"Sanford Airport President's Business Relationship Creates Questions"

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Airport President's Business Relationship Creates Questions
WFTV-TV Ch 9 (ABC), Orlando (FL)


SANFORD, Fla. -- 9 Investigates has discovered the head of the Sanford
airport has a business relationship that may create serious ethical
questions.

More than a 1.5 million passengers came through Orlando-Sanford Airport last
year and the airport is growing. It plans to build new runways and may have
to buy some of Sadeek Jafeer's property to do it.

9 Investigates tried to ask airport president Larry Dale about the owner.

"I don't want to talk about it on the air," he said "I don't want to talk
about personal relationships on the air."
   
The nature of that personal relationship with Jafeer is not entirely clear.
Dale's financial disclosures show he had secondary sources of income from
Systems Acquisitions in 2001 and 2004 for development and from Helen Howland
Properties in 2002 and 2003 for real estate.

Corporate records show Jafeer is the president of both companies. The
companies are not based in Florida. They're all located in an office in
Westbury, N.Y., about 30 miles outside of New York City. No one at the
office returned Channel 9's calls.

Real estate records show Jafeer's companies own 73 parcels of land around
the airport. According to the airport's master plan, one of Jafeer's parcels
sits in the path of a proposed runway.

Larry Dale didn't return calls or emails about the land for two weeks, so
Channel 9 caught up with him.

"Will the airport have to buy property he owns?" WFTV reporter Josh Wilson
asked Dale.

"I'll call you," he said.

"Can you answer just that question? Will the airport have to buy property he
owns?" Wilson asked.

"Not to my knowledge," Dale said.

But again, the master plan appears to show Jafeer's property right in the
path of the new runway.

Dale's cell phone records show he had ten conversations with someone at
Jafeer's business, home or cell phone over the past six months. The most
recent was in November.

Charlie Lentz teaches real estate appraisal at the University of Central
Florida. He said the airport's expansion could affect the value of all of
Jafeer's land in the area.

"Anything like that is going to have a significant impact," Lentz said.

"Of course it's a conflict," said Bill Daniel, a frequent Larry Dale critic.

Before the airport buys land, Daniel said, Dale needs to come clean about
his business ties.

"He's not looking out for the public interest," Daniel said.

State ethics laws forbid public officials from doing business with any
company "where he or she is an officer is an officer or an employee." The
law does not address consulting.

Dale said there is not an ethics problem.

"Would it be appropriate if the airport had to buy something of his?"
reporter Josh Wilson asked.

"I don't think there is any inappropriate activity," Dale said.

"If you have to buy property he owns, it wouldn't be inappropriate?" Wilson
asked.

"I'm not going to talk to you cold. I just got back in town. I've been on a
business trip, and I'll call you," he said.

Dale never did call. He did offer to sit down with Channel 9 off camera, but
tried to set conditions on the interview. Channel 9 didn't agree to those
conditions.

Dale said he would discuss this deal at their next meeting, February 14.

TAKE A LOOK: Impact Of Airport Expansion Plan

http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/6904515/detail.html?qs=;s=1;p=/news/;dm=s
s;w=400

Click on the link below to view the video:

Video: Questions Surround Airport President's Business Relationship
 http://www.wftv.com/video/6913744/detail.html

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