Minority Report

Miller, a rather intense, balding, and bespectacled man who looks much younger than his 61 years, last month urged hospital district leaders to hire more minority companies to share in the public health system's $800 million-plus budget. "America for me is still not the America I dream of..." he declared at the dais in Broward General Medical Center's auditorium on May 25. "We still have a problem with Asian and black vendors getting their fair share of the business."

He uttered the word so fast and in the midst of such a rambling speech that it was easy to miss. Asian. Why would he single out Asians, who comprise only 2 percent of the Broward County population, own few local companies, and already do more than their fair share of business at the district?

One likely answer comes in the form of hard cash, according to interviews and records obtained by New Times. Miller receives a monthly stipend and occasional five-figure bonus checks from Miami-based American Medical Depot (AMD), which distributes supplies to the hospital district he governs. AMD, an Asian company, has paid a consulting firm owned by Miller at least $100,000 during the past few years and is contracted to send the commissioner monthly $3,500 checks until the end of 2007. All told, Miller expects to make at least a quarter million dollars from the deal.

In return, the commissioner plays rainmaker for AMD, drumming up new government contracts. And the firm's hospital district business has grown at an astounding rate since Miller was hired in October 2001. Before that time, AMD had done only nominal work for the district, less than $2,000 per year in gross receipts. In 2002, Miller, while serving as chairman of the district's Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) committee, helped shift millions to AMD. The payoff was immediate: The company snagged a contract worth $3.25 million in district business last year and is projected to bring in $5 million in 2004, making it one of NBHD's most active minority companies.

And what about those black-owned firms? Well, they haven't fared as well. In fact, all African-American companies combined now make less at the district than AMD. Asian firms do twice the district business of black companies. This is despite the fact that 20 percent of the Broward population is black -- almost ten times the Asian population.

When asked about AMD, Miller wouldn't discuss the issue at length but denied that the company paid him for helping it secure district contracts. Rather, he received the cash for helping AMD make connections with other county and state governments. "The money they paid me was for other things," Miller said.

If Miller did accept money to help a private firm win contracts at the district, he'd be in violation of Florida's unlawful-compensation law, a second-degree felony that forbids public officials from profiting from their governmental duties. The Broward State Attorney's Office, in fact, is currently conducting a criminal inquiry into Miller's relationship with AMD, New Times has learned. It's a spinoff of the much-publicized investigation involving former Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant and Broward's controversial purchase of electronic voting machines, which also involved dubious deals between Miller and AMD.

Three highly placed district sources, who have intimate knowledge of NBHD business, allege that Miller engineered American Medical Depot's windfall. "Dorsey Miller backed American Medical Depot all along," says one district employee, who demanded anonymity for fear of losing his or her job.

But Miller's story is more than a case of a wrong-doing public official -- it's a portal into the greedy underside of the well-intentioned policy to increase minority participation in government business. And Miller could never have done it without his friend Gov. Jeb Bush, who appointed him to the board.

Republican Royalty

The connection between Miller and AMD provides yet more evidence that the district health empire, which is subsidized with $174 million in local property taxes, is critically mismanaged and routinely operates outside the bounds of ethics and the law. A top district official was convicted of embezzlement last year; a federal grand jury is investigating a building project sullied by grossly inflated pay and insider dealing; and during the past six months, New Times has exposed several sweetheart contracts, millions in waste, and serious conflicts of interest.

While blame for this pattern of abuse can be spread on district commissioners and staff, it is Jeb Bush, who appointed the board and has strong ties to district officials, who is ultimately accountable. Yet the governor has been publicly silent on the problems. In fact, his office recently praised the district as a model "responsible corporate citizen." To understand why the governor may want to avoid the growing scandal, consider that NBHD serves as his chief base of power in Broward County and that its ranks are packed with GOP fundraisers and lobbyists. Board members and some district officials have raised hundreds of thousands for the governor and his brother President Bush.

The fact that George W. Bush is running for reelection this year and that Florida is expected to again be heavily contested only complicates the governor's predicament. He needs the district juggernaut to come through for the president, even if it is riddled with opportunists who have violated the public trust while capitalizing on the Bushes' pro-business, antiregulatory approach to government.

Miller, who has generally steered clear of scandal in the past, is the newest embarrassment for the governor and, to a lesser extent, the president. The White House recently tapped Miller to help bring black votes to the president this November. And the commissioner did the same job for Jeb Bush back in 2002, serving as the African-American outreach coordinator for the governor's reelection campaign. At that time, Jeb Bush, who didn't return calls seeking comment for this article, termed Miller a "good friend" and "stalwart supporter."

Miller's associates at American Medical Depot are also in the Bush family's good graces. In 2002, the governor named AMD, which does millions in business for state prisons and hospitals, the "Minority Vendor of the Year" for Florida and praised the company as a shining example of the success of his controversial One Florida plan, which has effectively ended affirmative action in the state. "These are businesses that win because of price and quality," Bush declared. "They're not winning because we've created set-asides and quotas and preferential pricing, which are flawed approaches to embrace diversity."

The $20 million-a-year firm has been owned since 1993 by two brothers, Akhil and Sukrit Agrawal, who were born in New Delhi and moved to South Florida as adolescents. Their father, Piyush, is a former Miami-Dade County math supervisor and New Jersey schools superintendent, and has also played a strong role in developing the company. Piyush Agrawal is a board member and past-president of the Association of Indians in America (AIA), making him a powerful national representative of the Indian community.

In March 2001, Piyush was one of just a select few Indian representatives whom President Bush invited to the White House to discuss his tax cut plan. Later that year, the president appointed one of Piyush's close associates at AIA, Gopal Khanna, to a high post in the Peace Corps.

Later that year, the Agrawal family contributed $2,000 to Jeb Bush. Before that, family members had given exclusively to Democrats in statewide races. And today, the Agrawals are prized supporters of both the governor and the president.

To understand their influence, one need only revisit a September 9, 2003, presidential fundraiser at Hyatt Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale. Piyush and Akhil attended a private VIP reception before the affair, where the AMD patriarch personally urged the president to celebrate Diwali, a Hindu festival. Six weeks later, on October 23, the White House celebrated Diwali for the first time, with the Agrawals in attendance and Bush senior adviser Karl Rove lighting a ceremonial lamp to kick off the event.

Miller and the Agrawals have friends in very high places, but their most valuable Republican ally right now might be the man who organized the Pier 66 fundraiser, William Scherer, the district's general counsel and one of the Bush brothers' top operatives in South Florida. Scherer has represented Miller in the AMD investigation, meeting with prosecutor John Hanlon, who is handling the case, and sending at least one letter -- which blatantly misstates the facts in favor of Miller -- in an attempt to exonerate the commissioner [see "A Misleading Missive," at end].

Scherer also happens to be a top political contributor to Broward State Attorney Michael Satz. In fact, he and his business partners have contributed about $15,000, amounting to nearly 5 percent of all contributions Satz has received since 1995. That relationship may bode well for Miller. The state attorney's record too should give the commissioner some solace -- Satz has successfully prosecuted only a handful of Broward government officials during 27 years in office.