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"Scott Batterson, who was suspended from the Orlando Expressway Authority following his indictment on bribery charges last month, offered a lucrative consulting deal to a company - if that firm was willing to hire some of his friends, according to documents released by State Attorney Jeff Ashton Tuesday.The documents outline the three felony charges Batterson faces, including soliciting bribery by a public servant.Batterson, 38, was initially investigated for possible violations of the state's sunshine laws, by discussing matters privately with other board members.But investigators talked to others - including an authority consultant who told them that last July, Batterson said he was \"highly confident\" he would soon become chairman of the authority and that when it came to awarding contracts, \"things could change.\"According to the documents,\u00A0Batterson told Mark Callahan of the firm CH2MHill that if Batterson were able to grant that firm a multimillion-dollar general engineering job, \"there may be some folks I want you to consider putting on your team,\" Callahan told the investigators.The documents show Callahan told investigators Batterson said in December that his fellow board member Marco Pena was upset that Callahan's firm had hired former authority director Max Crumit.Callahan said that message felt like a threat to his company's existing $20 million contract with the Expressway Authority, to provide consulting on the Wekiva Core project.Most watched video: Villages resident enforces 25 mph speed limit with radar gunWhen an investigator asked Callahan, \"What do you think just happened?\" he replied: \"...we have a contract that we're working on and we've been doing a good job....so you know, he's kind of saying: Hey, you know because you hired Max, Marco is not happy.\"Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign a bill dismantling the Expressway Authority.\"Governor Scott looks forward to signing the expressway authority bill when it reaches his desk,\" said Scott's press secretary John Tupps, in an email to WESH 2. \"The governor supports State Attorney Ashton's efforts to hold public officials accountable.\"Also see: Cocoa Beach area named one of top restored U.S. beaches"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.wesh.com/article/expressway-authority-official-tried-to-bribe-consultant-records-show/4433838>