APNewsBreak: Ex-Fla. GOP chair Greer under criminal investigation over fundraising contract

APNewsBreak: Ex-Fla. GOP chair under investigation

OCALA, Fla. — Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer is under criminal investigation after an audit found he awarded himself and his executive director a fundraising contract that paid them about $200,000.

Greer owned a 60 percent share of a corporation set up to raise money for the party. Executive director Delmar Johnson owned the other 40 percent of the corporation, which received a 10 percent commission on money raised for the party, the audit found.

Party Chairman John Thrasher released a statement saying he was told that the party may have been the victim of illegal activity after the audit discovered Greer and Johnson’s role in the corporation. The case was referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Greer resigned under pressure in February. He wouldn’t immediately comment on the investigation.