Florida Attorney General
In 2002, Crist was elected Attorney General. Supporters of his candidacy included America's Most Wanted host John Walsh, who filed Crist's gubernatorial candidacy paperwork, citing his work with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. During his term as Attorney General, Crist was praised by civil rights and consumer groups for expanding the powers of his office to prosecute civil rights and fraud cases; for combating spam e-mail; freezing utility rates; adding restrictions to telecom companies, and protecting the environment. He was criticized by pro-life advocates during the Terri Schiavo case when he ended official attempts to keep Schiavo on life support.
In September 2006, Canadian anti-consumer-fraud activist and author Les Henderson criticized Crist's handling of the Lou Pearlman-Wilhelmina Scouting Network affair in his self-published book Under Investigation. In 2004, Jacqueline Dowd, the assistant attorney general leading the investigation, was dismissed by the office of the Attorney General. Her successor, John MacGregor, ended the investigation in 2004. Dowd stated that she did not know why she was dismissed. During the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, Crist's campaign manager said that she had resigned, amicably, over a difference of opinion on her contact with the press. Henderson, citing $5,000 in campaign contributions from Pearlman companies to Crist received a year after the investigation was complete, argued that the investigation was dropped because of Pearlman's political connections. A lawsuit stemming from the Ponzi scheme and investment scandal alleges that Crist and other state regulators failed to protect investors, and also cites campaign contributions.
As Attorney General, he was noted for his position in the Terri Schiavo case, where he disagreed with governor Jeb Bush. Crist received criticism from both sides on this issue.
Read more about this topic: Charlie Crist
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