New probe of fired manager: Authorities want to know what happened to $275,000 in town money ex-Davie Town Administrator Chris Kovanes used for an investment -- and whether he profited.

Byline: Dan Christensen and Nikki Waller

Mar. 10--A state probe of fired Davie Town Administrator Chris Kovanes is now examining an unusual investment deal in which $275,000 of town money appears to be unaccounted for. Town officials tipped off prosecutors and state agents last week after uncovering the deal.

Town Attorney Monroe Kiar, who asked the Town Council to approve the investment last July, has been cut out of the town's parallel internal inquiry. Fort Lauderdale attorney Susan Delegal, a former county attorney, has been retained by Davie to investigate. Kovanes was fired in January after his third arrest since November on criminal charges of stealing $480,000 in town money. Authorities say he created shell companies, awarded them town contracts and funneled the money to himself. An investigation into illegal pornography continues. What both the state and the town are looking at now is an annuity that Kovanes purchased last July using $275,000 of town money. Authorities want to know whether Kovanes set up the annuity to benefit himself. Annuities are contracts sold by insurance companies that provide payments at specified times in the future, often after retirement. They are tax-deferred and typically feature a death benefit for heirs of the buyer. One big problem for the town: Administrators can't find a copy of the contract, or any file on it. 'Anything that has Chris' name on it, we automatically send to law enforcement for their review," said acting Town Administrator Ken Cohen. 'NOT JUMPING' "We're not jumping to any conclusions at this time. We're going to let FDLE make that judgment." FDLE is the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, whose agents are working with the Broward State Attorney's Office. Lead prosecutor John Hanlon could not be reached for comment Thursday. Cohen confirmed that Kovanes bypassed the Finance Department, which had no knowledge of the annuity until last week. Cohen said documents in the town's possession list Kovanes as the "annuitant" of the contract, a term that refers to the beneficiary of an annuity. But Cohen and others also said additional paperwork indicates that the town was the beneficiary.

The money to buy the annuity was paid by a Miami developer, Westbrooke Companies Inc. Town records show Westbrooke agreed to pay Davie that sum in July in exchange for an agreement with the town that it would alter the terms of a 1999 land deal. THE AGREEMENT Westbrooke agreed in 1999 to give 39 acres in Berman Park Preserve to Davie if the town would allow more dense development on another land parcel. It also agreed then to provide Davie with a $300,000 open letter of credit to fund the company's five-year obligation to maintain and monitor the land as it is transformed into a wetland area. ...