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Crist's landlord pays fines, back taxes, interest

He had illegally claimed a $25,000 homestead exemption on a St. Petersburg condominium he rents to the attorney general.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published March 15, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Charlie Crist's landlord has paid $4,324 in fines, back taxes and interest for improperly claiming a homestead exemption on a condominium he rented to the attorney general and candidate for governor, the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office said Tuesday.

Lawrence Compton, a 65-year-old retired accountant, illegally claimed a $25,000 homestead exemption on a condo he has rented to Crist for more than three years, said Daryl May, the property appraiser's director of investigations. State law says a homeowner who claims the exemption must live on the property unless he or she is on military duty.

Yet Crist has paid $1,265 a month to rent the 22nd-floor, 1,200-square-foot condo at Bayshore Towers in St. Petersburg. In 38 months, while Compton received the homestead exemption, he also collected $48,070 in rent.

When asked "Was this property rented?" Compton circled "no" on a July 2005 property appraiser's questionnaire.

The discrepancy was revealed by the St. Petersburg Times last month during a routine check of Crist's personal finances. Crist said then he did not know his landlord, a small campaign contributor, was claiming the tax break.

"Could he not do that?" Crist asked.

The story created a new sense of civic awareness, the property appraiser's office says. Tips of homestead exemption fraud are up, said Erin Moore, the appraiser's deputy for assessment administration.

May, the director of investigations, said he already has closed 23 cases this month.

[Last modified March 15, 2006, 01:30:11]