Florida politicians become surveillance targets as political payback rumors swirl
TALLAHASSEE — Private investigators have pursued state legislators, including GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Latvala, secretly recording their daily lives in search of scandal, according to state law enforcement records and private surveillance reports obtained by POLITICO Florida.
It’s unclear who is behind the multiple spying efforts, but in at least four separate incidents — one dating back to 2015 involving Latvala dining with three female lobbyists — private eyes have been watching pols more than ever in the capital city. One surveillance operation became the subject itself of an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement this spring, when a legislator spied a camera, hidden on a table behind a vase in a condo hallway, fall on the floor.
Even in Florida politics, where attack ads and mudslinging are commonplace, the emergence of private investigators digging up dirt on the personal lives of state lawmakers is striking and has some lawmakers worried that this out-of-sight-out-of-mind college town is turning into a surveillance state.
“Historically, we don’t see this in Tallahassee: active private eyes following a politician in his daily activities,” said David Ramba, a longtime lobbyist and lawyer who helps lawmakers organize and run their political committees.
more: https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2017/10/30/florida-politicians-become-surveillance-targets-as-political-payback-rumors-swirl-115364
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