Lauren Book, Running Unopposed, Raises $1.3 Million Despite Criticisms

I LOVE the Broward County/Miami New Times. They seem to be the only ones with the guts to ask the hard-hitting questions about the Books. The Miami Herald used to, but even they have grown silent on this issue. Oh, and the New Times has even posted a link to this humble blog. This site is merely a repository for existing info already out there about the Books. 

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/lauren-book-running-unopposed-raises-13-million-despite-criticisms-7673729

Lauren Book, Running Unopposed, Raises $1.3 Million Despite Criticisms

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016 AT 9:58 A.M.

Plantation resident Lauren Book, 31, has raised about $1.3 million for her state senate campaign, though she's running unopposed. Her charity was also awarded a million dollars by the state legislature this session.  

Book is the daughter of powerful Florida lobbyist Ron Book, and after suffering horrific abuse by a nanny in her teen years, she founded Lauren's Kids, which raises awareness about childhood sexual abuse and advocates for legislation affecting sex offenders.

She has designed an educational curriculum and written two books, Lauren's Kingdom, and It's OK to Tell. Every year, Book walks across the state during an annual "hope and healing tour." The walk passed through South Florida this past week. During portions of it, Book was joined by Miami Heat staff and hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse.  

Despite the phenomenal support, Book has faced criticism that due to her father's influence, her charity and, in turn, her candidacy get "outsized" benefits not typically afforded to a small non-profit or novice candidate. The Florida Legislature this year awarded Lauren’s Kids $1 million for “school and instructional enhancements." In 2014 and again in 2015, the charity received $3.8 million from that part of the state budget, far more than most other groups that were awarded funds in that category.  Billboards with her face on them promote her charity but have the side effect of increasing her visibility as a candidate. 

Book had initially drawn an opponent, former Walmart worker Emmanuel Blimie, but due to redistricting she is now unopposed in District 32, which includes Cooper City, Coral Springs, Davie, Plantation, Southwest Ranches, Weston, and parts of Miramar, Pembroke Pines, and Sunrise. As of February 29, she had raised $529,484 via 735 small campaign contributions (up to $1,000 each), including donations from pro athletes Dan Marino, Alonzo Mourning and Shane Battier.  

In addition, a political action committee called Leadership for Broward had raised $761,950 for Book. That includes donations from major Florida companies (like $20,00 from Autonation and $10,000 apiece from U.S. Sugar Corporation and Florida Crystals), plus $100,000 coming from the Miami Dolphins and $65,000 from the GEO Group — her father’s former or current clients. In the past, some have expressed concerns that if she were elected, Lauren's votes would be influenced by her father's work. (He is president of Lauren's Kids, and the charity is headquartered in the same office building as his firm.)  

This year, Derek Logue, a convicted sex offender who runs a website critical of the Books, says, “I’d love it if someone challenged Lauren Book on collecting GEO Group money considering the fact GEO group’s track record of allowing rampant physical and sexual abuse within their walls. I guess Lauren doesn’t care about abuse when it is about juveniles in facilities.” (A Department of Justice investigation into the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, which is run by GEO Group, found that it was “deliberately indifferent to staff sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior with youth. The sexual misconduct we found was among the worst that we have seen in any facility anywhere in the nation.”)

Book's campaign manager, Steve Vancore, said Book was too busy to comment due to her annual walk. But in the past, she has deflected criticism with characteristic sweetness, saying she wished critics “would speak directly to me so I can show them the amazing work we are doing on behalf of children.”

Lauren's Kids boasts of having helped pass some two dozen laws to stop childhood sex abuse, such as mandating the placement of a red “P” on the driver’s licenses of sexual predators. Some groups have argued that laws created as a result of the zeal to punish sex offenders have had unintended consequences like breaking up families, and may not necessarily be effective in stopping abuse. A new documentary called Untouchable will explore how the Books’  efforts to regulate where sex offenders could live meant that some had nowhere they could reside legally except under a bridge (something Ron Book has publicly regretted). Filmmakers were not available this week, but promotional materials say the film "argues for a new understanding of how we think about and legislate sexual abuse." The film will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, April 13 to 24 in New York.

Lauren's Kids spokesperson Claire Van Susteren, said Book “is keeping a wall between her Foundation work and the campaign. Regarding the Untouchable film — neither Lauren nor Ron have seen the full version yet but I am sure would be able to comment once it’s officially been released.”

I look forward to hearing the reaction from the film. Below is the film trailer. 

UNTOUCHABLE - Festival Trailer from Meerkat Media on Vimeo.

GEO Group, one of Lauren Book's biggest PAC contributors, physically and sexually abused kids

Lauren Book took $50,000 from a group that allowed
juveniles to be sexually abused

We have recently reported that Lauren Book received $50,000 from GEO Group, the private prion industry, under her "Leadership for Broward" PAC. It is ironic that Lauren Book, whose entire political campaign platform is her desire to protect kids from sexual abuse while taking money from a private prison that allowed one of the worst cases of rampant physical and sexual abuse of juveniles in the history of the criminal justice system to occur under it's watch. 

GEO Group has been the subject of a lot of controversy over the years, but the Walnut Grove MS facility stands out among all of them. 

Lauren Book doesn't seem to care where the money for her campaign is coming from. There's a word for that-- HYPOCRISY!

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/24/151276620/firm-leaves-miss-after-its-prison-is-called-cesspool

Miss. Prison Operator Out; Facility Called A 'Cesspool'
Updated April 30, 20128:06 PM ET
Published April 24, 20124:15 PM ET

One month after a federal court ordered sweeping changes at a troubled juvenile prison in rural Mississippi, the private company managing the prison is out. A report by the Justice Department describes "systemic, egregious and dangerous practices" at the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility.

As those words imply, the official report is scathing.

Federal Judge Carlton Reeves wrote that the youth prison "has allowed a cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions to germinate, the sum of which places the offenders at substantial ongoing risk."

Walnut Grove, located an hour's drive east of Jackson, is a 1,450-bed prison that houses inmates ages 13 to 22 who are minors convicted as adults. It is run by GEO Group of Boca Raton, Fla., the nation's second-largest for-profit prison corporation, which posted a profit of $284 million last year. The Mississippi Department of Corrections pays GEO to manage the prison.

Jonathan Smith is chief of special litigation in the civil rights section at the Justice Department, which spent two years looking into conditions at Walnut Grove.

"To have a prison that's chaotic, poorly run, dangerous, didn't provide services, highly sexualized and highly violent really limits the ability of the state to turn those folks around, and to ensure public safety upon their release from prison," Smith said.

Among the conditions described in the report released last month:

• Prison staff had sex with incarcerated youth, which investigators called "among the worst that we've seen in any facility anywhere in the nation."
• Poorly trained guards brutally beat youth and used excessive pepper spray as a first response.
• The prison showed "deliberate indifference" to prisoners possessing homemade knives, which were used in gang fights and inmate rapes.
• Some guards had gang affiliations — a finding confirmed to NPR last year by former inmate Justin Bowling.
• "A lot of times, the guards are in the same gang," Bowling said. "If an inmate wanted something done, they got it. If they wanted a cell popped open to handle some business about some fighting or something like that, it just pretty much happened."

