"Even for Florida government, this is shocking."

To hear him tell it, Brandon business executive Randall F. "Randy" Greene never wanted the job he has with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that pays $83 an hour.

"I've never worked for any public entity before," said Greene, 63, a Palatka native with a Wharton School MBA.

Greene didn't even apply for the newly created post of chief operating officer, a job that put him in the driver's seat during a recent agency shakeup involving the layoffs of 58 veteran employees.

After Gov. Rick Scott was elected, Greene said, he applied for an unpaid position on the Southwest Florida Water Management District's governing board, which oversees water use permitting in a 16-county area.

In his application, he cited no prior experience with government or environmental regulation. He didn't mention his stint with a chemical company or his work coaching CEOs. Instead his application touted his background as a subdivision developer from 1977 to 2000 and as a utility company president from 1977 to 1984.

But when Greene sat for an interview with DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard in mid 2011, Vinyard offered to name him the COO.

Read more at the Tampa Bay Times.