NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
For Immediate Release: June 04, 2010
From His Glass House, Rick Scott Attacks McCollum/Greer Relationship
After indicted Republican Chairman Jim Greer was arrested this week, Bill McCollum has come under renewed scrutiny for his role in the Republican Party scandal and his efforts to delay the investigation into Greer’s alleged illegal activities.  Following this week’s unpredictable events, disgraced executive Rick Scott’s campaign has issued blistering statement attacking McCollum for his close relationship with Greer, saying McCollum is part of a “culture of corruption and insider dealings.”  While Scott’s statements are true, they blatantly ignore Scott’s own ethical issues and record of his company defrauding the government for their own gain.
“I hope Rick Scott has insurance on his glass house, because he’s been throwing an awful lot of stones,” said Florida Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff.  “With Rick Scott’s former company pleading guilty to 14 counts of fraud and paying $1.7 billion in fines, Scott hardly has a leg to stand on to talk about ethics and accountability.”
Scott and McCollum have battled in the last month over Scott’s record as head of Columbia/HCA.  After Scott was forced to resign, the company went on to plead guilty in the largest Medicare fraud case in history.  It was recently reported that while in Congress, McCollum tried to weaken whistleblower protection laws, which would have made it harder to prosecute healthcare fraud cases like the ones Scott’s company, Columbia/HCA, was found guilty of committing.
Jotkoff added, “Rick Scott criticizing Bill McCollum on ethics is as hypocritical as McCollum attacking Scott’s record at Columbia/HCA.  It’s abundantly clear that neither Republican candidate for Governor has the ability to clean up the mess and end the culture corruption festering in Tallahassee.”
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