A GEO spokesman said via email that the abuses documented by the government occurred before GEO took over Walnut Grove in late 2010. Another private prison company, Cornell Companies, ran the Walnut Grove facility until Cornell was purchased by GEO.

GEO Group also ran the correctional center when the Walnut Grove mayor used one of the inmates as his personal sex toy:

https://www.fbi.gov/jackson/press-releases/2012/former-mayor-of-walnut-grove-sentenced-for-federal-witness-tampering

JACKSON—William Grady Sims, 61, former mayor of Walnut Grove, Mississippi, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to serve seven months in prison followed by six months of home confinement and two years of supervised release for federal witness tampering, U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen announced. Sims pled guilty to the charge on February 14, 2012.

Sims was the mayor of the town of Walnut Grove, Mississippi, having been elected to this position since 1981. In this role, he was one of the longest continually serving mayors in Mississippi, having served over 30 years. In October 2009, Sims became the administrator or warden of the Walnut Grove Transition Center in Walnut Grove. At the time, the Transition Center was a privately-owned and operated facility which had contracted with the Mississippi Department of Corrections to house state inmates. In November 2009, the Sims rented a motel room in Carthage, Mississippi; drove a female inmate in his custody from the Walnut Grove Transition Center to the motel room; and proceeded to have sex with her. During a federal grand jury investigation of the sexual encounter, Sims was recorded during several telephone calls with the female inmate instructing the inmate to lie to investigators by saying they had never had sex and had never been together in that motel room. Sims was subsequently interviewed by the FBI, and he admitted to having sex with the female inmate and instructing her to lie to investigators about their sexual encounter. Sims resigned as administrator or warden of the Walnut Grove Transition Facility in January 2010.

GEO Group also ran a juvenile facility in Texas that was run about as well as a third world country.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2007-10-26/554296/

The removal and firings came a week after two separate investigations into Coke: one by TYC investigators ordered by acting Executive Director Dimitria Pope after receiving a series of worrying reports, and a separate one by independent ombudsman Will Har­rell. In his report, Harrell describes inhuman conditions. Insects infested the dorms, where children slept on mats on the floor, and sheets were visibly dirty. His worst criticism is reserved for the security dorm. Calling it "malodorous and dark," he notes that inmates were only let out to shower, with no exercise or recreation. Education was a crossword or math puzzle shoved through the slot in the door. Bad as these conditions were, three inmates had voluntarily self-referred themselves to the security dorm to avoid gangs. Threats of inmate-on-inmate violence caused the greatest "sense of fear and intimidation" Harrell had ever experienced. Understaffing, long seen as one of the pivotal problems with TYC, was still unresolved: 44 of the 105 staff positions were empty, and the facility was having trouble finding new recruits because of negative publicity about earlier scandals.

However, Harrell inspected the facility on Sept. 24, and while Hurley applauded his report's content, he was concerned that he did not receive a copy until after his office's own investigation was complete. "If I'm the ombudsman, and I'm out there, I'm not going to go away, write a report, and then not send it to the one person who can actually make changes."

According to Hurley, the most worrying fact is that the on-site quality-assurance monitors had given the facility a clean bill of health. In his report, Harrell singled them out for criticism, writing, "With so many Q/A's assigned to this single facility, more than my staff for the entire state, why do these problems persist?" While Coke was the only privately run secure facility, TYC has now launched a full investigation into all its contract services. "We thought we had good reports," Hurley said. "The people who were a part of this were longtime TYC employees, but at this point we have no confidence in reports we have seen."

An audit of the Texas facility found:

• “The GEO Group does not ensure that the youth are provided with a clean and orderly living environment.”
• “Cells were filthy, smelled of feces and urine, and were in need of paint.”
• “[T]here are serious problems with insects throughout the facility and grounds.”
• “Plumbing chases were not secure at the time of the inspection. Contraband and pests were found in these areas.”
• “Water leaks are numerous throughout the facility, creating an unsanitary and unsafe environment for all youth and staff.”
• “There is racial segregation [in] the dorms; Hispanics are not allowed to be cell mates with African Americans.”
• “Youth sprayed with [Oleoresin Capsicum] pepper spray are not routinely decontaminated.”

Children at the facility told the Commission:

• They have “not received church services in over two months.”
• They are “disciplined for speaking Spanish.”
• They “are sometimes not allowed to brush their teeth for days at a time.”
• They “had been forced to urinate or defecate in some container other than a toilet.”

GEO Group also hired Ron Book among their collection of lobbyists

http://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/private-prisons-fight-back/66970

With bipartisan criminal-justice reform ramping up, which could drastically cut overall inmate populations, logic might suggest that the private-prison industry would be on its heels. It’s not. Because what does any good business do when its customer base shrinks? It widens its net, of course.

While state and federal prison statistics show a recent decline in the number of Americans who are behind bars, there are still roughly 5 million people under correctional supervision. Many more are in rehab and mental-health hospitals, while hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are shuffled through detention centers – potentially big markets for private facilities. So the correctional industry is diversifying. “The scope of how big this is hasn’t even been anywhere near made clear,” says Caroline Isaacs, who closely tracks the private-prison industry for the American Friends Service Committee, an advocacy group that opposes corrections privatization.

Though the services may be evolving, the concerns remain much the same. As with many for-profit entities, the top priority is the bottom line, which is often at odds with the purpose of community corrections. Rehabilitation – whether in a prison or half-way house – is not typically in the operator’s best interest, because that means fewer clients. As such, some private prisons have been found cutting corners on training and dangerously understaffed, even leading to riots. And you may remember the kids-for-cash scandal, where two Pennsylvania judges received kickbacks for sentencing juveniles to time behind bars.

But there’s still money to be made. In October, Corrections Corporation of America – the largest proprietor of the for-profit bunch – purchased Avalon, adding to its growing network of halfway houses. GEO Group, the second largest in this field, several years ago purchased BI, an electronic monitoring company, and is now moving into health care. Such companies are even targeting contracts in the purely mental-health sector. Opponents have dubbed the latter the “treatment-industrial complex.” Around 90 percent of incarcarees are eventually released; however, mental health hospitals have the potential for lifetime confinement. The fear, some say, is that we’ll simply start funneling people from prisons to alternative care institutions and surveillance programs that will perpetuate many of the same issues — and, in some cases, be even more harmful to those who end up stuck in a vicious cycle.

As in any competition for government contracts, lobbying plays a role in the industry’s flexibility and resilience. Official, on-the-books lobbying numbers have gone down across the board over the decades, though CCA hired 199 lobbyists in 32 states over the past decade, while GEO employed 72 lobbyists in 17 states, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. But many believe that lobbying activity has simply gone underground. Lee Drutman, a lobbying expert with New America and professor at John Hopkins University, says to tell the story of a $3 billion industry fighting for legislative survival, you have to look at the indirect ways it lobbies, from unlikely alliances to innovative media strategies.

