JEB, ENRON AND THE FLORIDA RETIREMENT SYSTEM:
HOW FLORIDA BECAME THE NATION’S BIGGEST LOSER

When a company announces a $600 million loss in three months, its CEO quits and its stock price drops like a brick — most investors would sell their shares: Not the Florida Retirement System.

The remaining shareholders would probably sell after the company admits it lied about $1.2 billion in profits and the government starts investigating: Not the FRS. It bought $7.1 million more shares.

After Enron's chief financial officer, Andrew S. Fastow, was ousted on Oct. 24, the FRS bought $16.1 million worth.

When Enron announced last November that it had overstated its profits, the FRS bought still another $11.7 million worth.

Having bought shares for as much as about $80 in the past, the FRS, as it continued buying, rode the stock down from $43 TO 28 CENTS A SHARE.

On Nov. 30, just days before Enron's bankruptcy filing, the FRS sold 7.6 million shares for 28 cents each — getting just $2.1 million for its investments.

The FRS — one of the nation’s largest public employee pension funds at $123 billion — lost $335 million from its 9.1 million shares, the worst Enron loss the in the country.



Why did Florida ride Enron into the ground?

Maybe it was because Enron gave $154,425 — 80 percent to Republicans — to Florida legislators in 1996 and 1998, including $6,500 for Jeb’s campaign.

Maybe it was because Jeb hired Alliance Capital Management — a firm with an Enron director on its board — to oversee its Enron stock.

Maybe it was because Jeb appointed a political crony Coleman Stipanovich — brother of Republican fixer Mac Stipanovich — to oversee Alliance Capital Management.

Maybe it was because former president Richard Kinder hosted a fundraiser for Jeb in Houston on Jan. 17 — just a month after the dirty deed was done.

What is Jeb doing to recover and protect your pension money?

The state fired Alliance after the fact. Like every other sucker, the FRS is suing Enron and Alliance after the fact. Attorney General Bob Butterworth and the Florida House are investigating.

FRS is making no changes to provide greater oversight of its outside managers.

Why is Jeb doing so little about the FRS and Enron?

It’s not his money.