All the Governor's Men

So the district, after expending months and more than $2 million on Third Avenue, turned west, to Andrews Avenue, the second-ranked location. As Winningham puts it, "The veto was huge -- it changed the site rankings."

And that paved the way for Austin Forman, whose family supports Bush and has contributed at least $15,000 to the GOP and the governor's campaigns. According to FBI reports, Forman's real estate partner, William Murphy, had behind-the-scenes talks with then-district CFO Mahaney about putting the medical office building on Andrews Avenue. After the veto, Forman and Murphy optioned the land and orchestrated a deal with NBHD that will pay them and downtown developer Terry Stiles $170 million over 55 years to construct the building. That represents roughly a $100 million profit for the trio. The Bush-appointed board approved the deal without taking bids in 2002.

"It was an unusual move by the governor," says Fort Lauderdale attorney Bruce Lyons, who is representing a grand jury witness he declines to identify. "Why would the governor veto that, especially when you look at the value of a small amount of homeowners versus the quality of medicine and health care in Broward County? It is definitely unusual."

And Scherer's involvement raises more critical questions: Why would he step outside his usual duties as the district's lawyer to do a job that should have been handled solely by NBHD lobbyists? And having done that, why would the general counsel, who has the governor's ear, shepherd a bill through the legislature that Bush was going to veto? Was the governor really making a rare and uncharacteristic stand for the little guy against his rich and powerful supporters at the district? Or did someone engineer a late-stage veto to facilitate Forman's deal?

It also isn't clear whether James Blosser's governmental consulting firm had a role in the veto. Blosser is a business associate of Scherer's and a top-tier supporter of the governor and the president. The district pays his firm, Poole, McKinley, and Blosser, $72,000 a year to lobby the governor and legislature in Tallahassee. According to one high-level source who asked that his name not be used, Bush made his veto based on a recommendation from Brian Yablonski, who was then the governor's deputy chief of staff. Yablonski, who didn't return calls for comment, now works as a partner in Blosser's firm, as does the governor's former spokesman, Justin Sayfie.

The recently convened grand jury may have to use all of its considerable powers to answer questions about the veto. Bush's press office didn't return repeated phone calls.

The office building deal is only the beginning. Next stop in understanding the district is Sein Lwin, a surgeon who is close to the general counsel. Very close, in fact -- he lives next door to Scherer's newly renovated, palatial home in the exclusive Fort Lauderdale neighborhood of Rio Vista.

Lwin is where politics, money, and medicine meet -- and taxpayers and patients seem to be forgotten.

Upon first meeting Sein Lwin (pronounced "sin le-WIN"), it's hard to imagine that the slight, five-foot-six, orthopedic surgeon could be a significant political force. The 64-year-old native of Burma has a white doctor's coat and a friendly smile and speaks English with a thick accent. He's personable, though hardly charismatic.

But his unassuming manner shouldn't fool anyone; Lwin is indisputably a political animal. He controls a veritable monopoly on orthopedic care in Broward General's emergency room. The district pays $1.7 million a year to Lwin's firm, North Broward Orthopedic Associates, to provide that care.

To win the contract, Lwin needed the right contacts. He has long been a fixture at political fundraisers and regularly attends monthly district board meetings. "Lwin begins to inculcate commissioners even before the governor appoints them," says Dr. Deepak Kapila, a former partner of Lwin's who is now vice chief of surgery at Broward General. "He develops the contacts at a very early stage."

How Lwin, who refused to comment for this story, came to live next door to Scherer isn't known, but it's clear the two men are friends and political allies. The physician is also close to Austin Forman, whose brother, Collins, is the registered agent for one of the doctor's companies, Lwin Investments.

Lwin also hired the right man to negotiate the contract: Blosser, who doesn't let his district lobbying contract stop him and partner Sayfie from representing clients before NBHD. Lwin's firm, which he shares with two partners, paid Blosser at least $75,000 in 2002 for renegotiating the contract, Kapila says.

Lwin basically serves as a conduit for Scherer to doctors and their money, several physicians contend. He's notorious for stopping surgeons in Broward General's corridors and calling them on the phone when he wants campaign contributions.

Campaign records show that Lwin and one of his two partners, Michael Abrahams, have since 1995 given about $26,000 -- $19,000 of it from Lwin -- in political contributions to candidates in state races alone.