The U.S. Attorney’s office in Tallahassee, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service have launched a probe into the Republican Party of Florida’s use of credit cards, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

Federal investigators are looking into whether Republican Party officials misused tax-exempt funds by charging personal expenses to party credit cards.

Jim Greer, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Floriday (rpof.org)

According to the Herald, the probe began as an investigation into former House Speaker Ray Sansom, who has been charged with theft and conspiracy for directing money in the state budget to an airplane hangar requested by a developer.

Individuals with knowledge of the investigation told the Herald that law enforcement are examining the use of credit cards by former Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer, former Florida GOP executive director and top fund-raiser Delmar Johnson and Marco Rubio, the former state House speaker who is leading in the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

If federal investigators determine that the credit cards were improperly used, the officials could face charges of tax evasion and making false statements on tax returns.

Earlier this month, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) asked Thomas Kirwin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, to take over a separate but related criminal investigation being conducted by the  Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Crist faces a Rubio for the GOP Senate nomination, but he lags far behind the Tea Party favorite. There has been that the governor may run as an independent.

That investigation centers on Greer, who allegedly awarded a lucrative contract to Victory Strategies, a fund-raising company in which he owned a majority stake. Under the contract, the company — which Greer owned along with Johnson — would receive a 10 percent commission on major donations to the party. Both Greer and Johnson have left their positions with the state party.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) on Monday sent a letter to Thomas Kirwin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, asking him to conduct a “full, independent investigation” into a fund-raising scandal involving the Republican Party of Florida, The Orlando Sentinel reported. Kirwin, who is one of three finalists for the permanent position of U.S. Attorney in the Tallahassee-based district, has headed the office since last year.

On Friday, Crist sent a letter to state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink,  saying that federal prosecutors should take over the investigation because of the “IRS implications” arising from the probe of potential credit card abuses and financial irregularities.

Last week, the Orlando Sentinel reported that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has opened a criminal investigation into former Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer for his part in awarding a lucrative contract to Victory Strategies, a fund-raising company in which he owned a majority stake. Under the contract, the company — which Greer owned along with former Florida GOP executive director and top fund-raiser Delmar Johnson — would receive a 10 percent commission on major donations to the party.

GOP party leaders denied knowing about Greer’s ownership in Victory Strategies, and Greer filed a lawsuit Thursday against the party, accusing it of smearing him and violating the terms of his severance agreement. Greer was selected as party chairman in 2007 by Crist and stepped down from his position in January amid complaints of lavish spending by the party.

Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) met with a White House official earlier this month to discuss the U.S. Attorney recommendations for the Middle and Southern districts of Florida, the St. Petersburg Times’ Buzz blog reported yesterday.

George LeMieux (Gov)

LeMieux, who was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist (R) after Sen. Mel Martinez (R) resigned in September, had a meeting with White House Counsel Greg Craig on Nov. 9, according to the blog. The senator’s office declined to comment to the Buzz about the meeting.

People close to Crist, who will run for Senate next year, are expressing concerns about Jacksonville, Fla., lawyer Harry Shorstein, who, according to the blog, is a finalist for the Middle District of Florida job.

We reported in September that the State Attorney for the state’s 4th Judicial Circuit, Republican Angela Corey, wrote to Martinez and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) to ask them not to recommend Shorstein, who was her former boss at the office. Two years ago, Shorstein fired Corey and later spoke out against her bid for election to the state prosecuting job. But last year, Corey easily beat Shorstein’s former chief of staff in the bitterly contested election.

The current U.S. Attorney in the Middle District is Bush-administration holdover A. Brian Albritton.

Some of the finalists for the Southern District of Florida are also receiving additional scrutiny in Florida. We reported this week that Daryl E. Trawick, a judge in Dade County, once helped put phony court documents in the public docket at the request of state prosecutors, which could be a violation of state law. In addition, former Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Buckner, another finalist for the U.S. Attorney post, played a role in a controversial terrorism case.

Jeffrey H. Sloman is the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District.

Here are the finalists for the Middle and Southern district U.S. Attorney posts:

Middle District:

– Harry Shorstein, who is a partner at the Jacksonville law firm of Shorstein & Lasnetski where he works on white-collar crimes cases. He previously served as a Florida state attorney. He has also worked as a general counsel for Jacksonville and as a Naval judge advocate. Read his full bio here.

– Robert O’Neill, who was interim U.S. Attorney for the Middle District in 2008 and currently leads the office’s criminal division.

– Roger Handberg, who is an Assistant U.S. Attorney, in charge of the Middle District’s Orlando office.

Southern District:

– Wifredo Ferrer, who is an assistant Dade County, Fla., attorney.

– David M. Buckner, who is a partner at Miami’s Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton and a former Assistant U.S. Attorney.

— Daryl E. Trawick, who is a Dade County Circuit Court judge.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) on Friday appointed former Deputy Attorney General George LeMieux to the Senate to replace Sen. Mel Martinez (R), who is resigning mid-term. Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Roberto Martinez had been on Crist’s short list to replace the Martinez, who had already announced he wouldn’t run for re-election in 2010.

LeMieux is the chairman of the law firm of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart. He previously served as Cristi’s chief of staff.

Crist in May announced that he will run for the seat himself next year. So he needed a trusted place-holder who wouldn’t pose a threat to his 2010 run. CQ Politics reported that LeMieux will not run for a full term next year, leaving the seat open for his old boss.

The situation somewhat mirrors one in Delaware. Sen. Ted Kaufman (D), a longtime adviser to Joe Biden, was named to finish out Biden’s Senate term after the Delaware Democrat resigned to be vice president. Kaufman does not plan to run for a full term in 2010, leaving the seat open for Biden’s son, Beau, to run. Beau Biden, who is Delaware’s Attorney General, could have been appointed to succeed his father in the seat. But he was deployed to Iraq at the time as part of the Delaware National Guard.

Roberto Martinez (Colson Hicks Eidson)

Florida. Gov. Charlie Crist (R) has asked former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Roberto Martinez to submit a questionnaire for consideration to fill the U.S. Senate seat soon to be vacated by retiring Sen. Mel Martinez, The Miami Herald reported today.

Roberto Martinez was the Miami-based U.S. Attorney in the early 1990s. He currently serves on the Florida Board of Education and is a partner at the law firm of Colson, Hicks, Eidson in Coral Gables, Fla.

Crist announced in May that he will run for the seat himself next year, putting him in an awkward position. He needs to select a replacement who is both competent but not a threat to his own ambitions. Crist is scheduled to interview Roberto Martinez at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Miami International Airport. The Herald reports that while Roberto Martinez is a Republican, he is “far less partisan (than Mel Martinez), having never run for public office or immersed himself in GOP politics.”

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials is urging Crist to select a Hispanic to replace Mel Martinez, the first Cuban American to serve in the U.S. Senate. Roberto Martinez was born in Cuba.

Other individuals under consideration by Crist to replace Mel Martinez include former Florida Secretary of State Jim Smith and Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), who on Monday in a statement said he would not seek the seat, The Hill reported.

UPDATE: TampaBay.com reported that Crist offered the job to Roberto Martinez in their afternoon conversation. When asked whether he officially made the offer to Roberto Martinez, Crist said, “We had a lovely conversation. The process will continue.” Crist called Roberto Martinez a “brilliant man” and “a dear friend and a loyal ally,” The Palm Beach Post reported.