According to veteran reporter Gary Fineout, Adam Corey’s attorney, Chris Kise, is stating that Gillum did not pay for his accommodations while in Costa Rica.

Also, Fineout is reporting that Kise says Gillum’s version of how he ended up with a free ticket to the Hamilton play in New York is “nonsense.”

Kise says that Corey did not swap tickets with Andrew Gillum’s brother, Marcus, and that Corey did not buy the Hamilton ticket.

So, if Marcus Gillum and Adam Corey did not pay for Andrew Gillum’s ticket, who did?

Fineout’s tweet is listed below.

When contacted by Tallahassee Reports, Marcus Gillum refused to comment on the FBI investigation.

Mayor Andrew Gillum has refused to communicate with TR since 2015. Mayor Andrew Gillum won the Democratic primary for governor of Florida on August 28th.

Marcus Gillum’s name has surfaced in relation to the federal investigation several times. Most notably he was mentioned in public reports as part of a group that vacationed in New York in August 2016. The group included FBI agents posing as developers, Adam Corey, and Mayor Andrew Gillum.

Adam Corey, the former campaign treasurer to Mayor Andrew Gillum, is a central figure in the federal investigation and, at the time of the New York Trip, was a city lobbyists and a city vendor.

The FBI investigation was revealed in June 2017 after a federal grand jury served subpoenas to the city of Tallahassee. The subpoenas demanded records involving eight local business people and a number of their companies. Corey and the city-subsidized Edison restaurant, which he co-owns with other investors, were named in the subpoenas.

The trip to New York was first reported by WCTV in August 2017 . Following WCTV’s initial report, Tallahassee Reports broke new information about the outing.

At the time of the trip Marcus Gillum told TR that he was in New York working for the People of the American Way. When asked about the FBI investigation, Gillum said “he would never comment” and ended the call.

Mayor Andrew Gillum has refused to answer questions posed by a Tallahassee Democrat reporter about who paid for activities on the trip. He later said he “either paid his own way or had his brother Marcus, who was also on the trip, pay some of their expenses.”

The Tallahassee Democrat wrote in 2017 that the “FBI may have tried to entice Mayor Andrew Gillum through one of his close friends to see a Broadway show, catch a Mets game and stay at a hotel in New York City as part of its investigation into alleged public corruption in Tallahassee.”

Payments to Marcus Gillum -who was on the New York trip – would have also been an enticement for Gillum to meet with FBI agents posing as developers.

The trip was the subject of a complaint filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics and is still under investigation.

Following the trip to New York, people attending FSU football games during the 2016 season indicated that Marcus Gillum received tickets for a stadium skybox provided by Adam Corey. At times, these people said Marcus Gillum was in the skybox with the undercover FBI agents who were posing as developers.

Adam Corey’s FSU football skybox was revealed as a central part of the federal investigation when TR reported that the undercover FBI agents purchased four tickets from Corey. It was later confirmed the tickets were provided to City of Tallahassee employees through Corey. The scandal led to the resignation of Tallahassee City Manager Rick Fernandez.

Other Tallahassee Report Investigations

Costa Rica: Another Gillum Trip with Adam Corey & Sean Pittman

Mayor Gillum’s Office Billed $10,000 by Tallahassee Democrat for Stories Authored by Journalist

Gillum, Daniels, & Corey Flew to Tampa on Developer’s Private Plane for Political Meeting

BREAKING NEWS: City Tax Dollars Pay for Mayors Office to Send Biden/Clinton Campaign Invite

Mayor Gillum’s Pittsburgh Trip Raises Questions

In addition, Corey was a registered lobbyist with the city of Tallahassee.

The trip has been confirmed by multiple sources.

Sources have told TR that the travelers included Andrew Gillum, Jai Gillum, Sean Pittman, Audra Pittman, Adam Corey, Austin Rain, Cody Schwartz, Darcie Morningstar and Mary Kucek.

Sources also say Ms. Kusek worked with Computer Aid Inc., which hired Corey’s firm to lobby the city of Tallahassee during 2015 and 2016. At the time of the trip, Corey’s lobbying business -Unconventional Strategies – was actively seeking business with the city of Tallahassee for Compute Aid Inc.

Previous reports indicate Gillum has a history of traveling with Corey and/or Pittman.

In February, 2015 TR broke a story about a Gillum trip to Pittsurgh that took place in January, 2015, which included Corey, Pittman and current mayoral candidate Dustin Daniels.

The Tallahassee Democrat followed up with a story and reported that the trip was not an official city trip and no city dollars were used. Daniels retroactively took a vacation day after reports about the trip went public.

In August 2017, TR broke a story about a Gillum trip to Tampa which took place in February, 2016. The trip included Adam Corey and Dustin Daniels. The trio flew on a private plan owned by a developer with an interest in doing business with the City of Tallahassee.

The Tallahassee Democrat followed up with a story and reported that the Mayor Gillum paid for the Tampa trip out of his office account, which can only be used for official business related to his office.

Also, in August 2017, TR broke details about a Gillum trip to New York city  which took place August, 2016. The trip included Corey, developers that are now believed to have been undercover FBI agents and Gillum’s brother, Marcus. Gillum has yet to say who paid for anything on the trip.

Florida law requires public officials to disclose gifts from lobbyists with a value over $100. None of Gillum’s gift disclosure forms obtained by TR mention anything about the trips outlined above.

In the limited public comments made by Gillum about his travels with city vendors, lobbyists and developers, Gillum shows little concern about the perception and/or the possiblity of conflicts of interest. For example, referring to the New York trip, Gillum told WCTV , “It was frankly a couple of friends getting together.”

WCTV reporter Mariel Carbone broke the initial story about the New York trip.

The cropped picture -taken in New York – accompanied an article authored by Tallahassee Democrat reporter Jeffrey Schweers back in March. The article, written from Gillum’s perspective, chronicled Gillum’s decision to cut ties with his friend, Adam Corey.

Corey has played a central role in the current FBI investigation into local government corruption.

According to Schweers, the picture played a vital role in securing the interview with Gillum. Schweers told his readers that the “Democrat’s intention to publish the photo prompted Gillum’s camp to reach out and request a meeting.”

Schweers did not tell his readers the picture was ultimately cropped and how this decision transpired.

Multiple sources have told TR that when Gillum was made aware of the photo, Gillum supporters reached out and pressured the Tallahassee Democrat not to print the picture. What followed was a negotiation that resulted in a cropped picture and the article.

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) provides a framework for journalistic ethics. With regards to independence, SPJ states that journalists should “deny favored treatment to advertisers, donors or any other special interests, and resist internal and external pressure to influence coverage.”

Also, SPJ writes that ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public. SPJ states that journalists should “explain ethical choices and processes to audiences. Encourage a civil dialogue with the public about journalistic practices, coverage and news content.”

This issue is compounded by the fact that controversial pictures of other political figures were recently printed by the Tallahassee Democrat without alteration.

Why was Mayor Andrew Gillum – who is a Florida gubernatorial candidate – treated differently?

The publisher and the editor of the Tallahassee Democrat have not responded to TR’s request for a comment on why the picture was cropped.

Original Photo

Photo altered by Tallahassee Democrat (below)

Gillum is a candidate for Florida governor.

Multiple sources, who have seen the unaltered picture, made Tallahassee Reports aware of the editing after the Tallahassee Democrat published the picture on January 18, 2018.

This edited picture, shown below, was reported to have been taken on a boat ride during a trip to New York City. Sources that have seen the unedited picture indicate the photo could be embarrassing to the gubernatorial candidate.

Also, sources close to Mayor Gillum indicated that the Tallahassee Democrat was pressured by Gillum, his supporters and Tallahassee Democrat advertisers not to publish the original picture.

One look at Gillum’s financial backers reveals a number of political heavy-weights supporting Gillum’s gubernatorial candidacy.

These names include the George Soros family, who donated $250,000 to Gillum’s Political Action Commitee (PAC), and the famous TV producer and liberal activists Norman Lear who donated  $50,000.

At the local level, state lobbyists and local attorney Sean Pittman donated $45,000 and local businessman Rick Kearney donated $10,000.

In the end, an agreement was reached between Gillum and the Tallahassee Democrat which resulted in an edited version of the original picture being published in return for an interview with Mayor Andrew Gillum.

Why did the Tallahassee Democrat negotiate with Gillum over publishing the picture? What was newsworthy about the unedited picture?

The negotiations with Gillum are not consistent with the way the Tallahassee Democrat has recently handled sensitive pictures dealing with other prominent politicians.

For example, the Tallahassee Democrat has recently published unflattering photos associated with former Superintendent Jackie Pons and current City Commissioner Scott Maddox.

Tallahassee Reports has confirmed no negotiation was offered by the Tallahassee Democrat to these politicians.

The article that accompanied the picture was  published on January 18, 2018 was entitled “Andrew Gillum opens up about cutting ties with lobbyist friend Adam Corey and Mike Miller” and was written by reporter Jefferey Schweers.

Schweers informed readers that the cropped photo “prompted Gillum’s camp to reach out and request a meeting.” However, based on sources, the unedited and unpublished  picture – not the cropped picture – prompted the meeting.

Was Schweers aware of the cropping? If so, he clearly misled readers.

The decision by the Tallahassee Democrat to alter the picture raises several relevant questions.

First, why was Mayor Andrew Gillum given a “deal” to avoid the printing of the unedited picture?

As mention above, other local political figures, such as City Commissioner Scott Maddox and former Superintendent Jackie Pons, have recently had unflattering pictures published on the front page of the Tallahassee Democrat without any “deal making” editing.

Second, the decision by the Tallahassee Democrat to “broker a deal” with an elected official raises questions about what other deals have been brokered with other elected officials in the past? What is the criteria used by the Tallahassee Democrat for offering deals?

Third, sources say Gillum supporters successfully convinced the Tallahassee Democrat it was in their best interest not to publish the original picture. Instead of exposing those behind these tactics, the Tallahassee Democrat chose to hide their identity and broker a deal. What Tallahassee Democrat advertisers and/or Gillum supporters are influencing the local news that gets printed by the Tallahassee Democrat?

And finally, did the Tallahassee Democrat use an embarrassing picture – with little news value – to encourage Mayor Andrew Gillum to give an interview? If not, what story was going to be written based on the original picture?

Tallahassee Reports is seeking comment from the publisher of the Tallahassee Democrat, Skip Foster, and the news editor, William Hatfield.

The property. located on the corner of St. Michael Street and Gaines Street, was purchased by a Corey affiliated company for $225,000 on January 31, 2014 and sold for $515,000 on June 2, 2017. The sale price indicates a 129% return over 3.5 years or approximately 36.8% per year.

At the time of the purchase, Corey was a city vendor through his Edison Restaurant venture and was the campaign treasurer for City Commissioner Andrew Gillum, who was running for mayor of Tallahassee.

Adam Corey is a central player in the ongoing federal investigation of city hall.

But get this – the city commission never voted to sell the property to the Corey affiliated company.

So how did it happen?

The paper trail uncovered by Tallahassee Reports shows the actions Corey took to hide his affiliation with the property deal. TR’s research also shows how actions by City of Tallahassee officials -including former Mayor John Marks – ultimately resulted in Corey obtaining a financial interest in the deal.

On November 26, 2013, the city commission approved the purchase of the vacant lot for $225,000 to a company named Taking Schatz, LLC.

Staff told the city commission that Taking Schatz, LLC was the only bidder that responded to an advertisement placed in the Tallahassee Democrat.

Previously, the city staff indicated that there was “significant interest” in the property, and therefore, a request for bids was released in August of 2013.

In the end, only one bidder responded.

A review of the city commission meeting shows that the purchase was unanimously approved by Mayor John Marks, and City Commissioners Ziffer, Miller, Maddox, and Gillum. There was no discussion or public testimony.

State records show that the Taking Schatz, LLC was created in January 2013 by Adam Corey. However, in May 2013 Corey was removed as Manager and Edward Schatz was added.

So the vote on November 26, 2013 did not involve a Corey related business.

However, after the November 26, 2013 vote to sell the property to Taking Schatz,LLC, the City of Tallahassee actually sold the property to a different company.

The deed below – dated February 3, 2014 – shows that the City of Tallahassee sold the property to a company called Gaines 800, LLC.

Unlike the Taking Schatz LLC, records show that Gaines 800 LLC was indeed affiliated with Adam Corey. The Gaines 800, LLC was created in October 15, 2013 and the Manager was listed as the Schatz-Corey Holdings, LLC. The Schatz-Corey Holdings, LLC was also created on October 15, 2013.

The deed was executed by Mayor John Marks.

Further evidence of Corey’s affiliation with the property deal was found in emails uncovered by Tallahassee Reports.

The email chain below shows that City of Tallahassee employees – Mark Beaudoin and Robert Culverhouse – were included in emails addressing the property purchase that involved Edward Schatz and Adam Corey before the sale date of January 31, 2014.

On January 8th, 2014, Edward Schatz sent an email to City of Tallahassee employee Robert Culverhouse that said, “Danny Manausa who is handling our closing and will review the documents….”

Copied on the email were Mark Beaudoin, a city employee, and Adam Corey.

Five days later Manausa sends an email to Robert Culverhouse about the deeds.

Again, copied on the email were Mark Beaudoin, a city employee, and Adam Corey.

It appears that city staff were well aware that Adam Corey was involved with the deal.

But why did the staff execute the purchase of the property to a different company than was approved by the city commission vote on November 26, 2013?

Did someone tell city staff to move forward with the transaction despite the change in company?

