Tampa lawmaker Grant cleared of ethics violations
By James L. Rosica, Tampa Tribune, Fla. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The state
Grant is a Republican who represents eastern
The commission also dismissed a complaint against
Commissioners found no probable cause in that case either. Probable cause means it is more likely than not that a violation of law has occurred.
The matter grew out of local complaints that Grant used county economic development grant money, funded by phosphate mining fees from a private company, instead of private venture capital.
The grant money funded his start-up company, LifeSync Technologies.
That company eventually produced CareSync, a Web and mobile application that lets people store and control their medical records online.
The commission also cleared Grant of an allegation he had a conflict of interest when he voted on legislation that related to excise taxes on phosphate mining.
Grant, 31, is a
"I welcomed the investigation and fully expected this finding," Grant told Tribune/Scripps in a telephone interview. "Nobody did anything but for the benefit of
Albritton could not be reached at his district office Wednesday.
Birge, also a Republican, said in an email to Tribune/Scripps that she was "relieved that the
"Citizens in
County officials put a total of about
LifeSync Technologies received its first
Grant's start-up agreed to oversee development of what would be called the TechRiver Center, located in the county's former Peace River Electric Cooperative building, and to develop CareSync there.
The
The department closed its nearly two-year-long inquiry last November, saying "no sustainable criminal allegation was established," according to an 83-page investigative report Tribune/Scripps obtained through a public-records request.
The local
Grant later sold his firm to
Albritton declared a conflict of interest and abstained from voting on the grant because he thought he would later invest in CareSync, Grant told the
Both Albritton brothers denied last year they had any financial or ownership interest in Grant's company, which Grant confirmed at the time.
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