Former FDLE commissioner raises more questions about Rick Scott’s firing of Gerald Bailey

The latest development in the removal of Gerald Bailey as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner is playing out on Facebook. Gov. Rick Scott’s office orchestrated Bailey departure and told the veteran lawmen that Scott had the backing of the Florida Cabinet, which oversees the department.

Former FDLE Commissioner Jim York has written an open letter to Gov. Scott about Bailey’s resignation and legendary Capitol reporter Lucy Morgan has it on Facebook.

York, FDLE Commissioner 1979 – 1982, asks Scott whether Bailey had caused problems for the governor “by telling you things you didn’t want to hear?”

And at that point another thread is picked loose in a story that’s been unraveling since the Cabinet appointed Rick Swearingen Tuesday as Bailey’s replacement.

Bailey was forced to retire on Dec. 16 after a meeting with Scott’s former general counsel, Pete Antonacci. His dismissal was followed by the retirements of two other FDLE officials.

York pointedly asked Scott if Scott had asked Bailey to close a money laundering investigation into a campaign donor seeking an appointment to be on the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

“When Commissioner Bailey refused your request, did you call him weekly to ask if the case was closed? Did you make many of these calls on other staffer’s cell phones and office phones? If so, I’m sure you weren’t just trying to ‘erase your fingerprints’, right ?” writes York.

This week Attorney General Pam Bondi, CFO Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said they had believed Bailey had chosen to retire. Bailey said he was given the choice of leaving voluntarily or being dismissed.

York also questions whether Scott had a “problem” with Bailey alerting Scott about an applicant for a position in the administration not including an arrest record on an application form.

Bailey had complained that he was receiving solicitations to donate money to Scott’s reelection campaign and FDLE had balked at requests to transport campaign staff. York wants to know about tension between the governor’s office and FDLE; citing the governor’s office interference in press releases about prison inmates using forged documents to escape.

“Did one of your staffer’s show up at Commissioner Bailey’s office and demand that the Commissioner make the statements in question and that Bailey again refused to make untrue statements in his press release,” York asks Scott.

The statement in question concerned a specific county clerk of the courts that York said Scott’s staff became “upset” when Bailey refused to state the clerk was a “target” of the investigation.

York’s Facebook post is as follows:

Dear Governor Scott,

As I stated in a previous post, I have a few questions for you about your firing of FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey:

Did Commissioner Bailey cause you problems by telling you things you didn’t want to hear? Such as that in an application for an important job in your administration, the applicant had said he had never been arrested when in fact he had been? Did you, as promised ” take care of it”? I understand the record in question was expunged but the record can likely still be found in the investigative file.

Did a major donor in your campaign indicate he wanted to be on the Fish and Wildlife Commission and did you inquire about the donor to FDLE? Were you then told that the applicant was under investigation for money laundering? Did you then ask the Commissioner to get the case closed? When Commissioner Bailey refused your request, did you call him weekly to ask if the case was closed? Did you make many of these calls on other staffer’s cell phones and office phones? If so, I’m sure you weren’t just trying “to erase your fingerprints”, right?

During your last election campaign, were you upset with Commissioner Bailey when he declined to meet with your campaign staff to brief them on ongoing cases and law enforcement issues?

Do you remember the prisoners who escaped from the Department of Corrections using forged documents? Do you recall wanting to review the FDLE press release on the incident? We’re you aware that your staff contacted Commissioner Bailey regarding the press release and asked him to say he was “investigating ” several Clerks of the Courts in Florida Counties and to say that the Clerk of the Courts in Orange County was a “target” of the investigation ? We’re you or your staff upset when Commissioner Bailey refused to make such statements because the statements were not true? Did one of your staffer’s show up at Commissioner Bailey’s office and demand that the Commissioner make the statements in question and that Bailey again refused to make untrue statements in his press release?

That’s all the questions for now. Hope to hear your answers soon. I have a couple more questions regarding use of FDLE cars by your campaign staff but I’ll get to that later.

Thanks and with all due respect I think Florida citizens might like your answers to these simple questions.