Florida Official
Withheld Ties To Costa
Rica Investment
Powerhouse lobbyist Hugo
Unruh and consulting
engineer Dan Shalloway
together have invested
thousands of dollars in
a Costa Rica cattle
ranch, a business tie
that Unruh never
declared when he steered
a lucrative government
contract to a
partnership that
included Shalloway and
former Palm Beach County
Commissioner Warren
Newell.
Unruh, as an elected
supervisor of the
Northern Palm Beach
County Improvement
District, didn't
publicly disclose the
Costa Rica connection
when he voted in
February 2002 for the
district to hire the
partnership, SFRN, as
the district's
consulting engineer,
district records show.
In January and February,
he voted twice to extend
its contract another
five years without
declaring the link.
Now that a corruption
scandal has scorched
SFRN and dispatched
Newell from office and
the partnership, Unruh
has declared that he
will abstain from even
discussing the
termination of SFRN's
contract. He said he
doesn't plan to attend
the meeting Wednesday
when the board will vote
on whether to cancel the
contract.
In announcing his
abstention at an Aug. 22
board meeting, Unruh
cited another potential
conflict, again not
disclosing the ranch.
Unruh said he isn't sure
the real estate holding
represents a conflict.
He described it as a
"passive" investment in
which he and Shalloway
hold a combined 4
percent share of a
corporation that owns
the 900-acre ranch in
Costa Rica's lush
interior.
"To be honest, I don't
know," Unruh said when
asked about a conflict
of interest. "I have to
check with my attorney."
Shalloway, who has since
left SFRN, wouldn't
comment. Unruh and an
SFRN spokesman said
Unruh never has worked
for the company.
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