Former Broward schools official arrested after grand jury probe
State police arrested a former high-ranking Broward County public school system official Tuesday after a grand jury indicted him on charges he steered a lucrative classroom technology contract to a friend’s business without seeking other bids.
Anthony Hunter, 60, turned himself in to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday morning and was released on $50,000 bond that night.
His attorney Eric Schwartzreich said Wednesday that Hunter is innocent.
“Mr. Hunter did not engage in any unethical or criminal behavior. He is innocent of any wrongdoing, and he looks forward to his day in court to clear his name,” Schwartzreich said.
The grand jury indicted him on one count of unlawful compensation and one count of bid tampering — both second-degree felonies.
Investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Investigative Services say that between 2015 and 2019, Hunter, while working as the school board’s chief information officer, directed the purchase of thousands of Recordex interactive TVs for the school system from a Georgia company owned by his friend.
In all, the purchases cost the district $17 million. The equipment was bought from a company called Educational Consultants, Inc., or EDCO, according to a press release from Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office.
EDCO was owned by a man named David Allen, who investigators say was Hunter’s friend. Allen, 70, died this month of a COVID-19-related illness, according to his obituary.
Investigators say Hunter made the deal with EDCO without allowing other companies to bid on the contract.
Hunter’s relationship with Allen and the purchase of the Recordex equipment from EDCO was first reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Broward County Public School’s issued a statement Wednesday night saying Superintendent Robert
Runcie contacted the district’s internal auditor immediately after questions arose about the EDCO deal last April, and the auditor hired an outside firm to perform an external review.
“The District provided the results of that review to the Broward County State Attorney. The external review clarified that the District substantially followed procedures and also paid market value for what was received,” the statement reads. “Moving forward the District has improved and strengthened existing procedures.”
Hunter was hired by the district as chief information officer in March 2013 at an annual salary of $140,000, the district said. He worked there until February 2014. It’s not immediately clear why he left the job. He was rehired for the same position in May 2015 and resigned in January 2019 with an annual salary of $189,737, according to the district.
According to the district’s Human Resources Department, the Hunter listed the reason for leaving the school district as “personal.”
According to the Attorney General’s press release, Hunter and Allen engaged in other questionable business dealings outside of the TV sales to the school district.
For instance, Hunter bought a lakefront home from Allen in Georgia for $150,000 below market value, investigators say.
Also, while dealing with Allen’s company, Allen hired Hunter’s son to work at one his companies, according to the press release. He then hired Hunter to work for him at the same company, where Allen was a vice president.
“This unconscionable breach of trust by a public servant hurt taxpayers and undermined the integrity of his position,” Troy Walker, FDLE’s Miami Regional Operations Center special agent in charge, said in a statement. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our agents and analysts and our federal and state partners on this case, this arrest and indictment shows that backdoor dealings by public servants will not be tolerated in Florida.”
THIS UNCONSCIONABLE BREACH OF TRUST BY A PUBLIC SERVANT HURT TAXPAYERS AND UNDERMINED THE INTEGRITY OF HIS POSITION.
Troy Walker, FDLE’s Miami Regional Operations Center special agent in charge