Surprise? CFO Jeff Atwater's office knew FDLE chief was doomed

Florida Cabinet members have said they were blindsided by Gov. Rick Scott's decision to oust former FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey on Dec. 16. "(It) caught a lot of us by surprise," Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater told Capitol reporters last month.

Really? It wasn't a complete surprise to Atwater, whose office began lobbying for a top aide to get the FDLE job before the ink was dry on Bailey's letter of "departure" (he refused to use the word resignation).

Emails show that Atwater's chief Cabinet affairs aide, Robert Tornillo, began promoting deputy CFO Jay Etheridge as Bailey's replacement even before Bailey's ouster was publicly known. Bailey has said he got a surprise visit from Scott's former general counsel, Pete Antonacci, at about 11:45 a.m. on Dec. 16. Within minutes, Tornillo had hand-delivered Etheridge's resume to two of Attorney General Pam Bondi's aides on the first floor of the Capitol in Tallahassee -- Kent Perez and Rob Johnson.

Asked to explain the timing, a spokeswoman for Atwater, Ashley Carr, said: "At that time, it was known that the Governor's Office wished to make leadership changes at several agencies, including at FDLE. We offered the credentials of an individual who would make a candidate for consideration when the selection process was to begin."

It was nearly four hours later before Scott's office announced that he had appointed Rick Swearingen as interim FDLE commissioner. Atwater later called for a re-opening of the FDLE appointment, but neither his two Cabinet colleagues nor Scott would agree with him.

Here's Tornillo's email:

From: Tornillo, Robert To: "Kent Perez"; Rob Johnson Subject: FDLE Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2014 11:52:39 AM

I dropped off two folders to Emery containing cover letter/resume for Jay Etheridge. Please call me if you have any questions.

Thanks, rt

Robert Tornillo Director, Cabinet Affairs Office of Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater 850-413-2820

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Surprise? CFO Jeff Atwater's office knew FDLE chief was doomed