CCA Director of Public Affairs Jonathan Burns points out the company has a longstanding corporate policy not to lobby for or against any policy that would determine the basis or duration of an individual’s incarceration or detention. Plain speak: The corporations are not supposed to influence the length of sentences or what counts as an offense punishable by prison. GEO, meanwhile, noted in a statement that it doesn’t advocate for or against any specific criminal-justice policy. Still, federal lobbying disclosure statements show that over the past decade the industry has spent almost $10 million on state persuasion efforts and close to $22 million lobbying Senate and House representatives, and it has contributed more than $3 million directly to candidates and PACs. “With the election coming, 2016 should be a very interesting year,” says Paul Ashton, a research associate at the Justice Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., which aims to reduce incarceration.

Yes, $3 million in contributions to candidates like Lauren Book and PACs like Leadership for Broward. The Books lobby for stricter sentencing, which means more business for the Boca Baton-based GEO Group. Also, GEO Care, GEO Group's health subsidiary, donated an extra $15,000 in addition to the $50,000 donated to Leadership for Broward.

The bottom line is Lauren's alleged concerns on preventing sexual abuse does not extend to juveniles behind bars.

Lauren Book's 'Leadership For Broward"-- Just what is a "leadership PAC"?

We've already discussed the obscene amount of money raised by Lauren Book's "Leadership for Broward" PAC ($765,000 to date, which is on par with big-name pols like Jeb Bush, John Boehner, and Paul Ryan). That's a lot of money for a district in the Everglades. That is extremely shady.

But just what IS a "leadership PAC"? This is the OpenSecrets.org explanation of the shadowy practices of the Leadership PAC:

"Leadership PACs: Background

A leadership PAC is a political action committee that can be established by current and former members of Congress as well as other prominent political figures. Leadership PACs are designed for two things: to make money and to make friends, both of which are crucial to ambitious politicians looking to advance their careers.

Leadership PACs are used to fund expenses that are ineligible to be paid by campaign committees or congressional offices. Those costs can include travel to raise a politician's profile, for instance. Democratic leadership PACs are also used to fund fellow Democrats' campaigns, especially threatened incumbents or challengers trying to win seats that were previously held by the GOP. Politicians often use their PACs to donate to other candidates because they are considering seeking a leadership position in Congress, a higher office, or leverage within their own party as they show off their fundraising ability.

Both Democrats and Republicans operate these PACs, which can accept money from other PACs and from individuals. Individuals can contribute up to $5,000 per year to a member's leadership PAC, even if they have already donated the maximum to that member's campaign."

Leadership PACs are, simply put, a way for pols to circumvent restrictions on collecting campaign funds and how those funds are spent. It is that simple.

ThinkProgress points out the potential for abuse:

For years, current and former elected officials have created leadership PACs, political action committees they can use to raise money to help elect like-minded candidates. But with no law preventing politicians from using the funds raised by their leadership PAC for personal use, some operate these committees more as an expense account than a political action committee.

A ThinkProgress review of Federal Election Commission (FEC) PAC data found that four leadership PACs have spent a paltry amount of their funds so far this election cycle on actual political candidates, while vasts amounts went to pay staffers, cover overhead, and cover travel, meals, parking, and even highway tolls.

While the politicians are rarely involved with the day-to-day operations of these leadership PACs (or their own campaign committees), they frequently headline fundraising events for the committees and they are largely free to spend the raised money as they wish. Donors seeking to earn lawmakers’ gratitude or help boost the politician’s political standing often donate to both their campaign account and their leadership PAC.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, leadership PACs are “considered separate from a politician’s campaign committee, providing donors with a way around individual campaign contribution limits.” They “provide a way for candidates to fund their travel, office expenses, consultants, polling and other non-campaign expenses,” though ostensibly their purpose is to advance the political view points of their owner.

Interestingly, Leadership for Broward has only two expenditures:

11/10/2015     5,000.00 MIAMI DOLPHINS, LTD.    EVENT TICKETS                          
11/12/2015     4,240.00 ROBERT WATKINS & COMPANY, P.A.  ACCOUNTING SERVICES
                           ------------
                               9,240.00
2 Expenditure(s) Selected

But didn't the Miami Dolphins giver her $100,000 for her PAC? Five grand to watch the Charlie Tunas choke in football and $4290 for accounting services is all she has spent.

Why is no one investigating this?

Lauren Book is married for a second time. Shall we take bets to see how long this one lasts?

Smeagol and her "Precious"

Welcome to the Jerry Springer portion of Floridians For Freedom. It seems that Lauren Book can't even manage her love life, so how can we expect her to manage the 32nd District? So if this piece sounds more Springeresque, I'm just trying to set the mood.

Personally, I'm not all that concerned with her "love life," but it seems daddy Book didn't want to shell out another million bucks for his princess. (I reckon one literal "million dollar wedding" was enough even for daddy longbucks.) So apparently Lauren was so frigid to her first hubby (semi-pro golfer turned car guy Kris Lim) that he allegedly found a little warmth in Lauren's best friend (and apparently his put a little of himself in Lauren's best friend, according to Lauren herself).

So anyways, Smeagol (or "Buggie B" as her douchebag friends call her) found herself a new precious named Blair Jacob Byrnes. Apparently he's a computer and security chump working for Microsoft, a company almost as synonymous with glitches as Lauren Book. Apparently this schmuck also works as a campaign manager. How convenient. Gee, I wonder how much money this asshat gets from Lauren's "Leadership for Broward."

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/blog/lauren-book-quietly-remarries-check-out-gift-registry

Lauren Book Quietly Remarries (Check out the Gift Registry)
Submitted by Nancy Smith on July 14, 2015 - 6:47am
Apparently we missed a major wedding in Plantation Saturday -- the second marriage of Lauren's Kids' founder Lauren Book, 30, this time to Blair Byrnes. 

You might remember seeing Byrnes in February, walking with his fiancee as the Lauren's Kids entourage arrived in Tallahassee to wrap up the Walk in My Shoes charity event.

Maybe press attended Saturday's wedding, but if any journalists were on hand, the write-ups are hiding in plain sight. My only clue was a link to the bride and groom's wedding registry at Bloomie's. Have a look for yourself. (Nice taste, you two.)

The wedding probably wasn't a patch on the party that launched Book's first marriage to golfer Kris Kim in 2008, a splashy, $1 million affair involving 600 guests at Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort in Aventura. No kidding, a $1 million wedding.

It was filmed as Season 3, Episode 25 in the WEtv series "Platinum Weddings" and billed with this: "A half-million dollar budget gets blown out of the water when Daddy’s Princess gets every wedding wish she ever desired."

But, back to Saturday.

