Just days after the dishonest media claimed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was “waving the white flag” in his battle with Disney, the Republican governor asked Florida’s Inspector General to look into whether a now-dismantled board appointed by Disney, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, spent $2 million of taxpayer money on perks.
“While the investigation into this matter is ongoing, the thousands of documents reviewed so far raise several issues regarding the entangled nature of RCID’s relationship with Disney,” read an email to the inspector’s general office from the new board.
The move comes after Disney filed a series of counterclaims last week to a lawsuit filed by the new DeSantis-appointed board, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which accused the company of stripping its authority. Disney is claiming breach of contract and violations of the Florida constitution over its due process and free speech rights and moved for damages and an order forcing the district to comply with the terms of the development agreements, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
More from The New York Post:
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District told the inspector general’s office on Monday that the board that used to oversee the Orlando theme park’s district paid Disney more than $2 million last fiscal year for its members and employees to have season passes, as well as discounts on hotel stays, merchandise, food and beverages.
Board members and employees of what was then known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District racked up $492,382.96 for tickets, $16,837.39 for merchandise discounts, $4,969.52 in food and beverage discounts and $3,764.48 in a water parks discount, according to a copy of the 2022 fiscal year first quarter invoice obtained by The Post.
The newspaper noted that Reedy Creek’s final operating budget for fiscal year 2022 listed $169,012,258 in total revenues and $178,736,100 in total expenditures and that there were no line items for passes or discounts listed.
DeSantis told CNBC last week that Disney CEO Bob Iger should drop his company’s political retaliation lawsuit.
“They’re suing the state of Florida. They’re going to lose that lawsuit,” the 2024 Republican presidential candidate said. “So what I would say is, drop the lawsuit.”
He added this message to Iger, “Your competitors all do very well here, Universal, SeaWorld. They have not had the same special privileges as you have.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
- Nancy Pelosi seeks to immortalize J6 with plaque at US Capitol - May 17, 2025
- ‘Bodega brothel’ near schools in AOC’s red-light district finally shut down WITHOUT her help - May 16, 2025
- Kid Rock faults America’s low birth rate on ‘ugly ass,’ ‘deranged’ liberal women no guy wants to sleep with - May 16, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.