Andrew Gillum corruption case: Mysterious Individual B revealed; co-defendant seeks separate trial
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New revelations emerged in federal court documents about former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum’s inner circle and the alleged role his confidantes played during an undercover FBI investigation into public corruption in Tallahassee.
Gillum and his longtime political adviser Sharon Lettman-Hicks were indicted by a federal grand jury in June on charges they illegally solicited and pocketed donations to his 2018 campaign for Florida governor. Both were charged with one count of conspiracy and 19 counts of wire fraud, though Gillum faces an additional count of lying to the FBI.
A motion filed Friday by Lettman-Hicks’ lawyers to separate her trial from Gillum's provided a deeper glimpse into the government’s case, including comments made during secretly recorded conversations in Nashville and elsewhere with undercover FBI agents.
The court filing identified Gillum’s brother, Marcus Gillum, as the mysterious Individual B in the indictment, which said he promised agents posing as out-of-town developers that he could deliver favors in exchange for donations to his brother’s gubernatorial run.
It also referenced for the first time Gillum’s longtime friend and adviser Sean Pittman, a local lawyer and lobbyist whose ESP Media firm is consulting with candidates in a number of hotly contested races in the Nov. 8 general election.
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Neither Marcus Gillum nor Pittman have been charged in the investigation. Marcus Gillum denied involvement when reached months ago. Pittman, who told the Tallahassee Democrat on Friday that he had not seen the filing, said earlier he was not referenced in the indictment.
Lettman-Hicks attorneys say she was an 'unfortunate casualty'
The motion, filed by Tallahassee defense attorneys Mutaqee Akbar and Robert Alex Morris, asked for a separate trial for their client, Lettman-Hicks. The 11-page filing said Lettman-Hicks was “not involved in any way, shape or form” with the lengthy FBI operation that ensnared Gillum and others. It painted Lettman-Hicks as an "unfortunate casualty" of the FBI probe into its "intended target," Gillum.
The investigation utilized undercover FBI agents posing as developers with the fictitious Southern Pines Development firm, who infiltrated Tallahassee’s political scene starting in 2015.
The agents met with their targets during out-of-town trips, including a 2016 outing in New York City that led to a state ethics conviction and $5,000 fine against Gillum. During that trip, Gillum, his brother, Marcus, their former lobbyist pal Adam Corey, and undercover agents took in a performance of “Hamilton” and went on a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty, all allegedly on the government’s dime.
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“Ms. Lettman-Hicks didn’t go on the boat ride with the gentlemen from Southern Pines,” the motion says. “She did not attend a Broadway play with the gentlemen from Southern Pines. She did not go to New York City at the invitation of the gentlemen from Southern Pines. She didn’t receive free meals, drinks, or accommodations from the gentlemen from Southern Pines. Ms. Lettman-Hicks had absolutely nothing to do with Southern Pines.”
The undercover investigation, “Operation Capital Currency,” led to earlier indictments against another former Tallahassee mayor, Scott Maddox, his longtime aide, Paige Carter-Smith, and wealthy businessman John “J.T.” Burnette. All three were convicted on federal bribery charges.
Defense lawyers dispute government account of Nashville meeting between FBI and Marcus Gillum
The indictment, handed down by the grand jury June 7 and unsealed June 22, said Individual B solicited a $25,000 donation from two FBI agents in October 2016 for Gillum’s political committee, Forward Florida, which hadn’t officially launched.
One of the agents said he wanted something “very significant” in return. Individual B repeatedly said “that would not be a problem,” the indictment says.
According to the indictment, one of the agents told Individual B in November 2016 that he didn’t want his name on the donation but wanted the money to flow into an official Gillum account. The indictment alleged that Individual B suggested routing the money through Lettman-Hicks’ firm, P&P Communications.
But Lettman-Hicks’ lawyers disputed that in their motion, saying the government took “creative license” in their assertion and that Marcus Gillum, whom they identified as Individual B, never made that suggestion. The motion said the conversation between Marcus Gillum and agents was surreptitiously video-recorded in a Nashville hotel suite.
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“Marcus Gillum does not provide the agents with instructions,” the motion says. “Marcus Gillum does mention Ms. Lettman-Hicks at some point in the recording as being a campaign ‘Pitbull’ and that she helped Andrew Gillum to victory in his local Tallahassee election, and he even asks if the agents are familiar with her and her good work on behalf of other entities.”
But, the defense motion continued, the conversation was “a far cry” from government attempts to tie portions of the Gillum probe to other allegations in the indictment.
The Tallahassee Democrat contacted Marcus Gillum on June 27, not long after his brother’s indictment became public, and asked specifically whether he was Individual B.
“I had nothing to do with this, and I want no part of this,” he said before hanging up on a reporter.
Lettman-Hicks filing says talks between Marcus Gillum and FBI involved Sean Pittman
Defense lawyers also disputed that a business referenced in one part of the indictment was Lettman-Hicks’ firm, P&P Communications. That portion of the indictment says Individual B said campaign contributions from undercover agents could go through an unnamed “communications company” to keep their name off official listings.
“All discussions between Marcus Gillum and the undercover agents are specifically about routing money through Sean Pittman and his various political action committees, lobbyist organizations, communications firms, etc.,” the defense motion says.
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Pittman, asked by the Democrat on June 23 about the Gillum investigation, said he couldn't comment in detail because of the "pending legal matter." But he did say he was not referenced in the Gillum indictment.
"I am not mentioned or referred to in the indictment by name, description or anonymously," Pittman said in a text message.
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Pittman, whose firm is working on campaigns for Sen. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, Leon County Commissioner Nick Maddox and County Commission candidate Christian Caban, said Friday he has not seen the latest court filing. He offered no other immediate comment.
Lettman-Hicks lawyers criticize government for 'last-minute' decision to indict her
Lawyers for Lettman-Hicks noted that she filed to run for the Florida House in District 8 on June 1, just a week before she was indicted and 77 days until the Aug. 23 primary. Lettman-Hicks, who suspended her campaign but still appeared on ballots, finished last in the five-person contest with nearly 6% of the vote.
Referenced in their motion was a memo issued by Attorney General Merrick Garland reminding Department of Justice employees, including federal prosecutors, that partisan politics “must play no role” in decisions involving investigations or criminal charges. The memo was issued May 25, just before Gillum and Lettman-Hicks were indicted.
“Law enforcement officers and prosecutors may never select the timing of public statements (attributed or not), investigative steps, criminal charges or any other action in any matter or case for the purpose of affecting any election,” Garland instructed in his memo.
Her attorneys wrote that those dynamics “were compounded” by the government’s “last-minute” decision to indict. At the time, the charge against Gillum for lying to the FBI — the first count in the indictment — was a week away from expiring under the statute of limitations. Other counts also were nearing expiration, which was first reported by the Democrat in July.
“In sum,” her lawyers said, “there is/was a massive investigation with a whole cast of characters and conduct that are related to Count 1 of the indictment but are completely unrelated to any other allegation in the indictment. None of that has anything to do with Ms. Lettman-Hicks.”
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Among other things, the indictment alleges Gillum and Lettman-Hicks diverted $132,000 from a big donor and thousands more in get-out-the-vote funds to P&P Communications and ultimately themselves. Some of the money allegedly went directly to Gillum, who was employed by P&P, and marked as end-of-year bonuses.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Andrew Gillum corruption case: Lettman-Hicks wants separate trial
