County attorney requested employee's divorce file

Emmy Acton's memo leaves allegations about a commissioner's role in the request unaddressed.

TAMPA - Hillsborough County Attorney Emmy Acton said Monday that she is the one who requested a top-ranking county employee's divorce file and that she did so for a just reason.

In a memo one commissioner described as "artfully written," Acton said she made the request "in the routine course of my duties." In this case, she wrote, that meant investigating persistent rumors two years ago that the employee was having an "inappropriate relationship with a subordinate" who was getting big raises.

If true, that exposed the county to potential employment liability, Acton wrote.

Acton said she checked the divorce file but found no reference to an affair, so she dropped the matter other than to help commissioners craft an antifraternization policy.

Her memo Monday came in response to allegations last week that Acton requested the file on behalf of Commissioner Pat Frank, and that Acton paid for copies using an employee fund in the county attorney's office.

Frank vehemently denied the accusation leveled by fellow board member Ronda Storms, even after they were corroborated by an employee who oversees the office fund.

But Acton's memo does more to muddy the water than to make it clear.

"She didn't really answer the questions that were raised, and it's very artfully written," said Commissioner Jan Platt.

For one, Acton never denies that Frank or someone in Frank's office requested that she review the divorce file. It notes only that no commissioner or other official has requested to see her copy of the file since she obtained it, to the best of her knowledge.

"I don't understand what she means," said Beth Novak, the office manager who corroborated Storms' allegation last week and stood by her story Monday. "I don't understand what she's telling me to do as far as correcting something."

Also, the commission's passage of the antifraternization policy preceded Acton's request for the divorce file. The file was copied on Oct. 4, 2001, according to records from the office fund. That was the day after commissioners approved the antifraternization policy, which was championed by Frank.

Finally, the memo never answers this: If reviewing employees' divorce files is a routine part of her duties, why did she pay the $86 copying cost of the file from an employee office fund? Her memo never disputes that the copying costs came out of the fund.

Acton did not return a phone message left at her home. She has been on medical leave due to illness related to her long-running battle with diabetes.

Her leave began after the county administration launched an inquiry into dozens of initially anonymous complaints about workplace conditions in Acton's office. Many of the allegations related to Acton's use of the employee fund, which is supposed to be used for parties and other perks for her workers.

But last week, commissioners voted not to pay any more money to KPMG, the consulting company conducting the inquiry, after it said it needed another $45,000 to complete its work. Storms raised her allegation in arguing that the investigation needed to continue. She reiterated that concern Monday.

"The entire investigation should be completed so we don't have this kind of subjective determination of what happened," she said.

Acton's memo names neither the alleged county supervisor nor his subordinate.

Storms initially leveled her claim of the divorce file copy request by Frank during a meeting Wednesday. Frank denied the accusation in a lengthy memo the following day, calling the accusation "fallacious."

So Storms summoned Novak to the lectern and asked her a series of questions. She identified the supervisor as former Assistant County Administrator Ed Hunzeker, who recently left Hillsborough to become the administrator of Osceola, but did not name the subordinate.

Novak said an office paralegal, Marty Johnson, was directed to go to the Plant City Courthouse and obtain a copy of Hunzeker's divorce file. The paralegal paid in cash and was reimbursed with a check from Jim Porter, one of Acton's top deputies. Porter was then reimbursed through the office fund, Novak said.

"She was very clear that evening when she came and asked me to get the money out of the safe, and that it was to come out of the office fund," Novak said Monday. "She did say that it was for Pat Frank because Pat Frank wanted to know if a certain individual was named in the divorce papers."

Johnson, who is the senior paralegal in Acton's office, confirmed Monday that he obtained Hunzeker's divorce file at Porter's request. Porter heads the land-use section of Acton's office and generally is not involved with employee investigations.

Johnson said he didn't ask any questions and was not told the purpose for getting the file.

"Jim Porter gave me this assignment directly," Johnson said. "I just followed orders.

Frank was traveling to Cuba as part of a delegation from the Tampa Port Authority and could not be reached for comment. Hunzeker did not return two messages left on his cell phone voice mail.

- Bill Varian can be reached at 226-3387 or varian@sptimes.com

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