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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (283801)	4/11/2006 11:11:12 AM
From: longnshort	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574104

State Senator Gary Siplin Facing Criminal Charges POSTED: 11:56 am EDT April 10, 2006 UPDATED: 10:22 am EDT April 11, 2006 ORLANDO, Fla. -- State Senator Gary Siplin (D-Orlando) jumped over a fence to avoid Channel 9's cameras minutes after learning he was charged with two crimes. The state attorney said Siplin used taxpayer money to pay for part of his campaign. The criminal case was started after several Channel 9 investigations focused on Siplin. He's charged with paying employees to work on his re-election campaign in 2004. Siplin turned himself into the Polk County jail late Monday afternoon and bonded out. Before that, Siplin made a dramatic exit from his office Monday. Even for a politician who has become known for some unusual behavior, it was jaw-dropping. Sen. Siplin is filmed running from his office and jumping a fence. » MORE PHOTOS « Siplin scaled a chain-link fence behind his senate office in Pine Hills and jumped into a waiting car. Just an hour and a half before, State Attorney Lawson Lamar announced a third-degree felony charge of grand theft had been filed against Siplin, as well as a misdemeanor of using services of officers or employees. He apparently was trying to avoid being seen by Channel 9 cameras waiting at his office (see video, photos). The criminal case started after prosecutors saw a Channel 9 investigation into Siplin's campaign spending last July. Eight months later, Lamar said Siplin used his senate staffers, who are paid with tax money, to conduct business for his 2004 re-election campaign GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL 9 a.m. Headlines Noon Headlines 4 p.m. Headlines News of the Strange Breaking News Alerts "This case centers on a person in a position of trust utilizing approximately three months of labor, funded with taxpayer dollars, for his personal political campaign -- not for the job a state employee was being paid to do," Orange-Osceola State Attorney Lawson Lamar said. "That amounts to grand larceny from the people of Florida." Lamar said Siplin requested two months leave for an employee to work on his campaign and kept her working there on public payrolls after that period ended. He is also accused of using the services of two other public employees over shorter amounts of time. Channel 9 could not reach any staffers Monday. None of the three named in charging paperwork still work at Siplin's senate office. All three were subpoenaed and gave statements to prosecutors. From those, Lamar said, it was clear to investigators Siplin did not simply make a mistake. "It was not as though he didn't know exactly what he was doing," Lamar said. Gov. Jeb Bush will review all information surrounding the case and then decide what action to take, said Alia Faraj, Bush's spokeswoman. "We're going to study the matter further and review all the information that will be provided to our office," Faraj said. Senate Minority Leader Les Miller said Siplin hadn't been notified of the charges when he talked with the senator just before noon Monday. "He sounded like he was a little bit in a shock mode because he hadn't been notified. All of a sudden it was on TV, on the Internet and no one had called him," said Miller, D-Tampa. "He was pretty much in shock. I told him to go do what you have to do and I'll get back with you." Senate President Tom Lee said in a statement that Florida law doesn't call for the automatic expulsion of senators facing criminal charges. "This is a very unusual circumstance. These are serious charges, and we will treat the State Attorneys action accordingly. We did not receive any formal notification of this action, nor have we received the specifics on the charges," the Valrico Republican said. If convicted of the third-degree felony, Siplin faces up to five years in prison. Lamar's office is also investigating rent payments Siplin made with public money for offices in a building his wife owned and another where his law office is located. Copyright 2006 by WFTV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.