Lobbyist Is Director Of Firm Behind HQ Trade
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Longtime School Board lobbyist Neil Stirling is a director of the company that controls BankAtlantic, the firm trying to trade a building with the school system.
Stirling is a member of the Board of Directors of BFC Financial Corp., which owns a majority of the shares in BankAtlantic.
BankAtlantic owns the building in the Cypress Creek area of North Fort Lauderdale that the School Board staff has been exploring as a new headquarters for the system. Browardbeat.com broke the story of the proposed deal three days ago.
I can thank an anonymous tipsters who posted a comment on Browardbeat.com for putting me onto this.
There is no proof that Stirling had any role in this deal.
Source: Stirling Not Involved
A source involved in the deal said Stirling had nothing to do with it and may not even know about it.
The idea was proposed by real estate broker Jones Lang LaSalle Americas of East Las Olas Boulevard solely to save taxpayers money, said the source.
The Board “is stuck now in an inefficient building. They could move and consolidate offices and not have administrators driving all over town. They have covered parking, a 16-story building and a downtown location that is expensive. It makes sense to move to a suburban location with a better building and good parking,” said the source.
The source said there is no offer on the table at this time. As far as the source knows, no one from the school system’s real estate division have “even taken a walk through of the building yet.”
But this is public money and a public building. Stirling’s long history at the School Board makes me and others suspicious.
Until the recently when the investigation into corruption at the Board went into high great, Stirling and his partner Barbara Miller were the go-to lobbyists in the Crystal Palace. The two had many clients, especially in the construction field, that always seemed to win contracts.
Stirling and Miller first cozied up to Board members by helping run their campaigns.
He even got a got a blood bank for the disgraced bribe taker Bev Gallagher, who is now doing time in a federal pen.
Here is the information:
Neil A. SterlingDirector, Chairman of Compensation Committee and Member of the Nominating and Governance Committee, BFC Financial Corporation
|
| Age | Total Calculated Compensation | This person is connected to 10 board members in 1 different organizations across 1 different industries.See Board Relationships |
| 60 | $73,500 |
Background*
Mr. Neil A. Sterling has been the Principal of The Sterling Resources Group since 1998. Mr. Sterling has been Director of BFC Financial Corp. from 2003 and is a Member of the Nominating and Governance Committee and Chairman of Compensation Committee.
Corporate Headquarters*2100 West Cypress Creek Road United States Phone: 954-940-4900 Board Members Memberships*2003-Present
Director, Chairman of Compensation Committee and Member of the Nominating and Governance Committee
Education*There is no Education data available. Other Affiliations*There is no Company Affiliations data available. BFC Financial Corporation operates as a diversified holding company. The company has investments in companies engaged in retail and commercial banking, homebuilding, master planned community development and time share and vacation ownership. It also owns an interest in an Asian- themed restaurant chain and various real estate and venture capital investments. The company’s principal holdings consist of direct controlling interests in BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. (BankAtlantic Bancorp) and Levitt Corporation (Levitt). It also holds a direct non-controlling investment in Benihana, Inc. (Benihana) |
Annual Compensation*There is no Annual Compensation data available. Stock Options*There is no Stock Options data available. Total Compensation*
|
July 12th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Connecting Neil Sterling with everything nefarious in the county is becoming ridiculous. It’s time to leave the guy alone unless you have irrefutable proof
July 12th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
what a surprise!! He has resurfaced. Did he register as a lobbyist on this matter???
July 12th, 2012 at 7:32 pm
BBT is set to acquire in part or whole BankAtlantic end of July at earliest. They probably have their own ‘Taj Mahal’ so don’t need this overpriced bldg. someone was probably going to make a finders fee or if a broker a referral fee, on the backs and wallets of taxpayers. No dice. runcie needs to critically exam this deal and be transparent. guess he’s not used to savvy reporters with scoops on underhanded deals getting broadcasted to activist citizens. thank you Buddy and your unnamed source!!
July 12th, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Help elect an honest and accountable board member who is an insider who wants change to be meaningful and student focused!
Andrew Luciani needs to be elected!!! Our students deserve to have this remarkabke representative of quality and respectability.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:02 am
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://google.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EDGARpro.dll%3FFetchFilingHtmlSection1%3FSectionID%3D8303706-926841-956650%26SessionID%3DziG7FHHAD_nnds7&sa=U&ei=-CkAUJKsFYHm9ASK9qiXCA&ved=0CBEQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNG1ONzdH4Xa4d2WwgMKywJXkmKlvw
July 13th, 2012 at 2:30 pm
This Neil sterling isn’t this the former husband(whatever) of County Comm. Ilene Lieberman Ast. Bev Stracher? Hmmm. Also this Barbara Miller is this the woman who took over for Judy Stern in regards to Ft.Lau city Comm.Charlotte Rodstrom campaighn for county comm? Hmmm.. The dots (forgive me) are a little foggy to make a complete connection(so far).
July 16th, 2012 at 9:57 am
City Activist Robert Walsh is even dumber than he first appeared. Neil Sterling is the ex husband of Bev Stracher? Hello? Her ex husband would be Stracher, not Sterling. Duh. She was married to Les Stracher. I know Neil is the boogie man, but come on, now he’s married to someone with a different name? Puh-leese.