At almost the same time as Lauren and Blair were tying the knot, Buddy Nevins in BrowardBeat.com told us Lauren's Dad, lobbyist Ron Book, had just bought his daughter a steal of an apartment at The Plaza Condominium in Tallahassee -- perhaps looking forward to Lauren's Senate run to replace Eleanor Sobel who is term-limited in 2016.

Gag me with a spoon.

Editorial: Lobbyist equations just don't add up

A lot of money goes into a job paying below the median yearly wage so you know there are major kickbacks being passed along.

http://staugustine.com/opinions/2016-02-25/editorial-lobbyist-equations-just-dont-add#.VudNEuIrI_M

Editorial: Lobbyist equations just don't add up
Posted: February 25, 2016 - 8:57pm  |  Updated: February 26, 2016 - 1:04am

The tattered performance and arrogant self-interest of Florida’s uber-partisan legislature this year seems to prove that, at least in state politics, you do get what you pay for.

Ask the lobbyists.

Lobbying firms working in the state are required to file compensation reports each quarter. Exact amounts are not known because they’re not available, because the law does not require them to do so ... possibly because our lawmakers make the law.

Lobbying firms, instead, report a compensation “range” of sorts. A couple of the bigger firms, for instance, reported getting paid between $500,000 and $999,000 in the fourth quarter of 2015. And that’s as much as we know. But the state’s top four lobbying firms — Ballard Partners, Capital City Consulting, Ronald L. Book PA and Southern Strategy Group — each reported making at least $1 million for work done in that quarter, the last report released earlier this month.

Ballard Partners is the big dog, headed by Republican fundraiser Brian Ballard. He started his firm in 1998 with his father-in-law, Jim Smith, who was a former attorney general as a Democrat and secretary of state as a Republican. The Palm Beach Post reports that Ballard’s sister, former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty, spent two years in prison on corruption charges. Coming in second is Southern Strategy, the former lobbying firm of former Sen. John Thrasher, now the president of Florida State University.

Ronald Book’s clients, The Post reports, include Ashbritt, a rapid-response recovery firm from Book’s South Florida stomping ground. It was awarded a no-bid contract by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for cleanup efforts following Hurricane Sandy. Book was paid $204,000 for his efforts.

Among the big spenders in Florida are FPL, U.S. Sugar and the Seminole Tribe, which has a $3 billion deal with Florida currently on the table.

(Nationally, the top five spenders annually are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at $85 million; the National Association of Realtors, $38 million; the American Medical Association, $29 million; Blue Cross/Blue Shield, $23 million; and Boeing, $22 million.)

In all, Florida lobbyists were paid $30 million in the last quarter of 2015. The cumulative total in 2105 was $131.5 million — up $12 million over 2014. (But they earned that, having to work through the regular session, plus the three special sessions.)

One might wonder how to put this all in perspective. Certainly there are more ways than one. But, if we agree that all the money spent by lobbyists is intended to directly influence votes of our lawmakers, here are a couple of equations to ponder:

■ 40 senators plus 120 representatives = 160 Florida lawmakers.

■ 131.5 million divided by 160 = $821,875 spent on each lawmaker.

State senators and representatives are paid $29,687 annually, plus per diem. Do the math. If you can make the rest of that equation add up, send that answer to the Florida Commission on Ethics: P.O. Drawer 15709, Tallahassee, FL 32317.

Why would a candidate running unopposed even need a million bucks for a PAC running out of her own home?

Welcome to the Corporate HQ for "Leadership For Broward"!

OK, maybe it isn't a million bucks yet, but it will be a million before the election is over.

First thing I'd like to mention is it appears Lauren Book is running her PAC from her own house (NW 108th Way, Plantation FL), or at least someone's private residence bought for $530,000 in January 2014, according to the Zillow real estate site. It seems a bit odd for someone running a PAC out of a private residence like that, especially when Lauren's Kids has an office in Aventura,18851 NE 29th Ave Suite 1010, Aventura, FL 33180  (which is also the same address as Ron Book's corporate offices, 18851 NE 29th Ave #1010, Aventura, FL 33180). What's the deal?

(It is also interesting to note that the congressional districts were changed, and Emmanuel Blimie, who was going to run against Book, is still in District 33, but Book was REZONED to District 32, so NOW Book is TRULY running unopposed!)

Thankfully, you can keep tabs on this "PAC" at the FL Dept. of State website. Lauren Book is actually running as a Democrat. This may the first time in my life I vote Republican!

http://dos.elections.myflorida.com/committees/ComDetail.asp?account=64349

Committee Tracking System
 
Leadership for Broward

Type: Political Committee
Status: Active
Address: 101 Northwest 108th Way
Plantation, FL 33324
Phone: (305)360-6422
Chairperson: Lauren Book
Treasurer: Nancy H. Watkins
610 South Boulevard
Tampa, FL 336060000
Registered Agent: Lauren Book
101 Northwest 108th Way
Plantation, FL 333240000
Purpose:
Affiliates:

You can use the Dept. of State website to look at the list of contributors. Here are a couple of notables:

2014   M11      11/26/2014    $25,000.00 THE GEO GROUP, INC. (Private Prisons)
2015   M3       03/10/2015     $5,000.00 RAI SERVICES COMPANY  (Big Tobacco)
2015   M7       07/23/2015    $10,000.00 GOLD COAST BEVERAGE, LLC (Beer)
2015   M7       07/30/2015     $1,000.00 TRUTH IN POLITICS, INC. (An "inactive" org has donation funds? Hm)
2015   M9       09/18/2015     $1,000.00 BEER DISTRIBUTOR'S COMMITTEE FOR GOOD GOV'T (the Beer Lobby)
2016   M2       02/11/2016    $25,000.00 THE GEO GROUP, INC. (Again, that makes $50k)

Lauren Book for Senate-- Private prisons, beer and smoking for EVERYONE!

There are over 13.400 untested rape kit in FloriDUH. While FL can't find money to pay for the tests...

... Lauren Book still got $3.8 MILLION dollars. The standard rape kit costs between $1000 and $1500 on average. I'd say that would a sizable dent in that backlog, wouldn't you say? That would be between 2500 and 3800 tested kits. Millionare bimbo Lauren Book damn sure does not need the money!

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-rape-kit-testing-state-report-20160104-story.html

More than 13,400 rape kits, including some that could prove critical in the prosecution of sexual assaults, remain untested and sitting on the shelves in Florida police and sheriff's departments, according to a statewide survey released Monday.

Of those, more than 9,400 kits containing possible DNA evidence should be submitted for analysis but have not been, according to the findings of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

But hey, why waste millions on rape kits when you can buy a powder blue and hot pink tour bus for millionaires, right?

It appears Lauren F'ing Book will have a road named after her after all...

