An audit of state Republican Party finances found a pattern of "inappropriate" spending by Gov. Charlie Crist and disgraced former Chairman Jim Greer.

According to a Party statement, the forensic audit exposed "numerous luxury personal vacations taken jointly by the Crist and Greer families, a host of lavish and wasteful personal and official trips taken by Greer and others, and a significant range of other inappropriate official and personal charges."

Among the highlights:

• A personal vacation to Disney World in June 2009 taken jointly by the Crist and Greer families that cost the RPOF $13,435.59.
• A trip taken by Greer and former RPOF Executive Director Delmar Johnson in October 2009, coinciding with a Crist for Senate fund-raiser in Las Vegas, that cost the RPOF $7,059.92. Auditors determined that it “does not appear that Greer or Johnson was conducting RPOF business while in Las Vegas more than on a nominal basis.”
• Three personal vacations to Fisher Island by Greer, and in one instance including Crist, costing the RPOF $10,992.17.
• $1,589.56 charged to the RPOF by Greer or Crist’s spouse before Greer or Crist’s arrival in New York. Auditors determined that “On Sept. 26, 2009, Greer and Crist arrived in New York for a fund-raising event for Crist’s senatorial campaign. However, their spouses had arrived in New York on Sept. 24, 2009, and their hotel and related expenses were charged to the RPOF.”
• $5,616.79 worth of personal charges in May 2009 for Greer’s son’s baptism.

“This independent audit is affirmation of the despicable exploitation and gross financial mismanagement of donor funds that occurred at the Republican Party of Florida during the leadership of Charlie Crist and at the direction of his hand-picked chairman, Jim Greer,” said RPOF Chairman John Thrasher.

"For the first time we have a specific dollar amount tied to certain items and events and can gain a broader understanding of the mismanagement that occurred,” Thrasher said.

Neither Greer, who has been charged with six counts of fraud and money laundering, nor his attorney, Damon Chase, were immediately available for comment.

Crist, who bolted the Republican Party in April to pursue his bid for U.S. Senate as an independent, also could not be reached on deadline.

Meantime, the audit cleared Republican Senate nominee Marco Rubio, who, according to opponents and press reports, had used a party American Express card for personal business. Auditors stated:

"We reviewed all of the credit card charges that were incurred by or on behalf of Mr. Rubio on his RPOF American Express Card between 2007 and 2009. We asked to obtain additional information from Mr. Rubio about certain charges.

"Mr. Rubio provided us with that information and a sufficient explanation to allow us to confirm that the charges we questioned were, in fact, related to RPOF business."

Reached for comment this morning, Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos said the report "speaks for itself."

Incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon also got a pass on his AmEx card use.

"Mr. Cannon provided a sufficient explanation to allow us to confirm that the charges we questioned were, in fact, related to RPOF business," the auditors wrote.

Alston & Bird LLC, the law firm that conducted the audit at the request of Thrasher, examined 150,000 pages of documents to make its determinations. The firm has a nationally recognized Special Matters & Investigation unit that was involved in the investigation of the Enron Corp.

Documents reviewed included e-mails, financial statements, policies and procedures, expense reimbursements, receipts, credit card statements, invoices, payable files, federal and state finance reports, contracts and agreements, itineraries and hotel folios.