I-Team: State Commission on Ethics to finally hear case on Jim Norman

TAMPA - More than a year after a scandal that nearly cost State Senator Jim Norman his political career, the Florida Commission on Ethics has scheduled a probable cause hearing on four ethics complaints filed against him.

The complaints are a result of an I-Team investigation which uncovered Norman, who was a County Commissioner at the time, had an undisclosed lake front vacation home in Arkansas.  It was later revealed the late Tampa businessman Ralph Hughes gave Norman’s wife Mearline $500,000 to purchase the property.

Hughes often appeared before the Hillsborough County Commission during the period Norman was a member of it.

The revelations resulted in a judge briefly removing Norman from the November 2010 Senate race ballot.  An appellate court later reversed the decision.  It also resulted in an investigation by a federal grand jury.  Late last year, prosecutors declined to file charges.

As a result of the disclosures, Dover activist George Neiman and three other area residents filed ethics complaints against Norman.

Sources at the Ethics Commission told the I-Team that it is policy to wait until criminal investigations are completed before moving forward on complaints.

Neiman released a letter he received from the Commission to the I-Team that informed him a hearing will take place February 3.  According to the letter, the Commission’s investigator and State Senator Norman will each be given five minutes to provide statements to the full Commission. The letter goes on to say the purpose of the hearing is to evaluate the results of a preliminary investigation.

Norman has subsequently amended his public disclosures to include the vacation home paid for with the Hughes money.

If Norman is found to have violated state ethics laws, the Commission could levy fines and disciplinary recommendation to the state legislature.