..and I'm willing to bet it will be filled with potholes in need of covering up. Much like Lauren's ugly face.

http://static.lobbytools.com/bills/2016/pdf/AS0114A1611.pdf

Lauren F. Book Boulevard

The portion of U.S. 1/S.R. 5/N. Federal Highway between S.R. 842/Broward Boulevard and S.R.
838/Sunrise Boulevard in Broward County is designated as “Lauren F. Book Boulevard.”

And by the way, here it is in March, and I have yet to see a SINGLE piece about Lauren's political stance on ANYTHING but her victim industry propaganda. I'm willing to bet the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree that was convicted of illegal campaign contributions in the 1990s.

Lauren Book collected over $100,000 from her own charity, funded by taxpayer money

Consider this-- Lauren's Kids raked in $1.5 MILLION last year, and nearly 10% alone went to Lauren Book alone. And yet the politicians who voted for the funding don't even know where the money is going? Hint-- check Lauren's bank account. 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-laurens-kids-funding-20150626-story.html

Nonprofit gets outsized state $$ to fight sex abuse
Dan Sweeney
Sun-Sentinel
June 26, 2015

There's a stereotype of pedophiles – creepy strangers lurking at the edge of city parks, cooling their heels in public bathrooms. Lying in wait.

But 90 percent of child sexual abuse comes at the hands of someone whom the child knows, and 95 percent of it is preventable through education, according to Broward County's rape crisis and child advocacy center. That's where the nonprofit organization Lauren's Kids is trying to make a change, by teaching PreK through third graders to recognize signs of danger so they can tell someone.

"The biggest challenge is battling the stigma of child sexual abuse – it's an issue that thrives in darkness, silence and secrecy," said Lauren Book, who founded the Aventura-based charity in 2007. Book, the daughter of prominent lobbyist Ron Book, was sexually abused by a nanny for six years beginning at age 11.

The state this year is giving Lauren's Kids $3.8 million – almost twice as much as any other group in its budget category, which includes organizations such as the YMCA and the Girl Scouts. It is the second year in row it received that much.

Book said Lauren's Kids' $3.8 million is "a direct result of a growing recognition by the Florida Legislature of the pervasive and costly problem that is child sexual abuse and a strengthening commitment to end it in Florida."

Tax records show Book's organization had $438,357 in total revenue in 2010 – that number tripled the next year. By 2013, Lauren's Kids took in $1,810,495, buoyed by $1.5 million in state funds. At the same time, Book's salary as CEO of the organization went from $67,596 to $103,540.

The next year, state funding for the group went up to $3.8 million for the first time. No other organization in that budget category has seen such a meteoric rise.

Local lawmakers who sit on the House and Senate Appropriations committees, which are responsible for setting funding levels, were mystified.

"I've not quite understood why there's been such exponential growth in Lauren's Kids as a budget item," said state Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami. "We understand that the organization's doing the work providing counseling and other programs for young adults that have been victimized. But we do need to know where those dollars are being spent. … I've made the inquiry and have not really received an answer that's substantive."

Lauren Book's father, Ron Book, is the president of Lauren's Kids – she is the CEO and she acknowledges her lobbyist dad certainly doesn't hurt her organization's bottom line.

But she maintains state funding couldn't be going to a better purpose.

She points to a 2012 study by the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence that found a pilot program of Lauren's Kids' curriculum resulted in a 77 percent increase of children's knowledge regarding sexual abuse awareness.

Book said her organization had identified an unaddressed problem – preventative education rather than simply going after perpetrators of crimes.

With the Lauren's Kids educational tools expanding to more grades – fourth and fifth grade are in development and should be available for the 2015-2016 school year – Book's next role may be in the very legislature that has bestowed more than $9 million on her organization in the last three years.

Last September, Book opened a political action committee, Leadership for Broward, which is a fundraising first step when running for office. More than $570,000 has been contributed to the PAC since then. The biggest donations include $100,000 from the Miami Dolphins, $25,000 from Vitas Hospice Care, and $25,000 from the GEO Group private prison company – all clients of Ron Book.

dsweeney@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4605 or Twitter @Daniel_Sweeney

Ron Book tries to get a Ft Lauderdale street named after Lauren and fails. Good.

The level of arrogance Book family just won't stop. Not content with an entire neighborhood named after them (seeing as how they created that neighborhood, that is understandable), the Books want a major street named after Lauren. Thankfully, it failed. Interestingly, a number of Floridians opposed this measure and is upset the proposal was not up to vote.

The scariest thing is the FloriDUH Senate approved the measure but it died in the House.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-lauderdale-lobbyist-street-naming-20151117-story.html

Lauderdale won't consider a Lauren Book Boulevard
Larry Barszewski
Sun Sentinel
Street-naming for lobbyist's daughter will have to wait. Bill fails to clear state Legislature.

— There won't be any Lauren Book Boulevard in the city just yet.

City commissioners were to consider a resolution Tuesday night supporting the state Legislature's decision to name a stretch of Federal Highway in honor of Book, a state Senate candidate and the daughter of lobbyist Ron Book.

But the item was pulled from the commission's agenda because of one unnoticed problem: The bill that included the honorary naming apparently didn't pass the Legislature this year after all.

A review of the Florida Senate's web site shows the bill cleared the Senate but was not taken up in the House of Representatives.

People in the city had not been aware of the proposed designation, which would have covered Federal Highway between Sunrise and Broward boulevards. If approved, it would have allowed commemorative signs to be placed in the street's medians at Sunrise Boulevard and near Broward Boulevard.

"We don't need ceremonial names for lobbyist relatives, especially those who are still living and running for current political office," Victoria Park resident Larry Wallenstein said in a written message to commissioners.

Ron Book sought the naming from legislators as a way of honoring his daughter's work through Lauren's Kids, an organization she created that educates adults and children about sexual abuse. Lauren Book herself endured six years of sexual abuse by a nanny.

lbarszewski@tribpub.com or 954-356-4556

Copyright © 2015, Sun Sentinel

Some of the comments under this article:

lostthatlovingfeeling
Pass a law that anyone who was ever a lobbyist, married to a lobbyist, born to a lobbyist, in any kind of relationship with a lobbyist or in any way related to a lobbyist be forever banned from having a public building, public park, public road, sidewalk or lane named for them now and forever. If I've missed anything, please add it to the list.

Someone else please start the list for developers and politicians.

KCK33317
How about we stop altogether these egomaniac politicians and lobbyists that want their name on everything. What a joke that we're supposed to "honor" them for making a gravy train living off of the taxpayer's back.

americananarchist
Book as in Crook

whopper
A father wants the city to name a street for his daughter? Really?? This is really sick.

Here is an earlier article, with comments:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/broward-politics-blog/fl-blog-lauren-book-boulevard-20151113-story.html

Lauren Book, state senate candidate, getting her own street
Larry Barszewski
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

What gift can a lobbyist dad get for his daughter? How about a street-naming by state legislators?

Lauren Book may be running for state senate in Hollywood, but she could soon have her own boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.

