Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O’Connell resigned Friday after a story by POLITICO Florida showed she took nine weeks of vacation as her agency was under investigation in 2014 for a fraud scandal and was being audited.
The investigation showed O’Connell racked up almost $30,000 in travel bills, of which $20,899 was paid by taxpayers. A press release from Gov. Rick Scott’s office says O’Connell, who was appointed in 2011, is leaving office on Oct. 1 to “explore opportunities in the private sector,” POLITICO Florida reports.
Scott appointed Tom Delacenserie, the deputy secretary of sales and marketing for the lottery, as interim secretary.
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This article appears in Aug 26 – Sep 1, 2015.