Recent government records reveal that the former Reedy Creek Improvement District board members in Orlando did not break any criminal laws before Governor Ron DeSantis replaced them with a new board to supervise Walt Disney World’s special taxing district.
While an external investigation noted a potential connection between The Walt Disney Company and the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), Florida’s Chief Inspector General concluded the review of the former board without any recommendations earlier this year, as shown in a memo obtained by News 6 through a public records request.
Shortly after the Florida Legislature changed the organizational structure of the special taxing district in April 2023, renaming it the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), the governor requested a review of the former RCID board’s actions by the Office of the Chief Inspector General.
At the time, DeSantis expressed concern about a last-minute development agreement and restrictive covenants between Disney and the former RCID board that were executed shortly before the governor signed a bill altering the special taxing district.
“These collusive and self-dealing arrangements aim to nullify the recently-passed legislation, undercut Florida’s legislative process, and defy the will of Floridians,” DeSantis wrote in an April 3, 2023 letter to Chief Inspector General Melinda Miguel.
In the letter, DeSantis asked Miguel to consult with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to “launch a thorough review and investigation into the actions of the RCID Board of Supervisors,” including whether the board broke any criminal or civil laws.
The Office of Chief Inspector General, or OCIG, immediately began working on the review, records obtained by News 6 indicate.
The OCIG, which is overseen by a DeSantis appointee, said it looked at applicable governing statues, rules, policies, procedures, internal controls, emails, property tax records, and credit card statements. It also worked with various county elections supervisors and the Florida Commission on Ethics.
As part of its review, the chief inspector general’s office obtained a November 2023 audit commissioned by the new CFTOD board that examined past practices of RCID.
That 72-page report concluded the special district was “in dire need of reform” prior to the legislative changes passed in early 2023.
On June 21, fourteen months after launching its outside review, the OCIG sent a memo to DeSantis outlining its findings and announcing that no further investigative activity is warranted.
“The OCIG found, prior to the creation of the CFTOD, a blurring of the lines between Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. (Walt Disney World, WDW) and the RCID,” the memo states. “For example, an attorney for WDW also served as an attorney for the RCID. RCID staff were given discounts at WDW locations, typically only afforded to WDW employees, and WDW employees were invited to RCID employee events.”
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According to the memo, the OCIG found that Disney financially benefitted from RCID purchasing theme park annual passes for RCID employees. That practice was discontinued by the new CFTOD board.
The OCIG coordinated with FDLE’s Office of Executive Investigations and provided documentation to the law enforcement agency as part of a separate criminal investigation into RCID matters, the memo indicates, but no charges were filed.
“On June 19, 2024, the OCIG was advised by (FDLE) that their case was closed due to a lack of a criminal predicate,” the memo states.
As part of its review, the chief inspector general’s office investigated whether the outgoing RCID board of supervisors gave proper notice to property owners within the special district prior to voting on the development agreement with Disney in February 2023.
“Based on the OCIG’s review of the documents provided by the CFTOD, the OCIG could not determine that the RCID BOS properly noticed the RCID landowners about meetings as required by (Florida law),” the memo states.
In March 2024, while the OCIG review was still underway, Disney and CFTOD reached a settlement in a state court lawsuit that nullified the development agreement and restrictive covenants approved by the former RCID board.
That court settlement, along with documents provided by CFTOD and actions taken by the CFTOD board including new governance resolutions, prompted the chief inspector general’s office to determine that “no further investigative activity is warranted,” the memo states.
Representatives from CFTOD and Walt Disney World did not immediately respond to emails offering an opportunity to comment.
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