FDLE clears the PSC in ethics probe
Julie Patel
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced today that it found no criminal misconduct at the Public Service Commission based on interviews with agency representatives and a review of messages on their state-issued BlackBerrys.
State police started investigating the commission in August after receiving a complaint from Commissioner Nathan Skop about agency employees exchanging BlackBerry instant messages -- called PINs -- with FPL employees.
“Upon review of the sworn testimony provided and BlackBerry messaging records retrieved from the PSC, the [state attorney's office] determined that there did not appear to be any criminal activity facilitated by Commissioners or Commission staff which violated Florida State Statute," law enforcement officials wrote in a three-page report summarizing its findings.
The report summarizes what each commissioner or PSC employee interviewed said when interviewed by the agency. Most said they had contact with utility officials but did not talk about the merits of substantive issues.
The report's findings trickled out weeks ago.