According to state Rep. Evan Jenne's financial disclosure forms, he made $60,000 in 2008 from a company that didn't exist.
Jenne created the company, Blue Banyan LLC, with the help of Scott Rothstein's law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt & Adler, the same outfit that hired Jenne's father, former Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne, when the elder man was released from prison. It's date of inception, according to the state's corporate database, is January 27 of this year.
Evan Jenne's financial statement, filed last month, shows that he made $60,000 from Blue Banyan in 2008. So something seems amiss and Jenne's new political opponent, Democart Chris Chiari, didn't waste any time. His campaign issued a press release stating that Chiari filed a complaint against Jenne with the Florida Commission On Ethics on Tuesday alleging five discrepancies on the rep's disclosure form, including the Blue Banyan matter.
"I am in this race to stand up against old school Florida politics," said Chiari in the release. "Voters are tired of politics as usual, I stand by the questions I've asked and will allow the process to work itself out."
Who knows how that's going to end. I left a message with Jenne and hope to speak with him about it. I'd also still like to know Jenne's clients in the new Blue Banyan business, which lists his Dania Beach condo as its principal address. Jenne told me he's ventured into health care consulting (his father, incidentally is former general counsel for the North Broward Hospital District) and that he has two clients. I asked for the names of the companies and he refused to oblige, though he did say both clients, while doing business with local governments, have no ties to state politics.
Chiari, meanwhile, is busy moving into District 100 -- which is spread across Dania Beach, Cooper City, and Davie -- and getting his campaign going. Recently he announced that he donated $2,000 to Miami-Dade Crimestoppers for the reward for whoever it is that is slaughtering horses in that county. Davie, of course, is horse country. Political pandering? Maybe. But the guy is serious.
After the jump, some facts from Jenne's financial disclosure (I'm going to do the same with Chiari's in the near future):
-- From 2007 to the present, Jenne's net worth has slipped from $61,930 down to $17,202, mainly because his Dania Beach condo dropped in value from about $220,000 to $135,000. He bought it for $185,000 in 2005.and owes $148,000 on the mortgage.
-- Jenne doesn't list any bank accounts or investments other than his home on the forms. In 2007, he listed $15,000 in household goods and $3,000 in art. This year, the value of his possession leapt upward. Now he has art worth $5,000, $20,000 in "equipment and furnishings," $5,000 in clothing, and $25,000 in "collections."
-- He owes a credit company about $25,000.
-- In 2007 and 2008, he worked for Valley Bank on Las Olas, making $65,000 a year (plus $30,000 from the state for his House job). Valley lists Larry Henson, Jim Woods, Jim Bunn, Genn Tonn, Ray Williams, and John Primeau as directors.
