The allegations stem from trips Gillum took with lobbyists and vendors to Costa Rica and New York in 2016 while he was still mayor of Tallahassee, where he allegedly accepted gifts worth more than $100, including a ticket to a performance of Hamilton. Under Florida law, officials are barred from accepting gifts to influence them or gifts over $100 from vendors or lobbyists that have worked with the agency. Officials are required to disclose gifts over that amount, with exceptions for their family members.
Gillum, however, never reported gifts from either of those trips. But then again, he didn’t have to, as it was later revealed that undercover FBI agents investigating public corruption into city officials were on the trip.
Gillum now has the option of entering into a settlement with the Ethics Commission. That, of course, would involve either an admission of guilt by Gillum or contesting the allegations in a court-like administrative hearing.
Tallahassee business Erwin Jackson, who filed a state ethics complaints against Gillum in 2017, and Gillum’s attorney Barry Richard confirmed the Ethics Commission’s findings to the Tallahassee Democrat.
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This article appears in Jan 23-29, 2019.