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| Gov. Rick Scott's reelection campaign says it won't use this footage of Corey Alston in future ads |
Alston, a former member of the FAMU Board of Trustees,
stepped down as the chairman of the FAMU Foundation last year in the wake of a
grand theft charge against him. But his name remained on the list of board members for months afterward.
According to the Tampa Bay Times’ The Buzz blog: “Corey
Alson, 35 of Lauderhill, pleaded not guilty in March to charges of grand theft,
corrupt misuse of [an] official position and misuse of public office or
employment. Prosecutors accused him of coordinating a deal to be compensated
$25,139 for 498 hours in unused sick time and he resigned in February. He was
later indicted on four additional counts of grand theft, one count of grand
theft over $20,000 and one count of aggravated white-collar crime. After the incident,
the governor suspended the three city officials who approved the payout to
Alston.”
But despite Gov. Rick Scott’s decision to suspend those three commissioners, footage of Alston still found its way into a recent advertisement released by his reelection campaign.
The web ad, entitled “540,000,” claims that the Florida
economy has gotten better as a result of Scott’s governorship. It features a
scene of the governor chatting with Corey Alston and his brother Torey Alston
in Fort Lauderdale.
When reporters contacted the Scott campaign about the Corey Alston
footage, a spokesman responded by saying: “The ad uses old footage from 2010
and is not running as part of any paid digital effort. The footage will not be
used again going forward."