The honorary finance chairman for the House speaker's campaign could benefit if lawmakers resurrect a dormant wagering permit.
By LUCY MORGAN
Published April 21, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - A last-minute amendment tucked into a racing bill would revive a long-dead greyhound racing permit in Monroe County and benefit a key financial backer in House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's race for the U.S. Senate.
Rep. Manuel Priguez, R-Miami, offered the amendment in the House Appropriations Committee Tuesday. Priguez said he did not know one of the permit owners is Byrd's honorary finance chairman.
The amendment allows the owner of the greyhound permit to establish a new track or operate what would amount to an off-track betting parlor, a first for Florida. The amendment would allow intertrack wagering any time a live dog or horse race or jai alai was operating at a track in Miami-Dade County.
Priguez said South Florida lobbyist Bill Rubin asked him to introduce the amendment. Rubin could not be reached for comment.
Others on the committee said they were told the amendment was requested by Byrd. A spokesman for Byrd said the speaker had nothing to do with the amendment, does not support it and does not believe it will become law.
Priguez said the bill could generate badly needed revenue for the state.
But it would almost certainly run into trouble with Gov. Jeb Bush, who has long opposed any expansion of gambling in Florida.
The Key West Greyhound Track has been out of operation since 1991 when it was closed by the state for starving 38 dogs almost to death and numerous violations of parimutuel laws. The buildings have been razed and replaced by a low-income housing project, but the permit was later sold.
The state Division of Parimutuel Wagering identified the current owners of the permit as John Van Lindt, Joseph Zappala and Robert Consolo. Zappala and Consolo also share ownership of the Tucson Greyhound Park in Arizona.
Zappala is a former ambassador to Spain, an appointment made by the first President Bush in 1989. In February Byrd announced that Zappala, a longtime Republican fundraiser, would be the honorary finance chairman for his campaign. Zappala, a Pinellas County developer, has wide business interests, including chief operating officer of Care Plus Health Plan of New York. He did not return telephone messages left at his homes in St. Pete Beach and South Florida.
- Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.
