April 12, 2010
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News: Another GOP Scandal
As if the State of Florida didn't have enough to deal with, the latest discovery of a junior Florida Republican Party has been charged with credit card fraud. To make matters worse, Florida Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos has also been scrutinized for excessive credit card spending at the Florida GOP expense. The Buzz released details Haridopolos's credit card statement which shows he started his term off by paying a $10 fee to rush the mailing of the card. Two months into using the card, Haridopolos had already charged over $2,400 for gas, hometown dining, airline tickets, hotel, and steak dinners.
Haridopolos's didn't come close to what the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald uncovered on the junior member of the party, Melanie Phister. Phister racked up nearly $1.3 million in credit card charges on the party's American Express card. It took Phister two and half years to do the damage. As Finance Director for the State House campaigns, Phister had access to the credit card with little supervision. Her personal purchases included $40,000 at a London hotel; $15,000 at a posh Miami hotel; $20,000 in plane tickets for ex-House Speaker Ray Sansom; jewelry and sporting goods. Sansom also faces criminal charges for perjury connected to a separate incident of his own.
Phister released a statement in response to the charges which said that any credit card charges on the corporate card were related to duties of fundraising. Furthermore, she said that there were multiple individuals who had access to the party's card and that she had "no knowledge" of what they were spending. According to her statement, Phister said she did not regularly review the card statements. Florida Republicans have hired an independent firm to investigate the Party's finances. Additionally, the Special Matters and Investigations Staff hired by the Party's members will conduct their investigation into the matter. The firm maintains that they will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law if any inappropriate expenses and seek compensation.