Former Florida governor Ron DeSantis and multiple contractors involved in building the Alligator Alcatraz detention center have been indicted on charges that include conspiracy and fraud.
Legal analyst and former prosecutor Randolph Wheeler explained the charges.
“The biggest contracts were awarded to the biggest DeSantis donors. That looks bad and it pushes the envelope on what’s legal. It may look like bribery but bribery isn’t one of the charges. That tells me that prosecutors don’t have clear evidence of an agreement to award the contract in return for giving the governor money.
“The conspiracy and fraud charges tell me that prosecutors do have evidence that DeSantis and contractors knew the project was illegal and would not be allowed to operate. If the detention center closed down, so what? They got their money, courtesy of Florida taxpayers. Working together to knowingly build a doomed project would be fraud and conspiracy.”