Florida taxpayers have been robbed blind for decades.
More than 780 public officials convicted of federal corruption charges in a single decade – more than California, more than Texas, more than New York.
Now Florida's Attorney General just launched the most aggressive anti-corruption unit in the state's history – and watch what the media did the second he stepped to that podium.
Florida Attorney General Uthmeier Targets Bribery and Kickbacks Statewide
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the new Public Integrity Unit Thursday in Miami, flanked by federal prosecutors and Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents.
The unit isn't symbolic.
It will spend the next phase scrutinizing every nonprofit, NGO, and local government grant funded through legislative appropriations over the past two fiscal years – looking for criminal conduct including bribes, kickbacks, embezzlement, extortion, and conflicts of interest.
"Taxpayer dollars are sacred," Uthmeier said. "Anybody who's going to misspend, misappropriate or take advantage of our public citizens is going to have to deal with us."
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2024567297583591910?s=20
He didn't stop there.
Uthmeier brought in U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones, who pledged federal charges when investigations cross into federal jurisdiction.
"When taxpayer dollars are diverted for private gain, a federal crime is committed," Quiñones said. "We will investigate and prosecute accordingly."
The Prosecutor Uthmeier Tapped to Lead the Public Integrity Unit
Uthmeier tapped Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Richard Mantei to run the unit day-to-day, promoting him to Special Counsel to the Attorney General for Public Integrity.
Mantei is a serious prosecutor.
The unit operates inside the Office of Statewide Prosecution – built precisely for cases that cross county lines and require statewide reach.
Uthmeier said the unit will also accept complaints from the public on state and local officials, including members of the judiciary, though he noted that certain judicial matters fall under the state's separate oversight bodies.
He's inviting Floridians to load the pipeline themselves.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2024533017780248672?s=20
The Miami Herald Tried to Derail Florida's New Corruption Investigation
The press conference lasted less than 15 minutes.
The moment Uthmeier finished announcing the unit, reporters pivoted – not to ask about the investigations, not to ask which officials might be in the crosshairs, not to ask how Floridians can submit tips.
They went after Uthmeier's teaching salary at the University of Florida.
The Miami Herald published a story that morning reporting that Uthmeier earns $100,000 a year at UF's law school – describing him as the highest-paid adjunct professor at UF's Levin College of Law in at least a quarter century – while the Herald and Tampa Bay Times noted his total annual compensation from state funds reaches $240,000 when combined with his Attorney General salary.
That's their story.
That's what they wanted to talk about.
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2023875100026470855?s=20
Not the corruption unit.
Not the federal prosecutors ready to file charges.
Not the two-year audit of every appropriation in the state.
The teaching salary.
Uthmeier didn't flinch.
"It seems like this is what the left news media wants to talk about," he said. "I'm focused on fighting crime and public corruption."
Then he walked out.
Florida Government Waste Has Gone Unpunished for Decades — Until Now
Think about what a two-year audit of every Florida legislative appropriation actually means.
Every grant to a nonprofit. Every procurement at the local level. Every expenditure that touched a well-connected NGO or politically connected organization.
Florida has spent decades as the corruption capital of America precisely because nobody looked.
A 2010 statewide grand jury declared corruption "pervasive at all levels of government" and issued 127 pages of reform recommendations.
The Legislature ignored nearly every one.
Nobody built a unit like this.
Nobody put federal prosecutors in the room.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2024529706205302993?s=20
Nobody invited the public to submit complaints to judges.
Uthmeier just did all three.
The left-wing press corps had one job Thursday – cover the most consequential law enforcement announcement Florida's Attorney General office has made in years.
Instead, they pulled out a story about a teaching stipend and tried to make it the headline.
Your neighbors deserve to know what actually happened in that room.
Sources:
- CBS Miami, "Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announces launch of Public Corruption Unit," February 19, 2026.
- CBS12, "Statewide integrity unit targets 2 years of Florida legislative spending for corruption," February 19, 2026.
- Local 10 News / WPLG, "In Sweetwater, Florida AG defends $100K part-time UF professor job," February 19, 2026.
- First Coast News, "Reports find Florida most corrupt state in U.S.," citing DOJ federal conviction data, 2000–2010.
- CBS Miami / Associated Press, "Statewide grand jury declares corruption pervasive at all levels of Florida government," 2010.
