Susan Taylor Martin, Times Staff Writer
For someone who doesn't particularly care to fly, Tampa Bay Times senior correspondent Susan Taylor Martin has logged a lot of hours in the air — in the past decade she has traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and China. She covered the invasion of Iraq, the war in Kosovo and the war against terror in Afghanistan and Pakistan. On 9/11, she and two other Times staffers got in Martin's aging car and drove 24 hours nonstop from Tampa Bay to New York City, her hometown. Among the other breaking stories Susan has covered were the death and funeral of Princess Diana, the funeral of Jordan's King Hussein and the handover of Hong Kong to China. There have been lighter moments, too. Martin has written about a restaurant in Jerusalem dedicated to Elvis Presley's memory; a Scottish hamlet that finally got TV and hated it; and the gay and transvestite scene in Turkey, a conservative Muslim country. Her hobbies include figure skating, antiquing, flea-marketing, and rooting for the Blue Devils basketball team of Duke University (her alma mater).
Martin has won numerous state and national journalism awards, including the 2007 Paul Hansell Award presented by the Florida Society of News Editors for distinguished writing and reporting.
Phone: (727) 893-8642
Email: susan@tampabay.com
Blog: Hot Spots
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Universal Health Care trustee targets Akshay Desai's donation to Wake Forest
05/14/13BankingST. PETERSBURG — As head of high-flying Medicare insurer Universal Health Care, Dr. Akshay Desai was a prominent member of many boards and organizations. Among them: the Parents Council of Wake Forest University.
Desai and his wife, Seema, whose two oldest children attended the North Carolina school, joined dozens of other parents selected in part for their ability to make an "annual contribution'' to the Wake Forest Fund. ...
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FEC fines 3 men, 2 companies for illegal contributions to Rep. Vern Buchanan
05/07/13 BlogThe Federal Election Commission has fined three men and two Tampa companies a total of $16,000 for illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota.
The FEC's case was prompted by a 2009 Tampa Bay Times story about contributions made in the name of Terry Keith Howell, a registered Democrat who was bankrupt when he gave $8,800 to Buchanan.
The money actually came from Howell's business partners in violation of a federal law that bans third-party contributions. More here....
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FEC fines 3 men, 2 Tampa companies for illegal contributions to Rep. Vern Buchanan
05/07/13NationalThe Federal Election Commission has fined three men and two Tampa companies a total of $16,000 for illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota.
The FEC's case was prompted by a 2009 Tampa Bay Times story about contributions made in the name of Terry Keith Howell, a registered Democrat who was bankrupt when he gave $8,800 to Buchanan.
The money actually came from Howell's business partners in violation of a federal law that bans third-party contributions. ...
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Citizens' sinkhole 'glitch' grows; premiums plunge if coverage dropped
05/05/13BusinessFaced with skyrocketing premiums, thousands of Florida homeowners have been dropping sinkhole coverage they get through Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Their reward has been huge price reductions — hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars saved.
But part of that savings has come from what Citizens, Florida's government-run insurer of last resort, now acknowledges is a glitch that resulted in "lower-than-anticipated'' premiums. ...
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"Pastor Banks" arrested on charges of fraud
04/26/13CriminalThe founder of a St. Petersburg halfway house was arrested this week on charges of defrauding investors and a federal substance abuse treatment program out of as much as $50,000.
Police say Patrick Jay Banks, 49, concocted an elaborate scheme that enabled him to obtain federal funds for his Agape House in 2011 despite convictions for robbery and forgery.
The six-foot, 300-pound Pennsylvania native, who called himself "Pastor Banks,'' was among the subjects of a Tampa Bay Times investigation that last year revealed many halfway houses are run by felons and drug dealers. ...
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Akshay Desai and the rise and fall of Universal Health Care
04/13/13BankingST. PETERSBURG
In August, Universal Health Care Group was crumbling. Regulators circled. Bankruptcy loomed. ¶ Still, founder and CEO Akshay Desai didn't publicly hint at any problems. ¶ "As a businessman, I know all too well what it takes to make it in the private sector," he bragged at the time. ¶ It was vintage Desai — supremely confident, selective with the facts. ¶ The 55-year-old son of Indian educators built Universal on smarts and ambition. He was charming when he needed to be, domineering when he wanted. One day he was persuading investors to part with tens of millions of dollars, the next he was berating employees to tears. ...
