Ex-State Senator Denies Wrongdoing on County Property Deals

ORLANDO-Two property deals aggregately valued at $6.2 million are the focus of a special grand jury investigation in Pensacola, Escambia County, north Florida, where W.D. Childers, once one of Florida’s most visible politicians, is suspected by prosecutors of profiting from both transactions. Childers vigorously denies the innuendoes, according to associates and published reports.

Pensacola is 250 miles north of Downtown Orlando. The Childers name has been synonymous with statewide political wheeling-dealing scenarios for the past 30 years. He is chairman of the Escambia County Commission.

Childers, couldn’t be reached at GlobeSt.com’s publication deadline. But Pensacola area brokers tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity Childers is confident the grand jury probe will not be able to tie him in to either the county’s $3.2 million purchase ($81,250 per acre; $1.87 per sf) of a 48-acre soccer field/stadium or to the $2.3 million purchase of a former auto dealership property for eventual use as an office building or vehicle parking area for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department.