Florida GOP Police Blotter #15: GOP fundraiser/donor pleads guilty to bribery

Again, Democrats aren't immune to controversy and corruption. But it sure seems like Republicans pretty much have cornered the market....

Evidently this is especially the case with fundraisers and donors for the GOP, as we saw a couple of months ago. Keeping with the trend, another Republican donor with strong Florida ties is facing prison after pleading guilty to bribery (or, technically, "rewarding professional misconduct") in a long-running New York political and influence-peddling scandal.

“Broidy paid nearly a million dollars in bribes to get a quarter billion dollar investment,” according to a statement from Cuomo. According to the attorney general, Broidy acknowledged that he “funneled $300,000 to “Chooch” (the generally unseen movie that has been previously cited in the scandal), entered a “sham consulting agreement,” and paid over $90,000 to the girlfriend of a high-ranking official in the New York comptroller’s office, among other things.

[...]

But among his long list of public service roles, one position in particular may cause raised eyebrows. From 2002 through May of 2009, when he resigned due to a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, Broidy was a trustee of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension fund. While it is fairly common for people to move fluidly back and forth between the investor world and the fund management world, Broidy is the only person we can think of to have a foot in both at once.

Broidy lived in California, but he was quite supportive of the Republican Party of Florida and GOP candidates in the Sunshine State:

In Florida, Broidy gave $100 to Agriculture Commissioner candidate US Rep. Adam Putnam this year; $500 to House Majority Leader Adam Hasner last year; $25,000 to the RPOF in 2006, and $5,000 to the RPOF in 2002.

Said Hasner: "Yes. I have met him briefly on two or three informal occasions – each time at Republican Jewish Coalition events/meetings. He personally contributed $500 to my 2008 campaign which was 5/100 of one percent (.050 %) of the total amount I raised during that election cycle (over $995,000)."

State GOP spokeswoman Katie Betta said the $25,000 donation was designated for the party's 2006 Victory effort helping all GOP candidates.

Sure, it's overreaching to condemn all Republican candidates like Hasner who apparently took contributions from a convicted felon. But it would be irresponsible not to speculate about Broidy's links to Hasner and the Florida GOP....