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U.S. Treasury to investigate Florida's mortgage relief program
04/12/13 BlogThe U.S. Treasury Department will investigate Florida's $1 billion Hardest Hit mortgage assistance program as the result of problems uncovered by the Tampa Bay Times.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson requested the inquiry after the Times reported the program had denied aide to thousands of desperate homeowners while helping felons, tax scofflaws and people chronically in debt....
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Feds to launch inquiry of Florida mortgage relief program
04/11/13 Real EstateThe U.S. Treasury Department will investigate Florida's $1 billion Hardest Hit mortgage assistance program as the result of problems uncovered by the Tampa Bay Times.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson requested the inquiry after the Times reported the program had denied aide to thousands of desperate homeowners while helping felons, tax scofflaws and people chronically in debt.
"We share in your desire to bring more transparency to (the program) and note the importance of your concerns,'' Special Inspector General Christy Romero wrote to Nelson in a letter he received Thursday. ...
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Federal agents raid Universal Health Care headquarters in St. Petersburg
03/28/13BankingST. PETERSBURG — Federal agents on Thursday raided the headquarters of Universal Health Care, the once high-flying Medicare insurer plagued in recent months by allegations of fraud and embezzlement.
"They started yelling, 'Everybody away from your computer. We have a search warrant,' " said Michelle Yancey, one of hundreds of employees ordered to leave Universal's downtown headquarters shortly after 8 a.m....
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Sen. Bill Nelson wants federal investigation of Florida's Hardest Hit Fund after Tampa Bay Times investigation
03/27/13 BlogSen. Bill Nelson is calling for a federal investigation of Florida's Hardest Hit Fund, a $1 billion mortgage assistance program that has denied aid to thousands of desperate homeowners while helping felons, tax scofflaws and people chronically in debt.
Nelson's request was prompted by a Tampa Bay Times investigation that uncovered dozens of homeowners with questionable backgrounds getting aid....
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Florida Sen. Bill Nelson calls for investigation of mortgage aid program
03/26/13LocalSen. Bill Nelson is calling for a federal investigation of Florida's Hardest Hit Fund, a $1 billion mortgage assistance program that has denied aid to thousands of desperate homeowners while helping felons, tax scofflaws and people chronically in debt.
Nelson's request was prompted by a Tampa Bay Times investigation that uncovered dozens of homeowners with questionable backgrounds getting aid....
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Friend of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan evades prison time for illegal fundraising
03/25/13NationalJACKSONVILLE — For 20 years, Tampa home builder Timothy Mobley and U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan have been friends. They vacation together, bicycle together and at times have done business together.
Now that friendship has exacted a heavy toll, though not as heavy as federal prosecutors wanted. A federal judge in Jacksonville last week sentenced Mobley to three years' probation and fined him $200,000 for making illegal contributions to Buchanan's campaigns and the Republican Party of Florida. ...
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Friend of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan sentenced for illegal fundraising, avoids prison time
03/25/13 BlogFor 20 years, Tampa home builder Timothy Mobley and U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan have been friends. They vacation together, bicycle together and at times have done business together.
Now that friendship has exacted a heavy toll, though not as heavy as federal prosecutors wanted. A federal judge in Jacksonville last week sentenced Mobley to three years’ probation and fined him $200,000 for making illegal contributions to Buchanan’s campaigns and the Republican Party of Florida....
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Tax dollars are paying Florida mortgages for felons, debtors
03/09/13BusinessBy SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN
Times Senior Correspondent
While thousands of responsible Floridians struggle to keep their homes, a federal mortgage assistance program is making loan payments for felons, tax scofflaws and people with histories of running up debts they can't repay.
Among the recipients of taxpayer-funded aid: A St. Petersburg woman with a long record of fraud. A Largo man who owes the IRS more than $150,000 in back taxes. And a sex offender who couldn't live in federally assisted housing yet qualified for up to $42,000 in federal mortgage relief. ...
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Citizens Property Insurance strains to pull in belt on spending
02/24/13BankingThe Maryland insurance executive charged with cleaning house at Citizens Property Insurance has had trouble sticking to the tighter travel expense policy he put in place.
Since Barry Gilway became Citizens CEO in June, he has stayed in a hotel at nearly twice Citizens' room rate cap, charged liquor to a corporate credit card in violation of company rules, submitted expense forms late and had to be reminded to include itemized receipts....
