June 21 (Reuters) – After Ron DeSantis, an avid golfer, moved into the Florida governor’s mansion in 2019, workers installed a golf simulator worth tens of thousands of dollars in the cabin. the private pool so he can practice his game.
But DeSantis didn’t pay for the simulator. Neither does the state government. Instead, it was funded by a wealthy donor and high-profile businessman, Morteza Hosseini, according to four sources familiar with the matter and state government records.
The previously undisclosed donation was never reported as a gift by DeSantis, former President Donald Trump’s primary rival in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Florida allows generally civil servants to receive gifts provided they are disclosed and do not influence their official work.
However, the golf simulator transaction appears to have been structured to avoid Florida’s rigorous ethical disclosure requirements, two Florida governance experts said. A third expert called the donation appropriate under state law.
Florida state law requires public officials to file quarterly reports listing all gifts received worth more than $100. But DeSantis never filed a gift disclosure statement during his four and a half years in office, said Lynn Blais, administrator of the Florida Ethics Commission. The commission oversees state officials’ compliance with government ethics laws.
“In my mind, this goes against the principle that we require gifts to be disclosed,” said Ben Wilcox, research director of Florida Integrity, a government watchdog group.
Hosseini, chief executive of Florida developer ICI Homes Residential Holdings and a close DeSantis ally, said in a statement that the donation was “fully authorized by Florida law.”
A DeSantis spokesperson said: “As with all donations, it was accepted and coordinated by staff and approved by legal counsel. Donations to the residence and land have been received by many administrations. It will remain in the possession of the State, for the use of the first families, their guests and staff, as is currently the case.
The golf simulator was technically donated to the Mansion Commission, a state agency that oversees the governor’s mansion, according to documents related to the donation, including correspondence between DeSantis’ office and Hosseini. The documents were received as part of a freedom of information request.
James Uthmeier, at the time DeSantis’ deputy general counsel, said in a September 13, 2019, letter to Hosseini that the simulator would be considered “loaned” to the Mansion Commission for an “undisclosed period of time” and would be returned to Hosseini. “immediately upon request,” records state.
Uthmeier wrote that the loan was “authorized” under state law and the governor’s Code of Ethics. Uthmeier, now DeSantis’ chief of staff, did not respond to a request for comment.
Reuters could not determine who structured the donation as a loan.
The simulator, like other items loaned to the mansion, is considered state property, according to Florida law establishing the Mansion Commission. DeSantis, like other governors, cannot remove items from the mansion after leaving office without approval from the commission. The Florida Department of Management Services, which oversees the commission, did not respond to a request for comment.
“It seems to me it would still be a gift,” since it was intended for DeSantis’ personal use, said Barbara Petersen, director of the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a nonprofit watchdog group. Uthmeier’s letter appeared written to “give cover to the governor” for not reporting it as a gift, she said.
Even though DeSantis is known for his political commitment Fund raising prowess, the golf simulator disclosure shows he personally benefited from at least one significant donation from a staunch Florida business ally.
Hosseini and his company have contributed more than $240,000 to DeSantis’ campaigns, financial records show. The developer has been a close adviser to DeSantis, who appointed him to the University of Florida board of trustees. Hosseini is now chairman of the board. His company is one of Florida’s largest homebuilders.
In his statement to Reuters, Hosseini said the simulator “was provided to the residence’s gymnasium, as has been the case in the past, for the use of family, guests and staff, during this administration and the following”.
“WE SHOWED IT HOW TO USE IT”
The simulator was made by aboutGOLF, according to one of the workers who installed it. The device could allow DeSantis to play a “virtual” round of golf with a high-resolution widescreen display that gives accurate video of courses played by professionals, and a computer that calculates what the golf ball would do after each actual swing .
A representative for aboutGOLF said company management declined to comment.
The simulator was installed in DeSantis’ cabin a few months after The Washington Post reported that President Trump had installed a high-end golf simulator at the White House, replacing a model used by his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Trump paid for his own golf simulator, according to the Washington Post. DeSantis, however, has no comparable wealth, according to state disclosure documents. DeSantis sold his own Florida home for less than $500,000 shortly after moving into the governor’s mansion, and his most recent financial disclosure, filed in December 2021, indicates his net worth was $319,987, including his retirement funds.
Records show law enforcement allowed two “golf simulator installers” to work in the governor’s mansion after both men were cleared in a background check in June 2019, less than six months old after DeSantis, a former congressman, became governor.
One of the installers, Ronald Watson, told Reuters that he and a colleague had traveled to Ohio’s state capital of Tallahassee to install the device, which he said had been shipped by truck and occupied a wall of the governor’s cabin.
Watson didn’t remember the specific “package” but said it was a “widescreen” — a flat-screen version of the company’s products. An aboutGOLF product listing says these models start at $46,500.
Watson said he met DeSantis briefly after the installation. “We showed him how to use it, and he left right after,” Watson said.
The simulator was included in an inventory of donations to the mansion since 1957 that was also provided to Reuters in response to its public records request.
Wilcox, of Florida Integrity, said he thinks the simulator should have been disclosed as a gift. “This may not have violated Florida ethics laws, but it goes against the very principle of the gift disclosure requirement.”
Caroline Klancke, executive director of the nonpartisan Florida Ethics Institute, disagrees. The gift disclosure rule probably wouldn’t apply in this case if one strictly interprets the rules regarding donations to state agencies, she said.
Because it was addressed to the mansion commission, the gift “could fall under a loophole or exemption” in the gift law, she said. She noted that the law also prohibits certain people, including lobbyists and government vendors, from giving gifts. But generally speaking, the goal of the law is transparency for the public, she said.
The list of items donated to the mansion in 2019 also includes a treadmill in the cabin. According to the listing, the “ownership cost” of the treadmill and golf simulator is $1. Reuters could not determine who donated the treadmill.
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