Longtime former lawmaker Mike Fasano returned to Tallahassee to accuse Governor Rick Scott of dishonesty on Thursday.
The subject: a Republican Party television ad featuring a man who doesn't give his name, but claims he's a victim of convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein and Charlie Crist, the Democratic candidate for governor.
The ad implies Rothstein and Crist worked together to steal people's money. But now, high-profile Republican Mike Fasano is calling the ad a low blow.
Today, it turns out the man in the ad is actually a wealthy investor who got all his money back from Rothstein, never mentioned Crist in court filings, and whose lawyer is a top Scott campaign donor.
“In no way - in no way - was Charlie Crist involved in this, and Rick Scott knows this,” said Fasano. “He knows it, but every time you ask him a question, he runs as far away as he can, behind his staff and behind his campaign. He will not be honest with the people of this state, and sadly, he will not even be honest with himself.”
In a neck-and-neck campaign for the governor's mansion, every vote counts, and the criticism over the ad could have the power to divide Republicans at a time when Governor Scott is depending on GOP unity.
The Scott campaign is on the defensive over the ad, pushing back by sending protesters to Fasano's press conference.
Their message is the same Governor Scott is making: Crist may not have been involved in a Ponzi scheme, but he was a one-time Republican who took money from Republicans and then left the party.
“The ad speaks for itself. The ad is true. Both Scott Rothstein and Charlie took money,” said Scott.
But Fasano says that's not how the ad comes off, and he's predicting he's not the only Republican who won't be voting for Scott in November.
“Enough of this type of campaigning and enough of Rick Scott,” Fasano said.
It was only last year Governor Scott appointed Fasano to the Pasco tax collector post.
But, many insiders viewed it as a way of getting Fasano out of the Florida legislature.