An anonymous caller's allegation that John Frank lived in St. Petersburg, while claiming homestead exemption in Lealman, is found to be false.
By ANNE LINDBERG
Published May 25, 2003
LEALMAN - County investigators concluded last week that Commissioner John Frank does live in Lealman as he must to hold office on the fire board.
"The allegation was, I believe, (that) Mr. Frank did not live on the property on which he was claiming homestead exemption," said Erin Moore, deputy for assessment administration in the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office.
"The investigation did in fact show he does live there," Moore said. The file has been closed, she said.
The outcome did not surprise Frank, who was elected to the Lealman Fire Commission last March in a close race. Frank has said he thought the complaint was politically motivated.
"That's the way it should be," Frank said. "I'm only waiting to see what happens next. I wish they would channel their energy into some positive situation because there's a need for it."
At least one person interviewed during the investigation echoed Frank's allegations of a political vendetta. Dave Brunk, the county code officer for the Lealman area, said Frank has lived in Lealman for years and that "there is a "riff' within the Lealman Fire Department District," according to the investigator's report.
But it is impossible to prove if anyone connected with the Fire Commission filed the complaint, which came in an anonymous phone call, Moore said.
Likewise, fire commissioners seemed confused and surprised when Frank announced during Monday's board meeting that he was being investigated.
The investigation was opened May 5 when the anonymous caller said Frank is not living at his Lealman address, which "is so overgrown, you can't even get to the front door." The caller alleged Frank lives in St. Petersburg.
The county investigator, Tom Acton, said Frank has claimed homestead exemption at the Lealman property since 1987. In addition, his driver's license, voter registration and auto tags are all listed at that address. His water bill, however, is mailed to property Frank owns in Pinellas Park. (The caller was wrong about the location of Frank's other property.)
Brunk conceded he knew about Frank's Pinellas Park property, which he and his sisters inherited when their father died.
Acton contacted Brunk on May 15 and discovered the code officer and Frank have known each other for years. Brunk said he had cited Frank in past years for code violations. He backed up Frank's claim that he lives in Lealman.
On May 16, Acton visited the property and talked with a mail carrier who told him that for 22 years he has delivered letters to Frank at that address. Acton talked to Frank himself that day, who refused to allow him into his home because it was a "private place." Frank also told Acton the Lealman property is his permanent address.
