New records reveal top DeSantis adviser used private emails and aliases in order to coordinate migrant-flight coordination

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top safety official helped write language that helped a former legal client secure a state contract to oversee a controversial program to fly migrants from the southern border to Martha’s Vineyard.

In the process, the official, Larry Keefe, used a non-public email address that made it appear that emails were coming from “Clarice Starling,” the main character from “The Silence of the Lambs” novel.

The newly released records show that Keefe, who served as a U.S. Attorney in the Trump administration, used encrypted messaging apps and a private email address from “Clarice Starling” when communicating with James Montgomerie, CEO of Vertol Systems, a Destin, Fla.-based company the administration paid at least $1.5 million to coordinate the migrant flights. These records also show Keefe drafting the invoice language that Vertol used to submit its proposal to Florida Department of Transportation.

The DeSantis administration released records last Thursday, days before the holiday weekend. This revealed the strange twist in the ongoing story. These records were first reported in CBS Miami. They shed light on the layers of secretive steps the DeSantis administration was taking when coordinating the flights, which included sending about 50 mostly Venezuelan asylum-seekers from the southern border to Martha’s Vineyard in mid-September. Additional flightsPlans to move to Delaware, home state of President Joe Biden were made, but they never happened.

“See signal,” Keefe emailed Montgomerie on Aug. 28, a reference to an encrypted messaging app that can be set to automatically delete messages.

It was in response to an email from Montgomerie with his “suggestions” for draft invoice language that would later be sent to the DeSantis administration transportation agency.

“Short and sweet,” Montgomerie wrote.

Montgomerie and Keefe did not respond to a request for comment.

The Keefe email came from the email address “[email protected],” a private email account not tied to Keefe’s taxpayer-funded state account that has messages sent under the name “Clarice Starling.” The “heat19” moniker was a “call sign” given to him by Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, a retired U.S. Air Force Special Operations commander, Keefe told administration officials.

On Sept. 1, Keefe used the personal email account to send Montgomerie draft language that the Vertol Systems’ CEO would, nearly word-for-word, submit to the Florida Department of Transportation as part of his proposal for the state contract, which was ultimately approved.

“This appears to be a purposeful attempt to evade Florida’s public records laws. It’s not surprising that the Governor’s office wanted to keep these records secret because they suggest that a public official helped draft a bid by a private company for government services,” said Ben Wilcox, co-founder of Integrity Florida, a nonprofit government watchdog. “That’s bid-rigging and it’s potentially illegal.”

DeSantis’ office replied to a request for comment by including a note from the Office of Open Government, a state office tasked with providing the governor and agencies guidance on open records. According to the Office of Open Government, it found the emails linking to Keefe’s email and handed them over to DeSantis.

“According to Mr. Keefe, he created and sometimes used this account while in private law practice to communicate via email in this setting,” the Office of Open Government replied in the note.

DeSantis’ administration has generally been reluctant to voluntarily release details about the program. In addition to being sued for public records requests, DeSantis’ administration has not released details about the Vertol contract and how it was spent.

DeSantis has said the flights were designed to draw attention to the Biden administration’s southern border policies, but opponents have charged the program is driven by politics as DeSantis eyes a potential 2024 bid for president. Democrats have accused DeSantis of exploiting vulnerable migrants and the Treasury Department’s watchdog has opened an inquiry into whether the Florida governor is improperly using money associated with Covid-19 federal assistance to fund the program.

Legislative leaders have vaguely said they support DeSantis’ focus on immigration when asked about the money for the flights, which amounts to about $50,000 per migrant. They have evaded questions about whether legislators should have more details or an oversight role in how the money was spent. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s office on Wednesday declined to answer questions about the new records. House Speaker Paul Renner, who earlier this month said he is prepared to allocate more money for migrant flights in next year’s budget, did not return a request seeking comment.

The Florida Center for Government Accountability requested the new records, but they were not released. They are suing the administration for slow disclosure of records related to migrant flight. Officials from DeSantis stated that the administration failed to release the records initially because Keefe was not using his state email address, but a private account.

“After discovering the “Heat 19” email address, [the Office of Open Government] conducted a search for responsive records involving this address,” read the note. “This search yielded the records we are producing now.”

The Florida Center for Government Accountability has asked a Leon County judge for consideration of the new evidence. This is in connection to its lawsuit for public records regarding migrant flight records. Montgomerie is also wanted by The Florida Center for Government Accountability to be questioned again, because the center believes he could have perjured himself from the new records. He said that the draft language that he sent Keefe contained was the one released to consent forms signed in by migrants on the flights. It was not the invoice language as described in the new records.

“The new evidence directly refutes Mr. Montgomerie’s testimony about the ‘draft sent’ message he claimed was voluntary consent form signed by passengers,” read a motion filed Dec. 23. “