TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Former gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum has agreed to pay a $5,000 fine to settle an ethics complaint that he violated civil law by accepting a gift from a lobbyist. The state Ethics Commission agreed to drop four additional counts of violations.
The settlement was announced Wednesday in Tallahassee just as Gillum was to go before an administrative hearing. His attorney Barry Richard said afterward that the one count involved a free boat ride in New York.
The result ends a lengthy ethics investigation that factored heavily in Gillum's unsuccessful campaign for governor last year, when Republican then-candidate Ron DeSantis repeatedly criticized Gillum over the allegations. Gillum denied them at the time.
Gillum said in a statement Wednesday he "never knowingly violated any ethics laws. Once I was made aware of one issue, I took responsibility."