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Panel: $271,772 payout may have broken ethics rules
The ethics probe into two former high-level aides at the Orange County Clerk of Courts Office continues after a state ethics commission found probable cause that both misused their positions to take a severance package totaling $271,772 while remaining on the job.
The Florida Commission on Ethics made the determinations about former Interim Clerk Colleen Reilly and Stephan Carter at a meeting last month.
The finding means Reilly and Carter can request an evidentiary hearing before an administrative judge or offer a settlement. In March, Orange-Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton decided not to bring criminal charges against the pair, saying it was better suited for civil courts, but referred the case to the ethics commission.
The case began in the wake of longtime Orange County Clerk Lydia Gardner's death in 2013. Shortly after, Reilly and Carter gave themselves severance packages — $115,329.60 and $156,443.11, respectively.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-clerk-colleen-reilly-ethics-commission-20151125-story.html
