Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Latvala likely groped aide, Senate report concludes
Allegations could lead to expulsion from Legislature
TALLAHASSEE — Jack Latvala, the powerful Florida senator and candidate for governor, likely sexually assaulted a Senate staffer, a report released Tuesday found. The allegations could lead to his expulsion from the Legislature and even criminal charges because of unexpected new allegations that he sought sexual favors for his support of legislation.
The report by special master Ronald Swanson, a former appellate court judge, found probable cause of four instances of “inappropriate and unwanted” physical contact by Latvala on Rachel Perrin Rogers dating to 2013.
But it also revealed new allegations by an anonymous female lobbyist that Latvala frequently groped her and suggested
she perform sexual acts to gain his support for causes for which she lobbied. The “quid pro quo” nature of those allegations, backed up by text messages, could be a violation of ethics and public corruption laws and should be referred to law enforcement for a criminal investigation, the report states.
Latvala, R-Clearwater, has maintained he has done nothing wrong and that the accusations are politically motivated.
Efforts to reach Latvala on Tuesday night weren’t successful, but he told the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald the new allegations surprised him. He said he’s prepared to fight, but admitted it could drag the Senate through a prolonged process amid the upcoming session.
“I’ve got to figure out how much I’ve got to spend, and how much emotion I want to put in it, since I’m term-limited, anyway,” he said.
The complaint will be reviewed by the Senate Rules Committee on Jan. 11, two days into the 2018 legislative session. If committee members forward the complaint to the full body, it could result in a vote to expel Latvala from office.
“The full range of available sanctions should be considered,” the report states.
The unnamed woman said she had a “close personal relationship” with Latvala and has known him for 22 years. She said that when Latvala became engaged to his current wife, “she thought the sexual nature of her relationship with Sen. Latvala would stop. It did not.”
She further testified “that between 2015 and 2017, Sen. Latvala touched and groped her in an unwelcome manner every time she went to his office, and that she believed tolerating such behavior was part of her job as a lobbyist. If she went to his office in the Capitol and the door closed, she pretty much [was] always touched,” the report states.
The woman alleges that Latvala “placed his hands up her dress, touched the outside of her underwear at her vaginal area, her buttocks, and her breast.”
Latvala’s conduct first came under scrutiny in November, when Politico reported six anonymous women said the 16-year Senate veteran had groped or sexually harassed them.
One of the women was Rogers, a top aide to Senate Republican Leader Wilton Simpson of Trilby. She later came forward and filed an official complaint with the Senate Rules Committee, spurring the investigation and special master report.
Rogers’ complaint detailed incidents of harassment over four years, including one in February 2015 at the Governor’s Club, a members-only hangout for lawmakers and lobbyists near the Capitol.
“[Latvala] was turned toward me. He started to rub my leg. He was talking to me but I could not hear or understand what he was saying,” Rogers stated in her complaint. “I began to have what felt like a panic attack and started to cry. I fled the bar.”
In addition to the Rules committee inquiry, Gail Golman Holtzman, a Tampa-based lawyer, was hired by the Senate to investigate the claims in the Politico story. That probe is still ongoing but could be concluded this month.
The allegations against Latvala have cast a pall over the Senate ahead of the legislative session. Gov. Rick Scott has called Latvala a “distraction” and suggested he resign if the allegations are true.
However, Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said his chamber is functioning fine despite the ongoing probes.
“The people’s business is being done,” Negron told the News Service of Florida. “And we’re going to let the process that’s set forth in our rules move forward, and then there will be a resolution.”
But even as senators ready for session, the Latvala inquiries are having an effect.
“This is terra incognito,” said GOP consultant Mac Stipanovich, a friend of Latvala’s who has defended him on social media, in an interview before the report was released. “This is new ground for everybody, and everybody’s just trying to feel their way through it, figure out what’s going on.”
Rogers has requested guards to escort her through the building. Her status as top staffer to Simpson, leader of Senate Republicans, while accusing a fellow Republican of harassment has caused friction within the GOP. Rogers’ lawyer, Tiffany Cruz, has also requested Negron retain all documents pertaining to Latvala for the past eight years.
Cruz said she thinks Latvala and his attorneys have tried to ruin her client’s reputation by releasing parts of the inquiry to friendly news outlets.
Texts showing Rogers having a cordial relationship with Latvala after the alleged incident and asking for Latvala’s help to get a family member out of jury duty were released to media outlets. An affidavit from Lillian Tysinger, a 22 year-old former Senate staffer and colleague of Rogers’ in the Majority Office, claimed Rogers tried to get her fired.