Lauren's Kids received $10,000 from controversial dispersement of civil forfeiture funds

Israel gave Lauren's Kids ten grand and Ron Book gives Sheriff Israel $3000. This is the literal definition of a quid pro quo.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-ne-bso-trust-fund-audit-20200722-mppdluzrijc3tig6c3vp5acks4-story.html

Broward Sheriff’s Office trust fund had lax oversight, auditors find

By SKYLER SWISHER

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL

JUL 22, 2020 AT 5:52 PM

A trust fund overseen by the Broward Sheriff’s Office has been plagued with lax rules on conflicts of interest and missing documentation, according to an audit made public Wednesday.

Sheriff Gregory Tony commissioned the forensic audit in September.

The investigation conducted by Carr, Riggs & Ingram LLC examined the agency’s Law Enforcement Trust Fund, which consists of money forfeited during criminal investigations. Auditors examined records from Jan. 1, 2008, through June 30, 2019, when former sheriffs Al Lamberti and Scott Israel oversaw the program.

Tony said he requested the audit because the agency did not have a consistent process for distributing hundreds of thousands of dollars seized during criminal investigations to community groups.

We have been reviewing and analyzing all expenditures in this agency,” he said. “I would be a fool not to.”

Tony is facing his predecessor, Israel, in the Aug. 18 Democratic primary. Israel led the agency from January 2013 until his suspension by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2019.


Trust fund dollars are passed on to charitable organizations, but auditors found the Broward Sheriff’s Office did not require grant applicants to disclose potential conflicts of interest with the sheriff or BSO personnel. In several cases, the agency did not perform conflict-of-interest checks.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants were handed out under the Israel and Lamberti administrations to nonprofit organizations with officers who had made political contributions to the sheriff, according to the audit.

More than $790,000 in grants were distributed to 14 organizations with officers who had given Israel’s campaign just over $17,100 in political donations, according to the audit.

The list includes several well-known charitable organizations in the community, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County and Women in Distress of Broward County.

Lauren’s Kids, a nonprofit focused on child sex abuse prevention, received $10,000 through the trust fund.

That organization is headed by the powerful lobbyist Ron Book, who had given $3,000 to Israel’s campaign. His daughter, state Sen. Lauren Book, serves as the organization’s chief executive officer...

Brother of Parkland shooting victim is DISGUSTED by Florida State Senator Lauren Book

https://www.foxnews.com/media/parkland-shooting-sheriff-israel-reinstatement

“Something I’m so disgusted about the last few days is Florida Sen. Lauren Book, someone who has served on the MSD commission. She knew all the facts, watched my sister get murdered, but still voted to reinstate Sheriff Israel. She sold out the community of Broward county and put our children at risk. I'm completely disgusted with Florida Senator Lauren Book.”

“Gary Farmer, Perry Thurston, Oscar Braynon, they were laughing. They were eating candy while these parents are begging them, ‘Please vote in our favor. Please vote in the interest of Broward County.' But to these Broward senators, it was just a joke.”

"And Lauren Book is the worst out of all of them, because she sat on that commission, and she watched these people get shot, she watched these children die. But simply sold out her community for her own political ambition, and that's just something that makes my stomach sick. I'm up here in Tallahassee tying to honor my sister, and this girl had the audacity to just go behind our backs and vote against the community of Broward County."

These are the words of Hunter Pollack, brother of Parkland shooting victim Meadow Pollack, who was among the 17 murdered in last year's Parkland shooting. He is also among those who feels betrayed by Lauren Book.

I hate to put it this way, but maybe the Parkland shooting victims would have gotten all of Lauren Book's attention if they were sexual abuse victims rather than murder victims, because that is literally all Lauren Book knows.

And I'm not trying to sound harsh, but has any of the Parkland shooting victims' families investigated Lauren Book? It isn't like the link between Lauren Book and Scott Israel was that well hidden. Lauren Book is the daughter of Ron Book, Florida's most powerful lobbyist. Lauren Book's charity is the same address as her dad's firm. There's literally nothing Lauren does on a professional level without daddy Ron, not even her charity (run by Ron).

It is sad it took this to wake folks up. But here's the problem-- who will run against Lauren Book? She won both her elections by default. That does NOT mean this will be an easy defeat. Read this blog. I covered how her home-based PAC holds nearly a million dollars for her reelection. She has big money on her side. Please, folks, do your research. Read this blog. I've been posting this stuff for a reason. Use it for good and put an end to Senator Book's corruption!

Parkland school shooting victims are shocked that Senator Lauren Book betrayed them. I'm not shocked

C'mon, Parkland shooting victims, y'all should've known this was coming. Oh, in case you don't know, that's daddy Ron Book meeting with ex-sheriff Scott Israel.

https://www.local10.com/news/politics/book-among-state-senators-who-voted-to-recommend-reinstating-israel-as-sheriff

Book among state senators who voted to recommend reinstating Israel as sheriff
Lawmaker's vote surprises some Parkland parents
By Peter Burke - Local10.com Managing Editor, Roy Ramos - Reporter
Posted: 5:29 PM, October 22, 2019

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A state senator from South Florida who has stood with Parkland parents since the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School explained Tuesday why she voted to reinstate suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.

Gov. Ron DeSantis removed Israel from office in January, citing "neglect of duty and incompetence."
The Florida Senate Rules Committee voted 9-7 on Monday recommending Israel's removal. Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, was among the seven senators who voted to reinstate him.

