Investigators from the Orange-Osceola (Florida) State Attorney's Office and Orange County Comptroller Martha O. Haynie are scrutinizing records at the troubled Orlando-Osceola Expressway Authority for evidence of criminal wrongdoing or financial mismanagement related to millions of dollars in roadway land purchases.
"We're following leads and tips, and wherever that takes us inside the authority we will go," says Randy Means, director of investigations for the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office. "That means land deals and purchases and contracts. Where there's a multibillion-dollar expressway authority, there is a lot of money to be made legally. There is also a lot of avenues and enrichments that do not always, as I say, pass the smell test." Means expects his office could wrap up the probe by the end of summer.