Audit questions Gov Jeb Bush appointee's air travel (unauthorized personal trips)

TALLAHASSEE - A stinging new audit has rebuked a state agency head appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush for using state-owned airplanes instead of flying cheaper on commercial airlines.

The audit, a draft of which was obtained Friday by The Miami Herald, also questions whether some of the trips to Central Florida were made in order to make it easier for Tom Lewis, the secretary of the Department of Management Services, to travel to a home he owns in Kissimmee.

''This practice resulted in additional costs to the state that appear unrelated to official state business and served no authorized state public purpose,'' staffers from the state Auditor General's Office wrote.

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Auditors cited trips that Lewis took between April 2005 and April 2006 to Kississmee, Orlando, and from Fort Lauderdale back to Tallahassee that cost between $990 and $2,800. During a year-long period Lewis spent more than $15,000 to take a total of 12 trips on state planes.

Some of the travel costs were so high because Lewis was the sole passenger on some of the flights and the plane had to fly back empty to its home hangar. Auditors said the cost for using state planes in some instances was four to nine times higher than if Lewis had used a commercial airline.

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