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Former Senate President Ken Pruitt did not receive $87,000 in secret money from Hollywood eye doctor and GOP money man Alan Mendelsohn, my reporting has revealed.
The actual recipient of the money is revealed here.
The connection between Pruitt and Mendelsohn was investigated by federal agents, according to numerous sources, and no evidence has surfaced that Pruitt did anything wrong in the case.
It is undeniable, however, that Pruitt had close contact with Mendelsohn and personally knew Mutual Benefits owner Joel Steinger, who backed Mendelsohn with more than $1.5 million and contributed to Pruitt’s political interests.
Pruitt, who served in the state Senate for nine years and now works as a lobbyist, stepped down from politics this summer, saying he had accomplished his political goals and wanted to spend more time with his family.
Pruitt was allied politically to Mendelsohn, who steered money to his campaigns. In 2007, Pruitt wrote a letter on Mendelsohn’s behalf when his son Benjamin was trying to get into
University of Florida’s pre-med program without the proper academic qualifications. The dean of UF’s School of Medicine at the time, Bruce Kone, admitted Benjamin Mendelsohn even though he hadn’t taken the required Medical College Admissions test. The scandal surrounding the younger Mendelsohn’s admission led to the ouster of Kone.
Mendelsohn raised much of his political money from, and on behalf of, Joel Steinger, the man behind Mutual Benefits, which the feds allege is one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Florida history. Steinger struck a deal with Mendelsohn to influence Gov. Charlie Crist, who was the state’s attorney general prior to being elected governor, to stop a state investigation into his business. Crist’s close relationship with Mendelsohn has never been a secret. When he was elected governor, Crist appointed Mendelsohn, an ophthalmologist and former legislative director for the Florida Medical Association, to his transition team as health care adviser.
Interestingly, Crist also wrote a letter to the UF dean on Mendelsohn’s behalf in 2007 to help get the Benjamin Mendelsohn admitted to Florida’s pre-med program.
Pruitt, who was closely allied with Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff of Fort Lauderdale, also received contributions from the convicted felon Steinger. Steinger gave at least $2,500 to Pruitt’s education PAC, Floridians For A Brighter Future, among other contributions.
Bogdanoff,a long-time friend of Mendelsohn’s, was the “bookkeeper” for that PAC and she received $1,000 in campaign contributions directly from Steinger’s company, Mutual Benefits, during her 2004 race. But the real story is that Bogdanoff can likely thank her current office to the con man, since it was Steinger’s company that funded a half-million dollar negative ad campaign against Bogdanoff’s opponent, Oliver Parker, in 2004. The money was funnelled, apparently by Mendelsohn, into a PAC called Alliance for Florida’s Future.
Just to be clear, a half-million dollars is an inordinate amount of money to put into one state House seat. To put it in perspective, state records show that Bogdanoff raised a total of only $104,000 for her campaign in that race.
