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Florida university fires 4 officials after spending probe

Florida university fires 4 officials after spending probe
Posted at 2:05 PM, Jan 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-19 09:25:56-05

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Florida's largest state university is firing four administrators following a probe into improper spending on construction projects.

University of Central Florida President Dale Whittaker announced Friday that he was terminating the four officials. His move came a day after an outside law firm handed over the results of an investigation into university spending.

University trustees authorized the investigation last year after state auditors discovered that the Orlando-based school had spent $38 million to construct a building with state funds that were supposed to be used for operations. That discovery also prompted the Florida House to launch its own probe.

The firm of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner interviewed more than 40 witnesses. The probe discovered $85 million of projects had been built or were planning to be built with inappropriate money.

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