An undercover FBI agent posing as an Atlanta developer seeking to do business with the city of Tallahassee was billed for food and drinks for a 2016 fundraiser for Mayor Andrew Gillum's nascent political action committee, documents released Friday show.

The Forward Florida PAC would eventually become the war chest for Gillum's gubernatorial campaign. It is the first piece of evidence linking an ongoing FBI probe to Gillum's broader campaign for statewide office.

The emails and receipts released Friday as part of a supplemental records request from the Florida Commission on Ethics show that the agent, Mike Miller, was invoiced $4,386 by 101 Restaurant and Mint Lounge, a restaurant owned by lobbyist Adam Corey at the time. An email exchange shows that Miller paid the bill and that Gillum sent him a personal thank you note for the food.

Corey is a central figure in an FBI corruption investigation in Tallahassee. The documents were released by his attorney, Chris Kise, who is a longtime Republican Party activist and adviser to governors Charlie Crist and Rick Scott.

Kise has been accused by Democrats of a witch hunt, but he said the facts speak for themselves.

"Facts are not partisan. They are facts," Kise said. "I am only doing my job for my client. I didn't make up the facts nor did he. When you can't refute the obvious facts you then attack the messenger."

The Ethics Commission initially subpoenaed records of Corey’s travel that included the mayor, producing 150 pages of documents that included text messages confirming that Gillum attended the Broadway hit "Hamilton" while in New York in August 2016 and that Miller provided the tickets.

But on Thursday the commission sent Kise an email requesting any and all records the attorney had relating to any of the mayor’s travel in 2016 and all interactions between the mayor and Miller.

Read the complete documents here or at the bottom of this story.

The fallout:

Among other notable documents released was an exchange between Corey and former lobbying partner Nick Lowe at Unconventional Strategies to give a fourth football ticket in "Mike Miller's allotment" to Dustin Daniels for the Clemson-FSU game that October. Daniels was Gillum's chief of staff at the time and is currently running for mayor. Daniels has denied accepting the ticket.

Back story on Dustin Daniels and the FBI:'Nothing to hide': Mayoral hopeful Dustin Daniels opens up about contacts with FBI agents

Related story:Subpoenaed emails: Dustin Daniels offered FBI agent's FSU football skybox ticket

The new 80-page document dump — released just 11 days before the election — also includes emails and receipts about a previously reported February 2016 trip to Tampa on a private plane owned by low-income housing developer Peter Leach, whom Gillum and Daniels visited with before meeting former Gov. Charlie Crist and state CFO Alex Sink. The email exchanges cast the trip as more campaign-related than city business-related, as the mayor's staff previously explained.

Also included are emails related to a July 2016 Atlanta trip in which Corey made a $966 hotel reservation for he and Gillum, and emails related to a previously reported tapas and drinks sit-down with Miller and a fellow undercover agent in May of 2016.

The documents released this week show Corey was closely involved in Gillum's ramp-up to his run for governor, and also the potential ethical pitfalls involved as thousands of dollars for meals, tickets and hotel rooms went seemingly unreported as either gifts or campaign contributions.

“One of Rick Scott’s former political hatchet men decided to leak more documents about trips and events that have been reported on before," Gillum spokesman Geoff Burgan said. "We’ll be happy to talk with the Republicans about health care or public education. Mayor Gillum did not receive any contributions or in-kinds from Mike Miller."

FORWARD FLORIDA FUNDRAISER

Emails showed that in April 2016 Corey was helping to organize a fundraising dinner at his house to benefit Gillum's Forward Florida PAC.

The PAC was originally set up as a general leadership committee focusing on improving life for Tallahassee and Florida residents, but its mission statement was crafted by Gillum and Daniels via city email. Once Gillum officially announced his candidacy in March 2017, Forward Florida officially became his gubernatorial PAC.

An exchange between Corey, Lowe and Brice Barnes, a Florida Democratic Party official who would go on to become finance director for Gillum’s campaign, show them arranging the invitations and other details.

Back story:Andrew Gillum's fundraising PAC took shape in city email

The flyer billed the April 11, 2016, event as honoring Gillum, and in one email Barnes described it as the "first kickoff event" for his campaign. It was attended by roughly 40 Tallahassee notables including philanthropist Rick Kearney, CEO of Mainline Information Systems, apartment developer Gordon Thames, lounge owner Dan Gilbertson, and attorney-lobbyist Sean Pittman.

"We have a bit of clean-up to do but I think for the first kick off event we are on the right track," Barnes wrote to Corey. "Thank you again for all your work to make a successful event last night."

The minimum donation for the dinner was $5,000 person. But Corey set up an alternative donation for Miller. "Instead he is helping to underwrite the cost of the meals and drinks we enjoyed,” Corey wrote to Barnes.

In an email, Corey thanked Miller for his help.

"Attached is the invoice for the dinner you so graciously offered to sponsor," Corey wrote. "As mentioned it was a bit higher than I expected because of some last minute attendees so let me know what you would like to cover and I'll handle the rest."

The invoice — billed to "Forward Florida Honoring Andrew Gillum" — described a dinner for 40 guests of filet mignon, twice-baked sweet potatoes, salmon mousse canapes, broccoli and carrots, and southern style strawberry shortcake for $2,800. The bar tab was $1,200 for beer, wine and liquor.

