Ex-speaker answers Fla. jury’s questions
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – Former House Speaker Ray Sansom told his side of the story to a grand jury Thursday about accusations he misused his position to benefit a Panhandle college that had hired him for a six-figure job.
In a closed hearing, Sansom was questioned about accusations he helped direct $35 million to Northwest Florida State College during a two-year period he served as the House’s budget chairman – millions more for building projects at the 15,000-student school than much larger state universities and community colleges get.
The largesse included $6 million for an air facility similar to a hurricane-proof hangar that Jay Odom, a Sansom friend and political supporter, once sought to construct with taxpayer money. Odom, who subsequently resigned from the board that oversees a state-created insurance company, did not appear Thursday.
Former Okaloosa County Airport Director Jerry Sealy, who was subpoenaed to testify in Thursday’s proceeding, said afterward he had nothing to do with the decision to place the dual-use hangar and emergency operations center at the airport because the project “just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”