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A sweetheart deal gone sour
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2001 The state House did the right thing by rejecting a pension scam for Tampa city attorney Jim Palermo. If there is any doubt, Mayor Dick Greco's reaction should confirm it. Greco pressed lawmakers to pass the sweetheart deal, which would have allowed Palermo to piggyback onto a pension he had rejected twice before. The money grab was divisive and a gross display of preferential treatment. City employees complained. So did ordinary citizens. Greco still claims to see nothing wrong with the deal. He blamed Palermo's enemies -- presumably the press and tight-fisted Republicans -- and suggested strip club owners called in chits as payback for the city's nude dancing law. (Are nude clubs in bed with Christian conservatives?) Palermo's bill failed because the payoff was sleazy. Rank-and-file city employees knew a special favor when they saw one. State Lawmakers resented the mayor's needling. The surprise to City Hall is that business as usual didn't get done.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times Opinion page |
