WOMAN SAYS SHE BLEW THE WHISTLE, WAS FIRED

A former lobbyist for one of the state's biggest insurance companies is
crying foul, saying she was fired this month after voicing concerns that
another of the firm's outside lobbyists was supplying drugs to state
lawmakers and their staffs.

That other lobbyist, Brian J. Hennessy, was charged by Tallahassee police
with felony possession of cocaine with intent to sell on March 14, a week
after the start of the state's legislative session.

Attorney-lobbyist Lois Tepper, 47, filed a whistleblower's lawsuit this
week in Leon Circuit Civil Court against her former employer, FCCI
Services, a subsidiary of Sarasota-based FCCI Insurance Group. She seeks
damages of more than $15,000.

Beginning in early March, Tepper "began to suspect that Hennessy was
supplying employees of (FCCI) with illegal drugs" and eventually was
"concerned that (Hennessy was) supplying members of the Legislature or
their staff with illegal drugs for the purpose of influencing legislation,"
the suit said.

Tepper was fired on June 7 -- 2 1/2 months after she first wrote to FCCI
president G.W. Jacobs on March 23, about "illegal drug use in the
Tallahassee office," according to the suit. Tepper's suit also said her
firing was "retaliatory personnel action," illegal under Florida law.

A complaint in a lawsuit tells one side of a story. Jacobs, in a written
statement, said his company "holds itself and its employees to the highest
ethical and professional standards."

The suit's charges "are totally unfounded and have no basis in fact
whatsoever," he said. "We absolutely deny any allegations of wrongdoing and
look forward . . . to refut(ing) these allegations in court."

R. Timothy Jansen, Hennessy's lawyer, said he "absolutely, vehemently,
100-percent denies the allegations. They're untrue and they will be proven
untrue. . . . He's very unhappy with all this."

FCCI's main business is insuring workers' compensation claims for
businesses throughout Florida and the Southeast. The firm lobbies Florida
legislators on workers' compensation laws.

Tepper declined an interview. Her attorney, Steven R. Andrews of
Tallahassee, would not comment at length but said FCCI offered Tepper a
three-year severance package if she promised not to discuss her firing. She
refused the deal, he said.

After she complained to Jacobs, FCCI general counsel Thomas Koval told her
to work from home, which she refused to do, the suit said. Her personal
secretary was then reassigned to someone else, and finally she was fired.

Hennessy, a registered lobbyist but not a lawyer, still works for the
Rogers Towers law firm in Tallahassee. FCCI had hired the firm for
lobbying; the firm assigned Hennessy the FCCI account.

"I suspect (the suit)'s nothing more than a disgruntled employee trying to
hold up an employer and force a settlement," said Paul Sanford, the firm's
managing partner.

The March charges against Hennessy are still pending; he has a case status
hearing July 17, court records show.

After a drunken-driving traffic stop, an officer found 12 grams of cocaine,
two grams of marijuana and $8,300 in cash in a golf bag, all in Hennessy's
car, police reports show. He also was charged with driving under the influence.

According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records, Hennessy, 41,
was charged in 1992 with possession of marijuana, cocaine and drug
paraphernalia; he pleaded no contest and was ordered to serve one year on
probation. He was charged again in 1994 with DUI; that case's disposition
was unavailable Wednesday.