Tobacco whistleblower says state misspending settlement money (Florida) [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Tue, Feb. 10, 2004

Tobacco whistleblower says state misspending settlement money
Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Jeffrey Wigand, a former tobacco executive whose whistle blowing made him a celebrity, said Florida's state government is committing "moral treason" by using almost all of its tobacco settlement money on programs not aimed at reducing tobacco use.

In a speech at the University of North Florida, Wigand called on Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City, to "get back for Florida the funds that are due the children of Florida."

"The people that you have elected have a duty and responsibility to the future," Wigand said Monday.

Wigand was an executive with Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp. when he revealed that his employer was hiding documents indicating cigarettes were both addictive and lethal. Wigand's disclosures during a "60 Minutes" interview and deposition catapulted him to national prominence in 1995 and his story inspired the 1999 movie "The Insider."
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/7920139.htm