Trial lawyer's e-mail triggers controversy

TALLAHASSEE -- In the hotly contested Republican primary for attorney general, it doesn't take much to start controversy.

A brief e-mail from an attorney who dated candidate Pam Bondi for five years did the trick.

Bondi, 44, a former Hillsborough County prosecutor, is criticizing rival Jeff Kottkamp for his ties to Morgan & Morgan, the powerhouse personal injury law firm whose ``for the people'' billboards and radio ads promoting its pro-consumer work are seen and heard all over Florida.

Kottkamp, 49, briefly worked for Morgan & Morgan, and the firm and its members have donated about $25,000 to his campaign, nearly a third of it on July 16. Trial lawyers are not the most popular group in any GOP-only contest.

Seeking to deflect Bondi's criticism of his connections to the trial bar, Kottkamp cited an e-mail written last fall by Billy Howard, 43, a member of the Morgan & Morgan firm, who once dated Bondi.

In the e-mail, Howard suggested that Bondi hire the firm if she wins the race.

``Told me at church today she will use us for consumer protection if she wins,'' Howard wrote on Nov. 22, 2009. ``She plans to announce this week I think, but u would know more than me as usual.''

Both Howard and Bondi now insist such a conversation never took place.

In a brief phone conversation, Howard said: ``There was never any talk about retaining our law firm.''

He said Bondi made no such offer.

``No, she never did. Absolutely not,'' he said in an e-mail reply.

Howard has not contributed to Bondi, and records show he gave $250 to Kottkamp's campaign on July 16.

Bondi declined to be interviewed for this article, but issued a prepared statement accusing Kottkamp of a ``smear campaign,'' saying it was further evidence that Kottkamp ``will do and say anything necessary to win this election.''

``Jeff Kottkamp received a forwarded e-mail from his former boss and head of the personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan, containing information that is absolutely untrue,'' Bondi's statement said.

``I state without any hesitation or doubt that this purported conversation did not occur.''

A search of campaign records found no Morgan & Morgan law firm members who have donated to Bondi's campaign.

The e-mail indicates that Howard sent it to John Morgan, the law firm's founder, who forwarded it 14 minutes later to Kottkamp, the candidate Morgan is backing.

The e-mail's subject line: ``Paminator.''

As Howard explained: ``The term ``Paminator'' was a nickname I gave her because of her work as an aggressive [assistant] state attorney.''

The outspoken Morgan dismissed the e-mail controversy and said it was doubtful that Bondi could send legal work his way even if she wanted to.

``I think the people who are supporting her would turn five shades of purple if something like that happened,'' Morgan said. ``She's close to the Fox News people, you know.''

Bondi's campaign literature features her work as a legal analyst for Fox News.

Kottkamp said Bondi's explanation ``doesn't pass the credibility test,'' and that because Howard dated Bondi for five years, ``he would have no reason to fabricate such a comment.'

``The offering of a state contract is illegal and should be investigated,'' Kottkamp said.

The third Republican in the primary for attorney general, Holly Benson, 39, has stayed out of the Bondi-Kottkamp fray.

Kim Kirtley, an advisor to Bondi's campaign, asked the Times/Herald not to publish this article, and noted that Bondi was not yet a candidate at the time of the disputed conversation with Howard.

Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or 850-224-7263.

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