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A friend in Charlotte County was charged, but officials say there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Pasco sheriff's deputy Richard Worch.
By RYAN DAVIS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 9, 2002
PUNTA GORDA -- A top official and closest friend of former Charlotte County Sheriff Richard Worch, now the No. 3 commander in the Pasco Sheriff's Office, was arrested Tuesday in the growing case of missing helicopter parts.
Investigators now say the shells of 13 Charlotte County helicopters, which were purchased at little or no cost from the military, disappeared and were apparently sold during Worch's tenure. Sheriff's officials say Worch received about 20 helicopter shells while he was sheriff.
Worch signed for each chopper as it arrived, but he is not a suspect, investigators said.
"At this point in our investigation there is nothing pointing to wrongdoing on his part," said Deputy State Attorney Marshall T. Bower of the 20th judicial circuit, which includes five southwest Florida counties. "Sometimes we put faith in people. Sometimes that faith is misplaced."
Worch put his faith in Capt. Robert E. Carr.
Worch was elected in 1988 and served as sheriff until 2000, when he was defeated and moved to Pasco. Worch said on Tuesday that Carr was "instrumental" in his 1988 campaign, described him as his closest friend and said he was among his top advisers.
Carr was arrested on Tuesday and charged with 11 felonies, including grand theft of up to $200,000 in helicopter parts and falsifying official documents, investigators said.
Some of the falsified documents were given to Worch, who signed them, state attorney's investigator Ralph Cunningham said. Worch said Tuesday that if he signed such documents, he did not know they were falsified. "You as the agency head are responsible for what happens in the agency," Worch said, "but it doesn't mean you're criminally responsible."
Former mechanic Denis Mintze also was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of grand theft, investigators said.
The investigation started when incoming Sheriff Bill Clement said he discovered sloppy record keeping and missing helicopters during an audit. The investigation was turned over to the State Attorney's Office last summer. There might be more arrests in connection with the helicopters, Bower said.
The missing choppers were mostly used for parts, and many weren't able to fly, investigators said.
They would not say where the parts were sold or specify how many millions they were worth. But most of missing helicopters were nine-seaters, and those sell for about $350,000 each, Charlotte sheriff's aviation director Mark Brownie said.
Brownie also confirmed that some helicopters were returned after investigators served a search warrant last month on a surplus helicopter parts company in a hangar near the sheriff's aviation unit.
That unit currently has six working helicopters, Brownie said. It shares two with mosquito control. Brownie said he's not sure how many shells it has for parts because some of those are stored as evidence in this case.
The Sheriff's Office is across the street from its aviation unit at the Charlotte County Airport. So how could so many helicopters disappear without Worch noticing?
"That's a logical question," Worch said. "Someone who asked that doesn't know what goes on in the Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's not out there every day watching helicopters."
Worch said a similar scandal in Marion County led him to order a federal audit of his aviation unit in May 2000. That audit showed nothing wrong, Worch said. He said Tuesday that he did not know if the audit was all inclusive.
Pasco Sheriff Bob White declined to comment on the new developments. He has a policy of not speaking about Worch's actions before his arrival in Pasco, spokesman Kevin Doll said.
- Ryan Davis is the police reporter in Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245, or toll-free at 800-333-7505, ext. 6245. His e-mail address is rdavis@sptimes.com.