Orlando, Florida -- New information is out in the case involving one of the biggest political scandals in state politics. 10 News has obtained depositions in the criminal case of former Republican Party Chair Jim Greer.
Greer, who says the top party leaders lied and conspired to frame him, is talking to only one media outlet in the state and that's 10 News.
Before Greer was arrested in June of 2010 on charges he bilked the party, Republican leaders had public amnesia about signing an agreement, saying everything he did as chairman was appropriate, necessary, and legal.
According to Greer, "They proposed a huge severance agreement and they had multiple drafts going back and forth. The one I ultimately signed, they ultimately signed, and then they denied it existed after they signed it."
Under deposition, State Senator John Thrasher, who succeeded Greer as chairman, is asked how his signature got on the agreement and he says," I don't recall it."
Thrasher also can't recall ever saying there was no agreement which he and the party attorney did it at the GOP executive meeting the same day Thrasher was elected chair.
Jim Stelling, a former member of the GOP executive committee, was at the meeting and says his jaw dropped. Stelling says he knew an agreement existed, because he saw it.
Under further questioning, Thrasher admits party leaders agreed to hold Greer harmless for any expenditures during his term.
Meanwhile, the speaker of the Florida House, Dean Cannon, admits he might have also denied the agreement existed, but under oath Cannon says he was surprised and upset the party didn't want to honor the agreement. Cannon claims he said it would be in the best interest of the Republican party to pay Greer and honor the agreement, but there was a problem.
Greer says, "If the Republican Party wrote me a check, it would become public record on the finance reports and then the grassroots would know this bunch had been lying to them."
When the party decided it didn't want to honor the agreement, Greer says the leaders became concerned that he would blow the whistle on the lavish spending party leaders were doing with the GOP American Express card.
According to Greer, "Someone said, 'We need to circle the wagons' and they as a group orchestrated the biggest pack of lies I've ever seen.
"The number one rule in politics is you have to discredit the person who knows the dirt on us, and that's what they went about doing with me."
But now that the party has abandoned Greer and the case is proceeding to trial, the former party chairman says he knows the dirt and has nothing to lose in shoveling it onto those who tried to throw him under the bus.
Read the Depositions (PDF):
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