State Attorney Melissa Nelson investigated JEA sale but local GOP wants statewide grand jury

State Attorney Melissa Nelson opened an investigation of the attempted sale of JEA in 2019 and later turned over her office's findings to the federal government for it to continue the criminal probe, but the Duval County Republican Party Executive Committee says a statewide grand jury still is needed to investigate whether anyone violated state law during the sales process.

Aaron Zahn, who was CEO of JEA when the utility sought offers for a potential sale, and Ryan Wannamaker, who was the chief financial officer of JEA at that time, were indicted by a federal grand jury in 2022. They face trial later this year on charges stemming from an incentive plan that would have made huge payouts to top-ranking JEA executives if a sale had gone through.

The Duval County Republican Party Executive Committee approved a resolution this week urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to ask the Florida Supreme Court for a statewide grand jury that would investigate "potential violations of state law" that fall outside the jurisdiction of federal prosecutors

An executive committee member who pushed for approval of the resolution pointed to the upcoming spring elections for mayor and City Council as a reason for the timing of the request so voters would know the local Republican Party's stance on "ending institutional corruption" in local government.

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DeSantis's office did not respond to a question about whether he would seek a statewide grand jury.

Nelson, a Republican elected in 2016 and re-elected to another four-year term in 2020, is in charge of prosecuting state cases in the Fourth Judicial Circuit that covers Duval, Clay and Nassau counties. It would be highly unusual for a statewide grand jury to do its own investigation of activities in the Fourth Circuit.

"I have confidence in the joint federal-state investigation that resulted in federal charges against two defendants," Nelson said.

Her office provided two full-time State Attorney investigators to help the federal government continue the investigation after it moved into the federal arena.

Robin Lumb, a Duval County Republican Party Executive Committee member who was among those advocating for the resolution, said he is "not accusing anybody of breaking the law. All I'm saying is this whole thing is shrouded in mystery and the voters have a right to know exactly what happened."

The resolution says that in addition to investigating "potential violations" of state law, the grand jury would be able to issue a comprehensive report on "public officials, private individuals and business entities" who did not violate state law but acted improperly during the sales process.

Lumb, who previously served on Jacksonville City Council and in Mayor Lenny Curry's office, said Duval County residents would have more information about people "operating behind the scenes" if DeSantis can get a statewide grand jury empaneled.

"I hope he decides to act on it," Lumb said. "It would be a real feather in his cap if he were to take some decisive action to root out the institutional corruption that's affected Duval County."

In an email Lumb sent to Duval County GOP leaders Sunday, he said making the request to DeSantis "will show our voters that Republicans are serious about ending the institutional corruption and self-dealing that's plagued local government in recent years."

Nelson's office began investigating the attempted sale of JEA in 2019 while the sale process was still ongoing.

“We have heard the concerns of the community over the past several months. This office is — and has been — looking into matters involving JEA,” Nelson said in a written statement in December 2019.

She announced in January 2020 that the State Attorney's Office investigative team had examined "every item of information it received and discovered — without their diligent work, we would not have reached this point."

“After thorough review, the State Attorney’s Office has determined that the appropriate venue to continue this investigation is the federal justice system," she said in her announcement. "We have referred our investigation to our federal partners, who will take the lead moving forward and have the full support of this office.”

The Jacksonville City Council undertook its own intensive investigation of the JEA sales process by hiring outside attorneys who produced a 138-page report along with a detailed 243-page chronology of events. City Council released that report in December 2020.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Republicans ask DeSantis to order state probe of JEA sale