TALLAHASSEE, FL -- A House panel has denied former Speaker Ray Sansom's request to delay his ethics case until criminal charges against him are resolved.
The House Select Committee on Standards of Official Conduct acted Thursday on the advice of independent counsel Melanie Hines.
She said constitutional provisions and court rulings demonstrate that a criminal defendant's rights are not paramount to the public interest. In this case, she said what's at stake is the public's confidence in the integrity of the legislative process.
The ethics complaint and criminal charges stemmed from $6 million in public money Sansom steered to Northwest Florida State College. The cash funded an airport hangar allegedly used by Sansom's friend, and the school subsequently gave the lawmaker a $110,000 job.
