Longtime Florida official Peter Antonacci dies at 74

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Longtime Florida official Peter Antonacci, who was most not too long ago tapped to run the state’s new elections crime unit, died Friday. He was 74.

The governor’s workplace confirmed Antonacci’s loss of life in a press release however didn’t point out a trigger.

“He (Antonacci) was a devoted, tenacious, and assiduous public servant, lawyer, and revered skilled – a pal to all within the State of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis stated within the assertion.

Antonacci grew to become the pinnacle of Florida’s newly created Workplace of Election Crimes and Safety in July. The workplace was created as a part of a voting regulation package deal authorised by the GOP-controlled Legislature earlier this yr. The unit evaluations fraud allegations and conducts preliminary investigations, with the regulation requiring the governor to nominate a gaggle of particular officers from the Florida Division of Regulation Enforcement to pursue alleged violations.

Moreover his most up-to-date place, Antonacci had a decades-long resume in state authorities serving below Democrats and Republicans. He was appointed to varied positions by Govs. Bob Graham, Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist, Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis and served as deputy legal professional common below Democratic Legal professional Normal Bob Butterworth from 1991-1997. His positions included statewide prosecutor, CEO of Enterprise Florida, a member of the Ethics Fee and govt director of the South Florida Water Administration District.

Sen. Rick Scott, who appointed Antonacci to a number of place throughout his two phrases as governor earlier than working for the U.S. Senate, stated Antonacci was a devoted public servant and a faithful household man.

“Pete was a proud Floridian, raised in Hialeah, and devoted many years of his life to serving Florida households as a prosecutor, grasp of the regulation and chief,” Scott stated in a press release.

Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who’s working for governor once more this fall as a Democrat, praised Antonacci’s potential to work with each events for the nice of the state.

“Peter Antonacci was a devoted and revered public servant with an extended historical past of working with members from each side of the aisle to raised Florida,” Crist stated in a press release.

DeSantis, an ascendant Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, pushed the state legislature to create the election police unit to deal with voter fraud issues which have proliferated within the GOP following former President Donald Trump’s false claims that his reelection was stolen.

Voter fraud is uncommon, sometimes happens in remoted situations and is mostly detected. An Related Press investigation of the 2020 presidential election discovered fewer than 475 potential instances of voter fraud out of 25.5 million ballots solid within the six states the place Trump and his allies disputed his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden. DeSantis has beforehand praised Florida for finishing up a clean election in 2020.

Preexisting state regulation had allowed the governor to nominate officers to research violations of election regulation however didn’t require him to take action.