State legislators this year approved naming the stretch of Federal Highway from Broward Boulevard to Sunrise Boulevard for her because of her work with Lauren's Kids, which educates adults and children about sexual abuse. Book herself survived six years of sexual abuse by a nanny.

While Book isn't from the city and her district wouldn't include the roadway, the stretch is part of her annual statewide Walk in My Shoes awareness walk from Key West to Tallahassee.

Lauren F. Book Boulevard would be an honorary designation, with signs erected with her name on them in the U.S. 1 median at Sunrise Boulevard for southbound traffic and at Northeast Second Street for northbound traffic.

They won't be campaign signs. They'll be a gift from dad.

Book's father, lobbyist Ron Book, sought the designation as a surprise for his daughter, who he said has "really become a symbol for what victims can become" in moving forward with their lives.

"It's about how she works to empower people," he said.

Ron Book said the road is close to the Nancy J. Cotterman Center for sexual assault treatment where his daughter received counseling and care. He said he started seeking the designation during last year's legislative session, before his daughter became a candidate for political office.

Before signs can be erected, Fort Lauderdale commissioners must pass a resolution supporting the naming. The resolution is on their Tuesday agenda.

The city's street-naming policy says honorees should be deceased, but that policy involves a street being dual-named and not for an honorary designation. The state has no requirement on who can be given an honorary designation, Ron Book said.

lbarszewski@tribpub.com or 954-356-4556

Copyright © 2015, Sun Sentinel

Mickey Dumberly
How much hubris is the local lobbying community filled with if they now think they can gift naming rights on Federal Highway between Broward Blvd and Sunrise Blvd to their 30 year old daughter. The biggest insult to Fort Lauderdale residents is that this lobbyist Ron Book is a paid lobbyist of the city of Fort Lauderdale, being paid to lobby Tallahassee for things we want, not things he wants for his daughter and her now political career. I will be sending a New Times article about Ron Book and daughter from February that details their history and accomplishments in the public sector. The crazy thing is the article explored the idea that Lauren and her father were attempting to parlay this career as a professional victim into a political career. Guess what, they were right. Lauren is now running for a State Senate seat. Hopefully Fort Lauderdale Mayor John P. “Jack” Seiler can see all the negative publicity and attention this egregious act of a rogue lobbyist will have during a public discussion and will just pull the shameful item from the agenda. I plan to be seguing from the dais into why Fort Lauderdale is paying someone with Ron Book’s white collar criminal history detailed in the New Times article to lobby Tallahassee for this city. Maybe “Jack” figures no one without a little dirt on them can be trusted up in Tallahassee, maybe he’s right, “Jack” would know.

With Deep Ties to Politicians, Private Prisons Have Exploded As Profit Centers

This article does not specifically mention the Book family, but the Books have taken lots of money from the GEO Group and even parties with the CEO. The GEO Group and Florida has a long history of corruption and scandal.

WITH DEEP TIES TO POLITICIANS, PRIVATE PRISONS HAVE EXPLODED AS PROFIT CENTERS
FRI, 6/12/2015 - BY MARY TURCK
THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED ON AL JAZEERA AMERICA

Last month the state of Washington contracted with the GEO Group, one of the largest for-profit prison companies in the U.S., to move up to 1,000 inmates from the state’s overcrowded prisons to its correctional facility in Michigan, thousands of miles from their homes and families. This makes family visits and connection with the community harder, though studies show that inmates who receive more visits are less likely to re-offend after release.

Prisoners can’t vote in the United States and as a result they don’t have much sway over public policy decisions. But private, for-profit prison companies do, their voices amplified by big campaign contributions and millions spent on lobbying. Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, some of the candidates’ ties to the prison-industrial complex raise a lot of questions.

For example, the GEO Group has contributed heavily to campaigns of Florida senator and Republican contender Marco Rubio. And Republican candidate Jeb Bush’s support of for-profit prisons goes back to the 1990s, when he oversaw prison privatization as Florida governor.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is calling for criminal justice reform, which would reduce profits for private prisons and reduce mass incarceration. The election offers voters a choice between candidates who support the current system that allows corporations to profit from the misery of the inmates and those committed to fundamental reform, which includes changing inflexible sentencing laws and ending the for-profit prison system.

Washington’s contract with the GEO Group is part of the boom in for-profit prisons, whose inmate population increased by 1,600 percent from 1980 to 2009. The privatization of prisons and prison services accelerated during former President Bill Clinton’s administration based on promises of cost savings and better treatment for inmates. For-profit prisons have delivered on neither.

Government-run prisons frequently fail in rehabilitation, in providing medical care and in protecting prisoners from abuse. But private prisons do worse. Poorly paid and inadequately trained guards make for-profit prisons dangerous for staff and prisoners alike. In a 2001 study, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) reported a higher incidence of assaults on prisoners by guards at private prisons than in state and federal prisons.

The U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel or unusual punishment of inmates. Increasingly, private prisons fail to meet even that minimal standard. One egregious example is the Bureau of Prisons’ contracts that require 10 percent of private prison beds to be set aside for solitary confinement. Because private prisons profit from keeping all beds full, this results in overuse and abuse of solitary confinement. This includes instances where immigrant mothers were punished with solitary confinement for protesting deplorable conditions at detention centers.

Other instances of cruel and inhuman punishment come from abusive guards, lacking training and supervision. A 2010 video from Idaho’s infamous “gladiator school” private prison shows guards watching one prisoner beat another unconscious and making no effort to intervene. In fact, reports show that the prison’s officials use “inmate-on-inmate violence to force prisoners to snitch on their cellmates.” A 2011 report by the American Civil Liberties Union on private prisons details horrifying cases of abuse, including instances where cells for juveniles that smelled of urine and feces, insect infestations, racial segregation, punishment for speaking Spanish and refusal of medical and mental health treatment.

Beyond turning prisons over to private companies, governments also contract out health care or food services or telephones or banking services in public prisons. Video conferencing visitation, now set up in many prisons, often comes at a high cost to families and prisoners. Privately run probation and parole services spark concerns about “profitmaking through collection of fees and fines from the offender, with little or no attention paid to an individual’s underlying issues such as substance use or unemployment,” according to a 2012 NCCD report.

The abuse and exploitation of prisoners doesn’t end there. U.S. prisoners often work for pennies making goods for profit. The Ella Baker Center, a non-profit organization working for racial and economic justice, characterizes prison labor as the new slave labor. In 2013 37 states contracted with private, for-profit companies for prison labor. Companies ranging from Starbucks to Victoria's Secret and Microsoft carry products made with prison labor.

Politicians have favored private prisons because they’re supposed to save taxpayer money. But they haven’t: Private prisons’ relatively cheaper operating cost has not translated into lower costs to taxpayers. For-profit prisons typically house less-serious offenders, who are less costly to maintain. Private prison employees receive less training, lower pay and benefits. Yet, the contract cost to state and federal government remains about the same as the per-prisoner cost of publicly operated prisons.

