Broward Bulldog:

Another political insider – this time a major contributor to Gov. Rick Scott – has cropped up in a $44.8 million-a-year government-business deal to manage mental health services in Broward County.

The Florida Department of Children and Families awarded the multi-year contract in March to Broward Behavioral Health Coalition and its for-profit partner Concordia Behavioral Health of Miami.

Bob Butterworth, the former head of DCF and an ex-Florida Attorney General, orchestrated the deal as president of Broward Behavioral. State officials say they expect to sign a deal by Nov. 1.

Now, BrowardBulldog.org has identified a second insider, this time as a silent partner.

Public records show that on Jan. 25, while DCF’s Broward procurement was pending, Concordia shareholder Miguel B. Fernandez gave $125,000 to Let’s Get to Work, a fundraising organization set up with the governor’s support.

Fernandez, a wealthy Coral Gables healthcare entrepreneur, and a company he controls, MBF Family Investments, together have contributed a total of $625,000 to Let’s Get to Work since September 2010, the records show.

“It sounds like maybe Gov. Scott is running Florida like a business – doing business with his friends, said Katy Sorenson, head of the Good Government Initiative at the University of Miami...

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