Minority Report

The general counsel was correct, however, in stating that Miller filed a form acknowledging a conflict of interest. But Scherer should have known it was far from "appropriate," as he stated in his letter. Miller didn't file the form at the time of the March 2002 meeting. Instead, he filled it out more than a year later, on June 26, 2003, after both he and Scherer learned of the criminal investigation.

This ploy is made more curious by the fact that Florida ethics laws require such forms to be filed within 15 days of the recusal. Furthermore, those conflict forms are relevant only to the state Code of Ethics, which has nothing to do with the criminal corruption laws that Hanlon is supposed to enforce.

The Scherer letter continues: "American Medical Depot maintained a long-standing business relationship with the North Broward Hospital District. The business relationship between the [district] and American Medical Depot was established before Mr. Miller was appointed to the [board]."

This statement too is blatantly false and misleading. Before Miller's appointment, AMD had no contract with the district and wasn't a prime vendor. Instead, it occasionally provided emergency backup supplies to the district that amounted to less than $2,000 a year. After AMD hired Miller, the relationship changed drastically. In late November, AMD signed a contract with NBHD worth millions of dollars and is now one of its most active minority businesses.

-- Bob Norman