Adding a 20 percent service charge and sales tax brought the bill to $5,160, but an owner's discount brought the remaining balance due to $4,386.

In another exchange, Corey asked Barnes if Gillum connected "with Mike Miller to thank him for co-sponsoring the food.”

Barnes confirmed that Gillum sent Miller a "personal note."

According to state campaign records, Forward Florida didn't report Miller's contribution. Gillum's campaign said he did not receive any contributions from the supposed developer.

Contributions, according to Florida statutes, include "a gift, subscription, conveyance, deposit, loan, payment, or distribution of money or anything of value, including contributions in kind having an attributable monetary value in any form, made for the purpose of influencing the results of an election or making an electioneering communication."

Failing to report a contribution is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison.

TAMPA TRIP

A year before he announced his candidacy and two months before the fundraiser, Gillum and Daniels flew to Tampa on Feb. 12, 2016, to meet Leach, senior vice president of Southport Financial Services, an affordable housing developer and Democratic fundraiser.

Corey arranged for them to fly on Leach's private plane. Gillum spokesman Jamie Van Pelt told the Tallahassee Democrat he was meeting Leach to discuss affordable housing ideas for Tallahassee.

“The mayor was invited by Peter Leach to a meeting at his office to learn about some of the work he was doing to advance wrap-around social services in schools and housing developments,” Van Pelt told the Democrat in an August 2017 report. “While visiting Tampa, the mayor also met with local political leaders before returning to Tallahassee."

But a series of email exchanges between Corey and Leach indicate the meeting was more political in nature than originally portrayed – and that Gillum's campaign was well underway a year before he officially announced.

From the get-go, Leach wanted to know the mayor's schedule so he could set up a meeting with high-profile politicians Alex Sink and Charlie Crist.

"Adam, I expect to have Alex Sink, some of her cohorts and maybe Charlie Crist rounded up for this date – I’ve proposed a lunch. I should have this firm by Friday," Leach wrote.

Corey responded: "All of those folks mentioned are great people that Andrew would be well served to meet. I know that he knows some of them already, which is a good thing.”

Leach also asked if Corey wanted to use his private plane to “bring you guys down and back?”

On Jan. 26, 2016, Leach said he reserved the Bay Street Room at Capital Grill from 1:30 to 4 p.m. "for a food and beverage required bill of at least $600."

Leach asked if the event, now being called a "Mayor Gillum Meet-n-Greet" should be in the name of Ruth’s List, a political action committee dedicated to getting pro-choice Democratic female candidates elected to office.

"Adam, can I assume we'll need an invoice for this trip to the Gillum campaign for the prevailing RT ticket cost to TLH to Tampa International?" Leach asked Corey in one exchange.

Gillum and Daniels wound up reimbursing Southport Financial Services $400 for the cost of the flight. Current nonstop roundtrip flights between Tallahassee and Tampa booked a week in advance start $168, according to an internet search.

The mayor paid for the Tampa trip out of his office account, which can only be used for official business related to his office. According to Florida statutes, office accounts are set up with unused campaign money and can be used “only for legitimate expenses in connection with the candidate’s public office.”

Misuse of the office account constitutes a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison, the statutes said.

To date, Leach and Southport Financial Strategies have donated nearly $50,000 to Gillum's campaign and PAC.

ATLANTA, TAPAS AND THE REST

Following the Forward Florida fundraiser, Corey continued to communicate with Miller about arranging meetings and trips for Gillum, at the same time city and county commissioners were considering expanding the Frenchtown/Southside redevelopment district.

Miller and his cohorts were lobbying city officials to include a property they wanted to develop in those expansion plans. While Gillum and Corey were in Costa Rica during the first week of May, Corey arranged a meet-up for tapas and drinks at the Edison with Miller and a business partner after they returned.

The Community Redevelopment Agency, which at the time consisted of city and county commissioners, voted to accept a staff recommendation to expand the boundaries on June 23, with Gillum absent.

But Gillum was present July 13 when the City Commission unanimously voted to expand the boundaries as part of a consent agenda.

Two days later, according to Gillum's mayoral calendar, he took personal leave for the weekend. City records show Gillum took a 3:40 p.m. Delta flight from Tallahassee to Atlanta on July 15. His chief of staff did not return an email asking why Gillum went to Atlanta.

Atlanta was the home base for Miller's fictional development company, Southern Pines.

Records released by Kise on Friday show a series of emails between Gillum and Corey around the end of June through mid-July, where Corey arranged rooms for himself, Gillum and two others at the W Atlanta - Midtown in for that July 15-17 weekend.

"I will add your name and I should be able to get the upgrades handled in advance," Corey said. "I'll get it done brother."

"You're the man!" Gillum replied.

The hotel said none of the "marvelous" and "fantastic" suites were available but they could get them one of the "best rooms on the highest floors," which came out to $966 for two "fabulous" rooms with panoramic views of the park and city.

Gillum noted each room needed to have two queen beds because "there are two guys in each room." The identity of the two other men was not revealed in the exchange.

On July 19, Miller emailed Corey asking how he should thank Gillum for "last week."

Contact Schweers at jschweers@tallahassee.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers.

Gillum and the FBI investigation: