Buddy Johnson real estate deal gains interest of FBI

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

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The real estate dealings of former Hillsborough County elections chief Buddy Johnson are being examined by the FBI.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Trouble does not seem to be going away for former Hillsborough elections chief Buddy Johnson.

The FBI is already digging around the finances during his time in office. Now his personal real estate dealings are gaining scrutiny.

Johnson is facing a lawsuit filed by a retired couple accusing him of swindling them in a land deal completed in 2007. But now, according to Bay News 9's partner newspaper the St. Petersburg Times, federal agents are investigating the deal.

A Plant City property appraiser who looked at the land deal confirms the FBI contacted him this month.

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Previous stories on Buddy Johnson

To finance the $800,000 land purchase, Johnson persuaded the couple, Cecil and Nita Bass to lend him $520,000, then borrowed $400,000 from Sunshine State Savings.

At the time the mortgages were made, Sunshine State's president, Floyd Hall, was Johnson's re-election campaign treasurer, and Hall's Plant City bank was where Johnson kept his campaign account.

The other investigation into Johnson deals with how he handled the budget in the Hillsborough County Elections Office. He is accused of overspending and mishandling money.

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