Florida Politics by Jim Rosica
October 2, 2019
Ronald Rubin – the state’s former chief financial regulator – filed a new suit against the state, saying he was being denied public records for his “investigation of racketeering, political corruption, abuse of power and misuse of taxpayer money at the highest levels.”
A copy of the lawsuit, filed Sept. 23 in Leon County Circuit Civil court, was provided to Florida Politics late Tuesday. The defendants are the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), which Rubin formerly headed. Both are under state Chief Financial Officer JimmyPatronis.
The records are for a separate lawsuit he filed in Miami-Dade County this June, in which he claims Patronis and others “constituted an enterprise that used illegal means (including blackmail, extortion and abuse of public office) to enrich and empower themselves.”
Rubin says he blew the whistle on the scheme, which got him fired. He was terminated in July in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate comments in the workplace. Rubin also has claimed Patronis was retaliating against him for not hiring the friend of a favored lobbyist.
Patronis suspended Rubin from his post on May 10, after an employee accused the OFR head of harassment.