'Paminator' Bondi, Kottkamp trade barbs over trial-lawyer ties

TALLAHASSEE — In the hotly contested Republican primary for attorney general, it doesn't take much to start controversy.

A brief e-mail from a lawyer who dated candidate Pam Bondi for five years did the trick.

Bondi, 44, a former Hillsborough prosecutor, is criticizing rival Jeff Kottkamp for his ties to Morgan & Morgan, the powerhouse personal injury law firm whose "for the people" billboards and radio ads promoting its pro-consumer work are seen and heard all over Florida.

Kottkamp, 49, briefly worked for Morgan & Morgan, and the firm and its members have donated about $25,000 to his campaign, nearly a third of it on July 16. Trial lawyers are not the most popular group in any GOP-only contest.

Seeking to deflect Bondi's criticism of his connections to the trial bar, Kottkamp cited an e-mail written in the fall by Billy Howard, 43, a member of the Morgan & Morgan firm, who once dated Bondi.

In the e-mail to his boss, Howard suggested that Bondi would hire the firm if she wins the race.

"Told me at church today she will use us for consumer protection if she wins," Howard wrote on Nov. 22, 2009. "She plans to announce this week I think, but u would know more than me as usual."

Both Howard and Bondi now insist such a conversation never took place.

In a brief phone conversation, Howard said: "There was never any talk about retaining our law firm."

He asked that more questions be submitted in writing, then responded to those by saying Bondi had made no such offer. "No, she never did. Absolutely not," he said in an e-mail reply.

Howard has not contributed to Bondi, and records show he gave $250 to Kottkamp's campaign on July 16.

Bondi declined to be interviewed for this article, but issued a prepared statement accusing Kottkamp of a "smear campaign."

"Jeff Kottkamp received a forwarded e-mail from his former boss and head of the personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan, containing information that is absolutely untrue," Bondi's statement said. "I state without any hesitation or doubt that this purported conversation did not occur."

A search of campaign records found no Morgan & Morgan law firm members who have donated to Bondi's campaign.

The e-mail indicates that Howard sent it to John Morgan, the law firm's founder, who forwarded it 14 minutes later to Kottkamp, the candidate Morgan is backing.

The e-mail's subject line: "Paminator."

As Howard explained: "The term 'Paminator' was a nickname I gave her because of her work as an aggressive (assistant) state attorney."

The outspoken Morgan dismissed the e-mail controversy, and said it was doubtful that Bondi could send legal work his way, even if she wanted to.

"I think the people who are supporting her would turn five shades of purple if something like that happened," Morgan said. "She's close to the Fox News people, you know."

Bondi's campaign literature features her work as a legal analyst for Fox News.

Kottkamp said Bondi's explanation "doesn't pass the credibility test," and that because Howard dated Bondi for five years, "he would have no reason to fabricate such a comment."

"The offering of a state contract is illegal and should be investigated," Kottkamp said.

The third Republican in the primary for attorney general, Holly Benson, 39, has stayed out of the Bondi-Kottkamp fray.

Kim Kirtley, an adviser to Bondi's campaign, asked the Times/Herald not to publish this article, and noted that Bondi was not yet a candidate at the time of the disputed conversation with Howard.

"I wish you would reconsider the article and choose to ignore the low levels of mud-slinging in this race," Kirtley said.

Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.