Tallahassee Reports will continue to seek answers to these questions.

Property records show that on June 2, 2017, Gaines 800 LLC sold the property purchased in 2014 for $515,000. Records also show the property was vacant in 2014 and in 2017.

Sources confirm that Daniels watched the concert from Adam Corey’s Civic Center luxury box.

Tallahassee Reports was told that the box or suite costs approximately $30,000 a year to lease.

The Tucker Civic Center leases 34 suites with benefits that include their own private entrance and private concourse, preferred parking, private Arena entrance, food and beverage catering and from the Premium Services Department.

Sources say that approximately $1,200 was spent on catering and beverages during the concert.

Also, Tallahassee Reports has recovered a text message from Dustin Daniels to an Adam Corey associate inquiring about the tickets. The text message, shown below, said:

Hey is Adam having folks in his box tonight for earth wind and fire.

During 2017, Corey’s lobbying business, Unconventional Strategies LLC, was registered with the City of Tallahassee to represent the interests of six businesses.

Adam Corey is a central figure in the ongoing FBI investigation.

Tallahassee Reports has published a number of stories about the relationship between Daniels and Corey, including a report on Daniels referring business to Corey in his role as Mayor Gillum’s Chief of Staff.

Also, the Tallahassee Democrat recently wrote an article about Daniels possibly running for office. From the Democrat:

“Dustin Daniels, chief of staff to Tallahassee mayor and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, has launched an Internet page that has all the makings of a campaign website, minus the political disclaimer. There’s a professional-looking, full-faced, color portrait photo. A short, moving bio of his humble beginnings and redemption after hints of trouble with the law. A glowing educational and work resume. A sponsored post on Facebook ensuring it was at the top of news feeds.”

The concert ticket revelations come amid a continuing scandal involving reports that a number of city officials received FSU football tickets that provided access to Adam Corey’s football skybox.

Now, some of the same sources tell Tallahassee Reports that Dustin Daniels, the current Chief of Staff for Mayor Andrew Gillum, also received free football tickets from city lobbyist and city vendor Adam Corey during the 2016 season.

The sources confirmed Daniels attended most, if not all of the home games, during the season.

The tickets, valued at approximately $400-$500, provided access to Corey’s infamous FSU skybox.

Florida statutes regulate the acceptance and solicitation of gifts by government employees. The level of possible ethics violations depends upon the job responsibilities that fall to Daniels in the Mayors Office.

For example, if Daniels was involved in procurement decisions or recommendations, the ethics rules are more restrictive.

Former City Manager Rick Fernandez recently  resigned amid an ethics complaint filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics over the football ticket issue.

In addition, the City’s Independent Ethics Board recently referred a complaint to City Manager Reese Goad which alleges other city employees received tickets from Corey during the 2016 season.

Tallahassee Reports has documented the relationship between Daniels and Adam Corey, who is a central figure in the FBI inquiry of city hall.

Daniels traveled with Corey, Gillum and Sean Pittman on a controversial trip to Pittsburgh in January of 2015.

Daniels also accompanied Corey and Gillum on a political trip to Tampa in February 2016 as Gillum was preparing to run for governor.

The Tallahassee Democrat recently wrote a story about Daniels possibly running for office. Daniels refused to confirm or deny a campaign was in his future.

However, multiple sources have told Tallahassee Reports that the talk around city hall is that Mayor Andrew Gillum and Sean Pittman, a city lobbyist, are encouraging Daniels to run for a City Commission seat or for Mayor.

The picture has been authenticated by sources who were present in the skybox at the time the picture was taken.

At the December 6, 2017 Tallahassee City Commission meeting, Commissioners wrestled with how to move forward with regards to the City Manager who had previously been placed on administrative leave.

Commissioner Scott Maddox said that Fernandez should be reinstated.

He argued for reinstatement on grounds of due process and complained about the lack of direct evidence related to Fernandez soliciting football tickets by saying,  “I don’t know if he went to the football game.”

However, sources told TR that City Commissioner Scott Maddox and Mayor Andrew Gillum were in the football skybox during the 2016 season with Fernandez and other city employees.

These employees included Kristina Fernandez – the daughter of City Manager Rick Fernandez, Mike Tadros – Director of Underground Utilities and Ellen Blair – Director of Human Services.

In August of 2017, Tallahassee Reports confirmed, through a number of sources, that City Manager Rick Fernandez received football tickets located in the “Old School” skybox from city lobbyist and Edison owner, Adam Corey.

Subsequently, the Tallahassee Democrat recovered text messages showing Fernandez requesting skybox football tickets.

The picture below, shows Fernandez in the football skybox with his daughter and Chef Art Smith.

