Gov. Rick Scott has financial ties to embattled Puerto Rico electric company, records show
The connection is the latest of Scott’s investments to come under scrutiny in the past few weeks, including his ties to the controversial SunPass contract, whose vendor has been fined hundreds of thousands for missing state deadlines. Critics allege Scott has been looking to make money off his role as governor.
The campaign of Scott, who is running for the U.S. Senate, has stressed the governor’s assets are in a blind trust over which he has no control.
Scott campaign spokesman Chris Hartline said Saturday, “the idea that he did what he did for Puerto Rico had anything to do with anything other than the people of Puerto Rico is just an insulting suggestion, not just for him but for the people of Puerto Rico.”
The blind trust into which Scott placed his assets has between $1 million and $5 million invested in AG Super Fund, which is managed by hedge fund Angelo Gordon & Co., according to Scott’s federal financial disclosure form filed in July. Scott’s wife, Ann, has four listed investments in AG Super Fund at more than $1 million apiece.
AG Super Fund is one of five Angelo Gordon-managed funds that have collectively invested $321 million into bonds for the island utility called PREPA, according to December 2017 court filings.
Scott has repeatedly offered advice and assistance in getting the Puerto Rican grid back up, including bringing Florida emergency management staffers and Florida Power & Light executives to the island in November 2017.
In a letter in October 2017, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said Scott’s “guidance on restoring energy would be greatly appreciated.”
Scott faces incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in the Nov. 6 election.
“Rick Scott reportedly used Hurricane Michael devastation as the backdrop to film his new political TV ad,” Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said Saturday. “Now, we learn he had a financial link to rebuilding Puerto Rico’s power grid after Hurricane Maria. It seems the only person Rick Scott is ever looking out for is himself.”
According to MarketWatch, PREPA’s $9 billion in bonds are based on collecting fees from customers, and its bondholders’ plight was “grim” even before hurricanes Irma and Maria knocked out large sections of power in September 2017. PREPA filed for bankruptcy two months earlier in July 2017 after a federal oversight board rejected a restructuring deal, MarketWatch reported.
Billions in federal funds have flowed to PREPA and the Puerto Rico government in an effort to halt continuous power outages following the hurricanes. PREPA, the island’s main electric supplier, saw mass resignations of board members and CEOs and was only able to fully supply power in August, nearly a year after Maria hit.
Other Scott investments that have faced criticism over the past few weeks include Spectra, a company building a natural gas pipeline, Schlumberger, a company drilling for oil and natural gas in the Everglades, and high-speed rail line All Aboard Florida’s parent company, Fortress Investment Group.
In an email, Scott spokeswoman Lauren Schenone wrote, “Gov. Scott has never made a single decision as governor with any thought or consideration of his personal finances. The governor’s blind trust is managed by an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed. The rules of the blind trust prevent any specific assets or the value of those assets within the trust from being disclosed to the governor, and those requirements have always been followed.”
Schenone added, “the Governor does not discuss the First Lady’s investments with her or her financial advisers. First Lady Ann Scott discusses her finances with her financial adviser, like millions of Americans. It’s insulting to infer that the First Lady needs her husband to dictate her financial decisions.’’
slemongello@orlandosentinel.com, 407-418-5920, @stevelemongello, facebook/stevelemongello
No comments:
Post a Comment