Orlando Sentinel

Disgraced nonprofit CEO served subpoena via Twitter

- By Dan Sweeney

Tiffany tweeted.

Both Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida House of Representa­tives have launched investigat­ions into Carr and the nonprofit she ran, the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The organizati­on took in millions of taxpayer dollars over the years as the associatio­n governing 42 Florida domestic violence centers. But in the last three years alone, Carr received $7.5 million in compensati­on, including a salary of $750,000 a year and separate compensati­on for up to 210 days a year of paid time off.

The eye-popping compensati­on was first publicly revealed in an investigat­ion by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times. Since then, the same lawmakers that have regularly filled the coffers of the nonprofit with state money have been rushing to claw it back and investigat­e the organizati­on.

The Florida House voted on Feb. 13 to subpoena both Carr and the board of directors of the nonprofit. But when it came time to serve the subpoena, Carr proved elusive.

“As to the measures that we’re taking, they’re extraordin­ary, I

Carr, you are hereby

Cousins Coastal Properties is a real estate business that Carr operates with her cousin. Carr has purchased homes in several states over the past few years, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Can you really serve someone subpoena papers by tweet? That question appeared to be answered by Oliva’s House spokespers­on, Fred Piccolo, who replied to Oliva’s tweet just two minutes later: “Can you serve someone via Twitter? Yes you can abovethela­w. com/2018/ 08/can-yo... #Tiffany Carr”

The link goes to Above The Law, a blog operated by lawyer and editor Joe Patrice, and specifical­ly to a 2018 article by Patrice in which he points out that the Democratic National Committee, with a court’s permission, served a subpoena to WikiLeaks during the investigat­ion into how stolen DNC emails wound up with the website. WikiLeaks’ founder, Julian Assange, was unavailabl­e to be served at the time, having gone into hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Oliva’s subpoena commands Carr to appear before the House’s Public Integrity and Ethics Committee at 9 a.m. on March 12.

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, Carr has not replied to the tweet.

 ?? PHIL COALE/AP ?? Tiffany Carr and the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence are under investigat­ion.
PHIL COALE/AP Tiffany Carr and the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence are under investigat­ion.

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