Gov. Rick Scott's campaign and the Republican Party of Florida have paid more than $227,000 for use of the private jet that Scott also uses for official state travel. The Cessna Citation is owned by a Naples business whose only officer is First Lady Ann Scott. The jet tail number ends with the first lady's initials.
Campaign finance reports list 19 separate payments to Ann Scott's company, Columbia Collier Management LLC. The most recent payment is also the largest one to date in the campaign, a $41,000 transaction to the Republican Party of Florida dated Aug. 15.
The frequency and amount of payments for the plane's use picked up in May soon after the Times/Herald reported that neither Scott's campaign nor the party were reporting any expenditures for use of the plane by the campaign, as campaign finance laws require. Democrats subsequently filed complaints against Scott with the Florida Elections Commission.
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