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Competition Heats Up In District 9 Democratic Primary

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By GEORGE WILKENS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 22, 2008

TAMPA - The battle between two Democratic lawyers fighting for the chance to unseat U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis heated up Thursday, with one hauling an old financial skeleton out of the other's closet.

Bill Mitchell, a candidate in District 9, coordinated a conference call linking reporters with a New Jersey man who said a 1989 financial seminar led by primary opponent John Dicks enticed him to invest $55,000, which soon was lost.

The seminar was sponsored by a firm tied to financial adviser Charles J. Givens, author of the 1988 bestseller "Wealth Without Risk," known nationwide in the 1980s and early 1990s for his seminars, infomercials and, eventually, scandals. He died in 1998.

Dicks' affiliation with Givens' Delta First Financial was raised by political foes in 1996 when the former Plant City mayor ran for the Florida Senate. A recent Mitchell campaign mailing uses snippets of a Tampa Tribune article published that October.

Giri Giridhar said Thursday the "very convincing talk" Dicks gave in New York offered "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for double-digit dividends."

Days after investing, Giridhar said, he was repeatedly unable to reach Dicks by telephone or mail, and six months later his investment was lost. "When I heard the guy was running for U.S. Congress ... I was aghast and that's why I agreed to participate," Giridhar said. "I wouldn't trust him for anything."

According to the 1996 Tribune article, Dicks was a lawyer, real estate instructor and freelance speaker in 1988 when his older brother asked him to do some speaking and investment counseling for Delta First Financial.

Giridhar was among at least five investors who named Dicks in lawsuits alleging he was negligent, misrepresented investments, omitted facts and, in some case, was fraudulent.

The Givens organization was plagued by lawsuits, including one by the Florida Attorney General's Office alleging it misrepresented how some financial strategies worked.

Citing confidentiality agreements tied to settlements, Mitchell cautioned Giridhar not to reveal what he received. In 1995 the state obtained a $400,000 settlement for 250 Florida complainants, according to the 1996 Tribune article.

Prefacing Giridhar's comments, Mitchell said it is essential people have trust in congressional candidates. "I think John Dicks has taken a different course, and I think Mr. Giridhar's story shows just that."

Speaking for Dicks, campaign manager Cory Caswell said, "Obviously there's only one reason they're bringing this up and that's because they're desperate. This happened two decades ago."

"John was one of a number of parties named" in complaints, but never was he solely named, Caswell added.

Dicks, in the 1996 article, said the disgruntled investors were in the minority and that "there were many who made investments from the consultation that did fine."

The primary is Tuesday.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or gwilkens@tampatrib.com.

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