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CIO for state's tech office named
Kim Bahrami, who has been serving as Florida's acting chief information officer for almost a year, was awarded the job on a more permanent basis Friday.6/30/02

Companies with questionable state contracts gave campaign money
TALLAHASSEE — At least five companies whose state contracts were questioned recently in an audit of the State Technology Office have given money to the Republican party and various political candidates.

Tech firms donated to Republicans
Five companies whose contracts were questioned by Comptroller Bob Milligan in a scathing audit of the State Technology Office donated $44,800 to the Florida Republican Party and candidates poised to make decisions about technology purchases. 5/28/02

Tech companies face contribution analysis
Florida's contracts with five computer companies have caught the eye of Comptroller Bob Milligan, who has released an audit questioning whether the multimillion-dollar deals serve the best interest of the state.5/28/02

State tech office responds to audit
TALLAHASSEE — Many of the problems cited in a scathing audit of the State Technology Office have already been fixed, agency officials said in a response to the audit. In a preliminary response to Comptroller Bob Milligan's office released late Wednesday, the acting head of the technology office and two agency secretaries said the mistakes pointed out by auditors were taken seriously, but "timely and effective modifications were made to prevent further occurrences" 5/17/02

Tech office reply given
The heads of three state agencies heavily criticized in an audit of state technology contracts said Wednesday that many of the problems cited in the draft report have been fixed. The officials - Acting Chief Information Officer Kim Bahrami, Department of Management Services Secretary Cynthia Henderson and Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Kim Binkley-Seyer - sent an 11-page preliminary response to Comptroller Bob Milligan's office.

Tech office undermines Bush & Co.
The governor was definitely green when his head was turned by a computer wizard on his 1998 campaign staff, a man who fixed his laptop and talked his way into a whopper of a new job: chief information officer for the State Technology Office. 5/15/02

State tech office blasted in audit, accused of breaking law
TALLAHASSEE — The new state technology office paid for work with no proof it was completed and contracted outside firms for expensive jobs with only oral agreements, an audit released Tuesday in draft form shows. The technology office also shifted some work to a quasi-private company that may have broken the law, the audit by state Comptroller Bob Milligan's office also showed.5/15/02

State Technology Office broke law, audit finds
TALLAHASSEE -- The state agency responsible for spending $763-million on new information technology illegally solicited money from businesses with state contracts, failed to adequately account for expenditures and may have paid for services that were not received, an audit has found.5/14/02

Comptroller blasts tech agency
An agency created to oversee Florida's approximately half-a-billion dollars a year in technology purchases has mismanaged money to the point of breaking the law, according to the state's top financial watchdog.

Florida department under fire - Two state agencies that signed an aggressive privatization contract without first conducting a study to see if it's feasible are being criticized.-- State auditors said the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the State Technology Office should have conducted a feasibility study and a cost-benefit analysis before signing a contract valued at about $30 million.

Auditor raps state tech office Report finds several problems
Florida's troubled State Technology Office got more bad news Thursday with the release of a critical report from the state auditor general.11/2/01

Secret state computer center urged - TALLAHASSEE -- Florida needs to set up a secret command center with computer banks so the state can prevent a "digital Pearl Harbor," the state's top computer security expert told lawmakers Friday.10/27/01

Bush technology chief quits after check-forging charge- TALLAHASSE -- A rising star in the administration of Gov. Jeb Bush resigned Thursday after being charged with grand theft in the forging of a signature to obtain a $35,000 bank loan in 1996.

Roy Cales, head of the state technology office, surrendered to Leon County deputy sheriffs and was released to await trial. Cales had been on leave from the state since last month, when his name first surfaced in the investigation, which was unrelated to his state employment.

Bush brought Cales into the administration shortly after he took office in 1999, and this spring pushed the Legislature to merge all state computer purchases under the state technology office. 8/31/01

State's tech guru resigns amid controversy
Roy Cales arrested as plans founder for consolidated technology office - A plan to consolidate the state's 1,760 technology employees and a $600 million budget under one office suffered a serious setback with the resignation and arrest Thursday of its architect, Roy Cales.  8/31/01

First tech chief faces tough task - Roy Cales will oversee state's technology plans - It's a clear case of information overlord. This week, Roy Cales, the state's first chief information officer, begins assuming control of all state agencies' technology plans - along with their 1,760 technology employees and a $600 million annual budget. 7/1/01