Book has been united with the parents of the Parkland victims, so her vote came as a shock to some, like the mother of Alyssa Alhadeff, who was killed in the February 2018 mass shooting.

"That was the decision she made and she needs to be -- you know, she's accountable for her vote and the choices that she makes," Lori Alhadeff told Local 10 News reporter Roy Ramos.

Book, whose district includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, spoke about the reasoning behind her vote.

"If we don't reinstate the former sheriff, you're not going to be able to hold former Deputy (Scot) Peterson accountable," Book said.

Peterson was the former school resource deputy who failed to engage the shooter. He has been charged with child neglect, perjury and culpable negligence in connection with the shooting.

Book said she's worried if Israel isn't reinstated, a defense attorney could clear Peterson of any wrongdoing.

"If we are removing Sheriff Israel for not providing adequate training, you can't then at the same time say that he had the training," Book said.

All 40 senators are expected to convene Wednesday to decide whether Israel should get his job back.

Ahead of that vote, many Parkland parents were meeting with lawmakers in hopes of preventing a similar tragedy.

"The families are still going around speaking to different senators, trying to keep telling them the facts and let the facts drive their decision and their vote," Lori Alhadeff said.

Israel has argued that his suspension was politically motivated. Monday's vote was decidedly partisan, with all nine Republicans recommending Israel's removal and all seven Democrats recommending his reinstatement.

The recommendation for removal was contrary to Special Master Dudley Goodlette's recommendation.

Israel's attorney, Ben Kuehne, said in a statement Tuesday that his client "is disappointed by the Senate Rules Committee's abandonment of the rule of law and principles of fundamental fairness by its exercise of brute political force yesterday."

"Sheriff Israel hopes the full Senate will fairly deliberate on the special master's report recommending the sheriff's reinstatement, the only just and proper result based on the governor's failure to prove any ground for the removal from an office to which Sheriff Israel was elected by a landslide margin," Kuehne went on to say. "The people of Broward County deserve their right to choose their sheriff by election."

https://www.local10.com/news/florida/broward/broward-sheriff-accuses-local-10-news-investigative-reporter-bob-norman-of-bullying

Sheriff meets with father of member of commission to investigate Stoneman Douglas tragedy
Scott Israel says he will never answer another question from Bob Norman
By Bob Norman - Investigative Reporter
Posted: 6:19 PM, May 03, 2018
Updated: 7:48 PM, May 03, 2018

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Broward Sheriff Scott Israel hosted a service today in honor of the National Day of Prayer, and while he didn’t mention the Parkland massacre, he did reference his own travails in light of the school shooting that left 17 dead.

Israel said God puts people in rough seas because their "enemies can’t swim."

"If you seek shelter with the most high, you will be protected in the shadow of the almighty," he said.

After an overwhelming no-confidence vote by his deputies' union and with investigators -- from both the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Gov. Rick Scott's public safety commission -- looking into his actions after his agency's failures in Parkland, Israel may need all the protection he can get.

"Everything is on the line right now," said union chief Jeff Bell, who led the no-confidence vote and is encouraging Scott to suspend Israel from his post, alleging incompetence and neglect of duty.

The clouds surrounding BSO could explain the sheriff's meeting with lobbyist Ron Book Tuesday night at J. Alexanders in Plantation. Book is one of the most powerful lobbyists in Tallahassee and has the ear of the governor, who has said he will decide whether or not to suspend Israel when the FDLE investigation into the BSO response to Parkland is completed.

Presenting a more serious potential conflict of interest for Israel is the fact that Book's daughter, Sen. Lauren Book, sits on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, which is also investigating the shooting and BSO.

Bell said the meeting raises serious questions, saying the sheriff should take the same advice given to deputies who fall under investigation – stay away from potential conflicts of interest.

"Any time that you’re being investigated and you’re meeting with people who have direct ties with running that investigation or have family members of close friends that are involved in that decision making process you should always stay away from that," Bell said. "We’re always held to a higher standard and we should know better so to put yourself in situation like that where you could even be accused of having a conversation to dictate the outcome of an investigation."

When Local10 News investigative reporter Bob Norman asked Israel about the meeting with Book after the prayer service, Israel made it personal, accusing Norman of "bullying and disrespect."

"So you’re not going to answer my questions?" Norman asked.

"None of your questions ever," Israel said. "And I told you that four or five years ago, but thanks for coming Bobby."

Book said the two men had bumped into each other earlier this week and that he made a suggestion they catch up some time, though he said he doesn’t recall them ever socializing in the past. He said Israel called him the following day and suggested they meet for dinner at J. Alexander’s.

While he conceded they discussed the Parkland shooting, Book said the subject of the investigations and the governor were never mentioned. He said the subject of his daughter sitting on the Parkland commission also didn’t come up.

Book also said he didn’t consider the meeting a conflict of interest because he did not discuss Israel with his daughter either and that the two keep such matters "separate" from each other.

ADDENDUM: It seems that Bimbo Book's idiotic sister is showing her true colors by attacking expressing shock and anger at Senator Book's betrayal of the Parkland shooting victims.

Speaking of Samantha Book, did you know she ALSO had an auto wreck and her and daddy Book is being sued? Was it also DUI related? If so, then the rotten apple doesn't swerve far from the drunken tree.