Private prisons do, however, generate corporate profits. A 2012 NCCD study found that private prisons remain highly profitable and growing, despite their failure to deliver on promises of cost savings and improved conditions for inmates. For example, CCA and the GEO Group, two of the corporations that dominate the private prison industry, post combined annual revenue of more than $3.3 billion.

CCA’s 2014 annual report warned shareholders that “relaxation of enforcement efforts, leniency in conviction or parole standards and sentencing practices” or changes in drug or immigration laws could adversely affect their profits. Unsurprisingly, the prison profiteers spend tens of millions of dollars on lobbying and on supporting the campaigns of “tough-on-crime” candidates. Harsh sentencing laws fill prison beds, generating profit for corporations. The most vulnerable people — young, poor, immigrants and people of color — make up a disproportionate number of those prisoners. Ultimately, profit is the worst possible motive for running prisons, or for making laws that govern crime and punishment.

- See more at: http://www.occupy.com/article/deep-ties-politicians-private-prisons-have-exploded-profit-centers#sthash.IjhgddI6.dpuf

The names of Ron Book and Lauren Book will FOREVER be synonymous with the problem of homeless sex offenders in South Florida

There are lots of reasons why Lauren Book should not be trusted for public office and why Ron Book should have been fired from his position as head of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust long ago. For almost a decade, the Book family has been synonymous with the international embarrassment that was the Julia Tuttle Causeway sex offender causeway camp. In fact, those living at the camp called the place "Bookville" after Ron and Lauren Book. [There is a lengthy and comprehensive look at this camp HERE.]

The population of Bookville increased as much as 150 before Ron Book had the place demolished in 2010. As head of the Miamo-Dade Homeless Trust, it was his responsibility to clean up the mess created by the controversial Lauren Book Child Safety Ordinance, which made roughly 99% of Miami-Dade off-limits to registered sex offenders. Ron Book never solved the problem. Instead, former Bookville residents have spent the past five years living a nomadic existence, from the Department of Corrections parking lot to Shorecrest to Allapattah to Hialeah. 

Florida Action Committee, a legal reformist group, recently reported the transient camp at 7100 NW 36th Court now has over 200 "residents." Feel free to go to the Florida Sex Offender registry yourself, enter 7100 NW 36th Court as the address, Miami as the City and 1/4 mile as the radius, and see for yourself. 

Despite how you feel personally about people listed on the public sex offender registry, consider the fact that Miami (and the entire state of Florida, for that matter) has become synonymous with sex offenders (like the cutscene from the Family Guy episode "Grumpy Old Man" where an entire block is "SOs"). 

If you are looking for someone to blame for all this, blame Ron and Lauren Book. They have made it their life's mission to make Miami a place full of homeless registrants. Ron Book uses his position as head of the Homeless Trust to push this homeless issue into other communities. As for Lauren Book, don't expect her senate bid to address much about issues other than sexual abuse. When asked about her political stance by the Miami New Times, Lauren's response was, "Political points? I want to be clear about one thing. I was raped every day for six years, and they were the six most horrible and horrific years of my life. I felt guilty, ashamed, invisible, bad, dirty, hurt, and afraid every single day from the time that I was 11 until I was 16... Children in every community on the planet are also enduring the pain I suffered. I am trying to turn my personal pain into something positive and hopefully prevent this from happening to others." I somehow doubt Lauren Book will be any better at representing the mostly good people of Ft. Lauderdale than Ron Book has been at running the Miami-Dade Homeless Camp. 

Ron Book and his daughter Lauren have made people all across the world think "sex offender" whenever they think of South Florida. Voting for Lauren Book will simply solidify that view. 

Ron Book's Dade County Commissioner patsy Jose "Pepe" Diaz BUSTED for DUI

This is Jose "Pepe" Diaz, and for years, he has been Ron Book's go-to lackey on the Dade County Commission. In fact, he is credited with writing the controversial "Lauren Book Child Safety Ordinance," the 2500 foor residency restriction law that led to the Julia Tuttle Causeway sex offender colony, otherwise known as "Bookville." 

Actually, this is Pepe's MUGSHOT. You see, he was recently arrested for DUI. (HERE IS THE BODY CAM FOOTAGE if you want to see Pepe go full tilt, courtesy of the Miami Herald.) At this time there is no word if he will blame it on a brain tumor. In response Pepe said, "There goes my political career." We can only hope. 

http://www.wsvn.com/story/30072561/miami-dade-commissioner-jose-pepe-diaz-arrested-for-dui

Dade Commissioner 'Pepe' Diaz caught on camera: "There goes my political career"

Posted: Sep 20, 2015 10:10 AM EDT

Updated: Sep 22, 2015 11:14 AM EDT

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Dashcam video has been released showing the moment before Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz was arrested over the weekend after allegedly driving his motorcycle drunk in Key West.

Diaz, known to ride a motorcycle, was arrested Saturday night following the Key West Poker Run, a charity motorcycle event.

According to Key West Police, the commissioner was pulled over at around 7:45 p.m., on South Roosevelt Boulevard near Sea Side Drive, for going 74 mph in a 30 mph zone. Authorities said, during the traffic stop, Diaz failed to put his kickstand down, causing his Harley-Davidson motorcycle to fall to the ground. According to the police report, Diaz did not place his feet down on the ground to steady the motorcycle, causing him to fall over to his side. They also noticed that he had a slight slur, his eyes were bloodshot and watery. There was also a strong alcoholic odor from his breath. Police said that was when the DUI investigation began, and he was taken into custody.

Dashcam video showed Diaz as he attempted to walk a straight line, at times stumbling during the test. 

Key West Police bodycams and dashcams on the police car rolled throughout the traffic stop. According to the bodycams one Key West officer was wearing, when asked why Diaz was driving over the speed limit, Diaz apologized. "I'm Commissioner Diaz. I apologize," he said.

"You're who?" asked the officer

"Commissioner Diaz for Miami-Dade County," he responded, as he approached the officer.

"Stop right there."

That's when Diaz explained to police that he was trying to catch up to his friends. A few minutes later, he realized the severity of the stop and said, "There goes my political career."

"Sir," the officer said, "I don't make the decisions on whether you drink, you drive."

Diaz was asked to perform several sobriety tests and failed. He also refused a breathalyzer test. 

Commissioner Diaz appeared before a judge Sunday, and his bond was set at $1,000. 7News was the only station there as Diaz bonded out of the Monroe County Jail, just before noon Sunday, but he refused to comment.

Under legal council, he said he could not discuss any details following his arrest. He later released a statement Monday that reads, "Under advice of my legal counsel, I cannot discuss details at this time. However, I look forward to resolving this matter. In the meantime, I will continue to serve my community and the residents of District 12 as I have done for the last 24 years, and I humbly ask for your patience during this time."

