Rod Smith Lies to Voters

Rod Smith, the new head of the Florida Democratic Party and recent losing candidate for Lt. Governor, is seen here in 2006 while running unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Governor. Smith is confronted by a supporter to explain his involvement in corrupt practices in the City of Alachua and particularly his role in Clovis Watson's unconstitutional holding of two offices (reporting himself as an active duty law enforcement officer, full time, in the line of potential harm or "special risk" during the eight years he served as City Manager) and in Watson's defrauding of the police "special risk" retirement fund to obtain benefits including up to $1.5 million in additional benefits.

Smith here denies writing Watson's contract - which was a known lie and his role was documented in the authoring of the original 2002 contract which contained the language used to claim the fraudulent benefits.

When Watson's status was challenged by Charlie Grapski with the Pension Board, forcing the FDLE to finally take action stripping Watson of his police powers (although leading to no investigation or prosecution for his having exercised police powers unlawfully), Smith was again called to write a new amended contract for Watson to try and nuance the language to skirt the law.

That was unsuccessful so Watson hired, using City funds, Smith to represent him in litigation against the State which unsuccessfully tried to force the State to reinstate Watson to the exclusive risk-based pension classification.

When Smith was first hired by the City to defend against the Dual Office Holding litigation brought by Grapski, a few months after this video and the election, Smith ADMITTED on the public record that he did, indeed, write Watson's original contract.

Compare that admission to what Smith - now leading the Florida Democrats - said to his supporters when he was seeking their vote. Specifically he denies writing Watson's contract. That was a bald-faced lie.

Smith also denies living in Alachua. Yet the issue is that he and his family own property there and his mother still lives on that property. Smith, however, avoids the truth about a strip of land that connects his property to the border of I-75 - at a location that Smith spent his Senatorial career trying to turn into a new interchange for the interstate which would take the otherwise unusable couple foot wide strip of land worth millions. Why did Smith lie? And where does the truth start?

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Alachua
• Grapski
• Clovis Watson
• Rod Smith
• Corruption
• Police Abuse
• Impersonating an officer
• fraud
• pension fraud

[hallahanfl]

Rod Smith is the BEST!