.

Crist and Rubio both easily beat Kendrick Meek, the likely Democratic candidate in the Florida senate race. Yet only Crist received the backing of Greer and Cornyn. Why? Because for all their bluster about getting Republicans elected, Greer and Cornyn don’t want just any Republican elected, they want their Republican elected even if the voters want someone else.

Voters expressing a preference for one candidate over another is not tantamount to “…the shredding and tearing in the fabric of the Republican Party,". It is democracy. Greer either doesn’t understand the process, or more likely, doesn’t believe in the process. Either way, his resignation is good news for Florida Republicans.

Cross posted at Not One Red Cent