By Times Staff Writer
TALLAHASSEE - Any company that thinks it can duplicate the services the Florida Department of Law Enforcement expects to acquire from Boca Raton corporation Seisint Inc. has seven days to present a counterproposal.
FDLE interim director Daryl McLaughlin said the $1.6-million contract to help locate suspected terrorists in a dozen states will be awarded once Seisint is approved by the Department of Management Services.
FDLE posted a notice of its intent to award the contract Friday after the St. Petersburg Times raised questions about the agency's relationship with Hank Asher, a former drug smuggler who founded Seisint.
McLaughlin has ordered a new background investigation of Asher after determining that a 1993 review of Asher did not include the sort of checks FDLE usually does on employees and vendors.