State won’t seek charges in Plasencia spy claim

No criminal charges are expected in the case of a former campaign intern state Rep. Rene Plasencia accused of spying for a rival GOP candidate, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Tuesday.

Zane Matter, now campaign treasurer for Plasencia primary opponent George Collins, said he wants an apology from Plasencia or else he would consider a defamation lawsuit.

But Plasencia’s campaign director Acacia Baker continued to accuse Matter of accessing information including precinct data and phone lists “under false pretenses.”

Plasencia, R-Orlando, had contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to investigate Matter, 21, who worked for him for about two weeks before resigning and joining Collins’ campaign in early June.

Baker said Matter was creating and exporting phone list packets and precinct analysis, which an intern wouldn’t have been assigned to do. Records showed Matter repeatedly logged in from outside the office, on weekends, and in the middle of the night before his access was revoked May 30.

The Sheriff’s Office referred the matter to FDLE, which Plasencia said was due to overlapping jurisdictions because of District 50 stretching into two counties. FDLE spokeswoman Angela Starke said the agency reviewed the case along with the Office of Statewide Prosecution and found no evidence of a crime.

Matter, who had not spoken publicly about the case at his attorney’s request, said in an email the allegations “were false and nothing more than a political stunt to discourage George from entering the race and qualifying.”

He said during his time in the Plasencia campaign, he had lowlevel access to the campaign’s database program, “which did not allow me to see financials, nor have any type of administrative access, and I had no interest in that. … I brought no information to the Collins campaign; I simply agreed with George on the issues more and decided to be on his campaign.”

Matter added, “what I seek from Rene Plasencia is a public apology for the false claims made against me and the stress inflicted upon me and the campaign.”

Baker said the Plasencia campaign spoke with the FDLE and was told the agency “acknowledged that information was obviously accessed. But without a signed confidentiality agreement or contract, there wasn’t more they could do.”

“The George Collins campaign is being dishonest,” she said. “I’m just not sure which is more shameful, the fact that George Collins used a college student to do his dirty work or the fact that the staffer didn’t see what he was doing as wrong.”

Collins said he was happy about the FDLE decision, adding “I believe my treasurer, and I believe there’s nothing to this.”

“This is simply a way of seeking revenge for losing his intern to my campaign,” he said. “He came to my campaign simply because he believes in my conservative stand on issues. … I have no interest at all in any information from the Plasencia campaign.”

Democrat Pamela Dirschka is running unopposed in her party’s primary for the seat. The GOP primary is Aug. 28.