On January 27th, 2015, Bing Xu, who was affiliated with the Sunshine State EB-5 Regional Center (SSRC), asked Dustin Daniels about a possible meeting with Mayor Gillum.

The SSRC was created to provide an investment vehicle for qualified foreigners seeking to obtain permanent residency.

See email below.

Instead of setting up a meeting, Daniels met with Xu and then referred him to city lobbyist, Adam Corey. Corey is a close friend and business associate of Mayor Gillum.

Daniels wrote, “As promised, I have copied Mr. Adam Corey, a local government relations consultant and business owner. I think after our conversation, he would be a great person to connect with on your scope of work locally and around the country. I will leave it to you to follow up with Mr. Corey to determine a time to meet.”

See email below.

The relationship between Mayor Gillum and Adam Corey has been well documented. Corey served as as Gillum’s treasurer during his 2014 mayoral campaign.

Since then, Corey has become a frequent travel companion of Mayor Gillum on trips that have been hidden from public view until discovered through record requests.

On some of the trips, Mr. Daniels accompanied Gillum and Corey.

The email chain further documents the level of access that Mr. Corey enjoyed with Mayor Gillum’s office as a city vendor and a city lobbyist.

Corey has been a central figure in the current federal investigation into the City of Tallahassee.

The ethics questions surrounding the transaction involve a possible gift received by Fernandez from a city vendor and a job given to the former Edison employee Eddie Kring, who was the catering manager for his daughter’s wedding reception.

Here are four questions and four answers based on the investigation and previous reports.

What role did Fernandez play in securing the vendor for the catering event?

Previously Fernandez told the Tallahassee Democrat that “I just paid the bills.”

However, the documents show that City Manager Fernandez played a role in securing the Edison as the caterer for his daughter’s wedding through a private meeting with Adam Corey.

Also, the investigation shows that Fernandez talked to Edison owner Adam Corey when there were logistical problems running up to the event.

Who gave the discount and why?

Three former employees of the Edison told city ethics officials they believed the Edison owners directed catering services be discounted and by how much.

However, no witness ever heard or believes that Mr. Fernandez asked for a discount.

Also, the employees indicated Mr. Corey did occasionally give percentage type discounts for services, mainly for political events.

Did Kring talk to Fernandez about a city job?

Yes. The investigation reported the following:

“Rick ran into Kring weeks or months after the wedding when Rick first learned that Kring was job hunting. Kring said he “would love to get back into community relations”. Rick told him to submit an application to HR, as he does all the time in his position when he is approached by an aspiring job hunter, which is often. Rick had no more to do with Kring’s job hunt.”

However this statement seems inconsistent with other facts.

First, the investigator uncovered an email from Fernandez’s daughter asking her father why Kring was not still working at the Edison. Her father’s response was:

“He has been talking to me about coming to the City. I’ll find out.”

And second, the head of the Communications Department, Alison Faris, told TR that since Mr. Fernandez is her boss, he was aware of the hire.

Did Adam Corey talk to Fernandez about a job for Kring with the city?

TR has previously reported that sources indicate that Adam Corey talked to Fernandez about a job for Kring.

However, Jerry Currington, the lawyer for the Ethics Board that interviewed Fernandez, never asked Fernandez if he talked to Adam Corey about a job for Kring.

In 2016, when the discussions took place, Corey was a vendor with the City of Tallahassee and a registered lobbyists representing multiple interests before the City Commission.

In January 2017, the former Edison employee at the center of the discussion, Eddie Kring, was hired into a position that was only advertised to people in the city’s communications department where Kring had previously secured a part-time job.

Kring was hired into the full-time position by the head of communications department, Alison Faris, who reports directly to city manager Rick Fernandez.

The discussions of possible employment would have come during 2016 when City Manager Fernandez received a $5,000 “owners discount” from the Edison on a catering event for a member of his family.

Tallahassee Reports published a story about the catering discount which took place in March 2016.

Both the Florida Commission on Ethics and the city’s Independent Ethics Board is investigating the discount and the hiring of Eddie Kring.

Also in 2016, Tallahassee Reports confirmed that city manager Rick Fernandez received a number of football tickets directly from Adam Corey for exclusive seats in a private box at Doak Campbell stadium.

Sources say the tickets were distributed to city employees and members of the city manager’s family.

Sources also say that the alleged undercover FBI agents bought several season tickets from Mr. Corey during the 2016 FSU season.

The Florida Commission on Ethics is also investigating the the ticket issue.

This latest revelation adds to the connections between city manager Rick Fernandez and Adam Corey, who is a central player in the federal investigation of public corruption.