Hey Robert,
Here's an upstanding democrat for you....
Florida Ballot Lawsuit Plaintiff
Fined in 1988 for Fraud
By Justin Torres
CNS Senior Staff Writer
November 10, 2000
(CNSNews.com) - Andre Fladell, the Palm
Beach County, Fla., resident who is a
plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking a new
presidential vote in his county because
of an allegedly confusing ballot, is a
long-time Democratic operative in the
area who was fined and placed on
probation for Medicare fraud in 1988.
According to paperwork from the Florida
Office of Professional Regulation,
Fladell - a Palm Beach area chiropractor
- was fined $1000 and placed on six
months licensing probation for improperly
receiving Medicare monies for X-rays and
other procedures. Fladell claimed at the
time he was unaware of the daily
operations of his office, according to
the newspaper reports.
Also, Fladell has in the past claimed
that he advised the campaign of
Senator-elect Bill Nelson of Florida.
Friday morning, Scott Aaronson, a
spokesperson for Nelson said he did not
"know his specific role in the campaign,
but I know [Fladell is] a personal friend
of the Nelson family."
Later that day, Dan McLaughlin,
communications director for the Nelson
campaign, strongly denied that Fladell
had any connection to Nelson beyond
"being an acquaintance."
"Bill has more than 20,000 names in his
rolodex from more than 30 years of public
service," said McLaughlin. "Fladell may
be among those names because he is
involved in Palm Beach politics."
After filing his lawsuit Wednesday,
Fladell told CNSNews.com, "I leave the
voting booth and I go to the beach and
I'm with my friends, they say, 'Boy, that
was the toughest ballot I ever saw,' and
I'm laughing because I'm thinking they're
not too bright. Turns out I wasn't too
bright."
When asked how nearly 270,000 Palm Beach
County voters apparently did vote for
Gore rather than Buchanan or some other
candidate, Fladell speculated that it was
because some "people who don't vote a lot
have an advantage. People who vote a lot
have a disadvantage."
"People who have never voted will take a
lot more time," to examine the ballot,
Fladell continued. "People who vote
regularly just assume it's the same as it
always is," he said, explaining that
previous ballots listed the Democratic
candidate and corresponding punch hole
second on the list of nominees.
Fladell, according to a 1999
Broward-Palm Beach New Times article, is
a longtime Democratic operative in the
county who has been dubbed "the Prince of
Palm Beach County" for his hardball
political tactics.
Fladell has been involved in zoning and
residential fights in Palm Beach County
in the past, and recently lead an effort
to have the local education
superintendent removed form office.
In the 1999 New Times article, Fladell
claimed his connection to Nelson'
campaign.
In the article, a former friend of
Fladell's who was the target of an effort
to deny him reelection to the Florida
state house, said that Fladell "long ago
did stand up for the little guy, the
homeowner, the right things."
But, said Barry Silver in the article,
"He's become so involved in political
intrigue that those sentiments long have
been subsumed by other feelings."
Nat Kaplan, a Democratic activist in Palm
Beach County who has headed the local
affiliate of the group Common Cause,
calls Fladell "a very aggressive guy who
has done some good things but can be a
real a**hole. Personally, I don't like
him although were both Democrats. . . .
He definitely likes his name on the front
page, I know that."
Fladell came to Palm Beach county in the
1970s and became "a factor in local
politics almost immediately. . . . He's
very sophisticated."
Kaplan, however, says he believes that
Fladell had problems with the ballot,
saying he also had trouble figuring it
out.
Carolyn Zimmerman, head of the local
Haitian-American Aid Council and a
longtime Democratic activist, called
Fladell "obnoxious" and confirmed that he
has been involved in Florida politics for
many years.
"Andre should keep his nose out of it,"
said Zimmerman. "There's enough ordinary
voters who were confused that they don't
need Andre to get involved." |
