Signature on anti-gaming letter forged

David Royse

Friday, Oct. 20, 2000 | 9:04 a.m.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Tampa lobbyist admitted he forged Gov. Jeb Bush's signature on a letter that caused a stir in Washington by urging a vote against a bill to ban online casinos.

The letter was sent to U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida, and in it Bush purportedly said he was opposed to the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, a bill that would limit online gambling, including prohibiting state lotteries from offering at-home sales of tickets over the Internet.

The letter was signed "Jeb Bush," but when the governor's office found out it was circulating on Capitol Hill, it said the governor never wrote or authorized his signature on the document.

Lobbyist Matthew Blair admitted to state investigators that he forged Bush's name, according to a report of the investigation by the state Inspector General's office.

Under an agreement with prosecutors and the governor's office, Blair agreed Thursday to participate in a pre-trial intervention program for first-time offenders under which he will perform community service and be on probation for 18 months, said Hillsborough County assistant prosecutor Pam Bondi.

By agreeing to participate in the program, Blair avoids trial, but doesn't admit to any guilt.

However, according to the inspector general's report on its investigation, Blair admitted that he forged Bush's signature and - on another letter - that of Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan.

Blair, a free-lance public relations consultant and lobbyist, had been hired by a Washington public relations firm to get letters signed by prominent people to help kill the bill, which was closely watched on Capitol Hill.

Blair told investigators he was "under the gun" because he hadn't gotten all ten letters from prominent Floridians he was supposed to get.

"Blair said that he was really beginning to 'sweat it' when (another colleague) could not come up with all ten letters and Blair's deadline was quickly approaching," the report reads. "Blair then decided to go ahead and forge the letters."

Blair's business phone line has been disconnected and he didn't return a call to his home or respond to an e-mail from The Associated Press.

When Bush seemed to weigh in on the bill, he appeared to come to the aid of an army of lobbyists in Washington, hoping to avoid any blocking of Internet gambling, potentially worth billions of dollars. One lobbyist sent an e-mail to Bush's Washington office thanking the office for the help.

"This bill would ban states from putting their lotteries on the Internet," the "Bush" letter said. "While I am no fan of gambling, I see this bill as a violation of states' rights and I am looking to you to prevent this."

The bill was eventually defeated when it failed to get enough votes in the House. Bush never actually took a position on the bill before it was killed.

The letter came to light when an aide to Rep. Bill McCollum called the governor's Washington office and left a voice mail message about the letter.

"What's the deal? Has the governor reversed his position on expansion of gambling," the aide asked.