PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida Panhandle developer is scheduled to appear in federal court on charges that he engineered a scheme to circumvent federal election laws and funnel money to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee during the 2007 presidential primary.
Developer Jay Odom is expected to enter a plea Tuesday to the charges of violating federal campaign finance laws.
According to the indictment, Odom reimbursed 10 associates who made the maximum $2,300 donation to Huckabee.
Odom's dealings with former Republican Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom helped prompt Sansom's resignation after allegations surfaced that Sansom used state money to build an airplane hangar for Odom. Criminal charges in that case were eventually dropped.