Commissioner Diaz addressed the media from his home Monday evening. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry, once again. I am extremely sorry," he said. "This is a very difficult moment for me, for my family, for my friends, for my neighbors. Especially my neighbors that please, after this, let them come back to a normality of life. It's not been easy for them. I will tell you that I will follow the judicial system, as I believe in it, like I've always believed in it. I will go through this process like anybody else that's been in this situation."

7News requested information from the Governor's Office on what steps it might take following the charges. We were told that the legal team there are looking into this case.

Diaz has served on the commission since 2002 and was previously mayor of Sweetwater. The next commission meeting is Oct. 6.

Peter Schorsch is endorsing Lauren Book. Is the the guy you'd want endorsing you?

This is Peter Schorsch. Peter runs the "SaintPetersBlog," a Florida politically-focused blog. He is endorsing Lauren Book on his blog. Recently Peter published an article where he asked such "hard hitting" questions as:

So let’s ask the questions…

How will she keep a firewall between her two worlds? (i.e., as spokesperson for her charity and as someone running for office)

Can she be both a candidate and a foundation CEO?

And what about her salary?

And so we get this answer "State records show that as CEO of Lauren’s Kids, Lauren drew part of her salary from state dollars. Fine, there is absolutely not even a question about a CEO of a foundation drawing a salary. She was paid for work she was doing. But now that she is a candidate, Book says she will no longer derive any of her salary from state funding. Yes, you read that first here on Florida Politics.  Any funds that she draws down for her work with Lauren’s Kids will, going forward, come exclusively from private donations and not from tax dollars. 'This isn’t something we are required to do,' Book said, 'but it feels right and we are always going to bend over backwards to cross our Ts and dot our Is.'"

I guess we will have to see it to believe it. Most of Lauren's Kids money has come from taxpayer dollars, so to claim she will not derive a salary from the taxpayers is a bit ludicrous. Furthermore, we all know some of her "private funds" come from the for-profit GEO Group private prison. But I digress. 

At the least, Lauren Book should be screen her endorsements a little better. Lets look at Peter Schorsch's own record. 

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/09/09/Northpinellas/Record_cleared__consu.shtml

Record cleared, consultant's back

A campaign consultant once banned from working in politics returns with a clean slate.

By JOSE CARDENAS, Times Staff Writer

Published September 9, 2007

Once a rising star in Tampa Bay area politics, Peter Schorsch appeared to be finished as a campaign consultant this spring.

In March, Schorsch pleaded no contest to two counts of grand theft and one count of scheming to defraud two candidates and the Greater Tarpon Springs Democratic Club.

Sentenced to house arrest, probation, community service and restitution, Schorsch was banned from working in politics while on probation. Soon he was accused of violating that, too.

But in a deal that wiped out his sentence, Schorsch last month was released from the conditions of his probation.

And he's back in business...

In 2006, Schorsch was charged with writing 16 worthless checks totalling more than $1,200 for cash at Publix. He pleaded guilty and was fined.

Schorsch told the Times that he wrote the checks to cover debts he incurred gambling on basketball games.

- - -

Then, in 2006, Schorsch was arrested on charges he stole nearly $10,000 from the Democratic club, and from Ed Helm and Eve Joy, who ran for mayor and a seat on the St. Petersburg City Council, respectively, in 2005.

Schorsch took their money and did no work.

After pleading no contest, he was sentenced to two years of house arrest and three years of probation, during which he was prohibited from working in campaigns.

He also was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and pay restitution.

But Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone agreed to withhold a formal finding of guilt for Schorsch, who had no other felonies, which meant he would no have a record as convicted felon.

In August, Schorsch appeared at Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court again: Authorities said he violated probation by not making restitution payments...

Prosecutors said they would forgive the house arrest portion of the sentence if Schorsch paid full restitution immediately instead of making payments over several years.

Even if Schorsch paid up, though, Assistant State Attorney Lalitha Alladi and Joy asked that Schorsch be kept on probation.

But Quesada offered to take Schorsch off of probation if he paid the restitution in full right away.

It was a way to encourage Schorsch to borrow money and pay the victims now rather than later, Quesada said...

"He's not a convicted felon," said Bartlett. But "I don't think he can avoid the fact that he has this on his record."

And that's not all of his trouble. Schorsch also still has not paid a $66,500 fine levied in 2006 by the Florida Elections Commission for unrelated election violations.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/cash-for-coverage-questions-arise-about-local-political-blogger-peter/2152747

In Florida's power circles, politicos say dealing with well-connected blogger Peter Schorsch often comes down to the money.

Want to garner his favor or avoid his wrath? Buy an ad.

Want him to write a flattering story or remove a negative post he already wrote? Buy an ad.

According to five people active in politics, Schorsch, 37, has tried to pressure them for hundreds or thousands of dollars in exchange for good stories or the deletion of bad ones.

Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long and former state Rep. Frank Farkas are among those who say Schorsch tried to trade coverage for money. Three accusers provided documentation and one, Michael Pinson, offered a notarized contract signed by Schorsch.

Since the Tampa Bay Times started asking questions early this month, a 2½-year-old dormant criminal investigation into Schorsch based on some of these claims has been renewed, according to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri...

The reinvigorated criminal inquiry into Schorsch stems from accusations made by Pinson, a Republican activist who over the last three years Schorsch has frequently criticized and mocked online. Pinson supplied a contract to the Times that Schorsch had presented him in May 2012. In it, Schorsch requested that Pinson pay him $3,200 in order for the blogger to delete all references to Pinson from his websites — and to write nothing more about him for the following three years.

The contract called for a $1,000 bonus if anything Schorsch wrote about Pinson didn't appear in the first 30 online search results.

The contract is notarized and signed by Schorsch. The Times met with the notary, who confirmed its legitimacy...

Pinson, who was mentioned for an open Pinellas congressional seat, said he didn't pay Schorsch, and the attacks continued. Just three months later, in a Twitter exchange with someone Schorsch seemed to believe Pinson knew, Schorsch said this: "Tell Michael I said hi. Just think for 5K he could've made all of this go away. Wait till u see 'The Douchebag Returns' story."

Schorsch acknowledged the tweet but said the recipient was "a fake Twitter account established to harass my family."

******

To sum it up:

• Arrested in 2006 for writing 16 worthless checks totaling more than $1,200 for cash at Publix. He pleaded guilty and was fined. 
• Arrested in 2006 on charges he stole nearly $10,000 from the Democratic club, and from Ed Helm and Eve Joy, who ran for mayor and a seat on the St. Petersburg City Council, respectively, in 2005.After pleading no contest, he was sentenced to two years of house arrest and three years of probation, during which he was prohibited from working in campaigns.
• Still had not paid a $66,500 fine levied in 2006 by the Florida Elections Commission for unrelated election violations over a year after the conviction. 
• Under a 2 1/2 year long investigation for writing hit pieces against those who do not pay him and accepting bribes for favorable reporting. 

Once again we find a convicted criminal with close ties to Lauren Book. I know Lauren can't help being tied to her father Ron (also a convicted criminal), but having close ties with this guy isn't going to help her cause.