| 
			 The complaint, which Scott's campaign dismissed as political 
			"mudslinging," came days after two major state newspapers raised 
			questions about Scott's financial disclosures and a blind trust he 
			created after his 2010 election. 
 Scott, a Republican, is locked in a tight race for re-election with 
			Democrat Charlie Crist in an expensive and closely watched political 
			battle in the country's largest swing state.
 
 George Sheldon, a lawyer running for state attorney general, alleged 
			that Scott controlled a "complex web of investment vehicles," 
			including at least six trusts, and other accounts valued at $340 
			million, while his public financial report, filed with his 
			re-election papers, showed a net worth of just over $132 million.
 
			
			 Sheldon, a former assistant attorney general, told a news conference 
			the public needed to be able "to determine whether he (Scott) has a 
			personal financial stake in the decisions he makes as a public 
			official."
 The Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times previously reported on the 
			governor’s investments in companies that have benefited from his 
			policies, including oil and gas ventures.
 
 Greg Blair, a spokesman for Scott’s re-election campaign, shrugged 
			off the lawsuit, saying: "Governor Scott opened the blind trust he 
			formed in 2011 for the sole purpose of providing transparency and 
			publicly listed his assets on his financial disclosure in June."
 
 Crist, a former Republican who preceded Scott as governor, has been 
			hammering Scott as "too shady for the Sunshine state."
 
 [to top of second column]
 | 
            
			 
			The Scott campaign charged that Crist had issues of his own, 
			including past associations with imprisoned Ponzi schemer Scott 
			Rothstein and former Florida Republican chief Jim Greer, who served 
			time for defrauding the state party as Crist's hand-picked chairman.
 On Monday, Crist’s campaign set up a news conference for John 
			Schilling, an FBI whistleblower who helped expose fraudulent 
			Medicare billings by Scott’s former hospital company, resulting in a 
			record $1.7 billion in financial penalties.
 
 Sheldon argued that Scott’s blind trust did not comply with the 
			state's 1976 "Sunshine Amendment," which requires public 
			officeholders to disclose assets valued at $1,000.
 
 (Editing by David Adams and Peter Cooney)
 
			[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights 
				reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, 
			broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 
			
			 |