The case involving Orlando's mayor is taken from the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office.
By Associated Press
Published September 30, 2004
ORLANDO - An investigation into possible ballot fraud in Orlando's mayoral election has expanded to include a state senator and a circuit judge, according to a published report.
The inquiry's expansion was revealed in a letter sent to Gov. Jeb Bush by Chief Assistant State Attorney Bill Vose last week.
The Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday that Vose told Bush the investigation is "against a variety of individuals, including a sitting circuit judge, formerly endorsed by the state attorney; a mayor; and a state senator."
The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office is no longer involved in the case. A spokesman for State Attorney Lawson Lamar said a new "person of interest" has emerged in the investigation who could create the appearance of a conflict of interest for Lamar.
Lamar's office would not identify that person. But at the center of the case is Ezzie Thomas, a political consultant whose clients in recent years include Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, state Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, and Circuit Judge Alan Apte, a former prosecutor who was first elected in 2002 with Lamar's endorsement.
On Tuesday, Bush transferred Lamar's duties to Brad King, prosecutor for the 5th Circuit, based in Ocala.
Dyer was re-elected in March. Defeated candidates have accused Thomas of filling out multiple absentee ballots on behalf of the black community and tampering with other ballots.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement's investigation drew national attention after civil rights organizations accused investigators of intimidating elderly black voters. The U.S. Justice Department has opened an inquiry into the FDLE agents' behavior.
