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Address allegations dog fire official in Lealman

A Lealman fire commissioner accused of living in Pinellas Park vows not to leave the board, saying a political vendetta is to blame.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published October 30, 2005

LEALMAN - Fire Commissioner John Frank, who is accused of not living in the fire district as required, says he will not leave the board even if fellow members vote him off.

The allegations of nonresidency came as county code enforcement officers investigated violations at property Frank owns in Lealman.

The code officers' records indicate that Frank lives in Pinellas Park and keeps the Lealman property unoccupied.

A Kenneth City police report from last April also indicates that Frank lives in Pinellas Park at a house he inherited from his father.

But Frank says he lives in Lealman and is the victim of a political vendetta.

"I do have a perception that between now and the date of the meeting, they (other fire board members) will get together and devise a plan to vote me off the commission, but voting me off and having me legally removed are two different things," Frank said Thursday about the Nov. 7 special meeting.

"I don't shirk my duty," Frank added. "I guess they can bully other people. They're not going to bully me and they're not going to blackmail me into leaving."

It's the voters' duty, he said, to get rid of board members.

If he is voted off, Frank said, "I'll say fine, here I am, I'm sitting right here and this is where I remain."

Frank, 50, has come under fire in recent weeks for multiple arrests last spring on charges of marijuana possession, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and leaving the scene of an accident.

But it's allegations that Frank actually lives in Pinellas Park, rather than Lealman, that have board member Vivian Campbell concerned.

Campbell asked for the special meeting, which will immediately follow a 6:30 p.m. board workshop, to give members a chance to investigate the residency charges and to vote on Frank's future.

If Frank does indeed live in Pinellas Park rather than Lealman, he would have additional problems. He would also lose his position as vice president and board member of the Lealman Community Association because residency in this unincorporated area is a requirement to hold those positions.

Some other potential problems would be more serious. If he was found to have voted in Lealman while living in Pinellas Park, he could be open to a felony charge.

"It is a felony to vote in a precinct where you do not live," said Nancy Whitlock, spokeswoman for Pinellas County supervisor of elections Deborah Clark. "If they did that intentionally, they could be prosecuted."

Frank was accused in 2003 of living in Pinellas Park rather than Lealman. At the time, investigators from the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office concluded he did live in Lealman at 3837 44th Ave. N, where he claims a homestead exemption.

Frank still claims a homestead exemption at that address, according to county records. He also has that address on his drivers license and voter registration. And that, says Frank, is where he lives.

But Florida law does not require someone to use his home address on his driver's license, said Frank Penela, spokesman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. People often use post office boxes, he said, and sometimes police officers use their department address on their license to protect their family's privacy.

And when people apply for a voter registration card, they must show only a picture ID, said Whitlock. If the address is not the home address or is later changed, there is no way for the elections supervisor to know unless the registration card is returned as being undeliverable to an address.

Frank has used other addresses. When he filled out the paperwork to run for the Lealman Fire Commission, he gave the 44th Avenue address, but at some point that was changed to 4017 56th Ave. N, which is Lealman Fire Station 18, according to Whitlock. Whitlock said she is unsure when or why the change was made.

There are other indications that Frank may not live at the 44th Avenue N address.

For one, the address does not have water or sewer service.

"I have not had water service at the property for 20 years, at least 20 years," Frank said.

The county continues to bill him the basic sewer charge of $10 per month because he has the capability to hook up. But Frank has refused to pay that, and the county filed a lien against the property in 1993, said Jolanda Jordan, an administrative support supervisor with Pinellas County Utilities Customer Service. Frank owes a total of $5,513.80, she said.

Frank said Thursday he uses a neighbor's facilities. County code officers said it is against Pinellas rules for anyone to live in a house without water and sewer service.

And, last July, code officers cited Frank for various infractions at the 44th Street address. Those infractions include overgrown property with trash and debris, inoperable vehicles and a deteriorating fence. When Frank did not fix the problems, code officers repeatedly visited. Notes from those visits say that Frank lives in Pinellas Park.

"I requested Mr. Frank meet me at his unoccupied property on 44th Ave. . . . or the property he is currently residing at, 87th Ave. (Pinellas Park)," reads one entry.

Another says, "Attempted . . . service to John Frank at his local address in Pinellas Park, 4620 87th Ave, PP (currently residing). No answer at door, Mr. Frank's work van is parked in driveway, dogs inside residence. Conversation with neighbors revealed he leaves for work around 0800 hrs and returns sometimes after 1800 hrs."

When Kenneth City police officers were looking for him after he left the scene of a traffic accident last April, one officer wrote in the report that he had talked with a neighbor at Frank's Lealman property. The neighbor "stated he had been living in his father's home in Pinellas Park since his father passed away."

Unlike the Lealman property, Frank has water, sewer and garbage service at the Pinellas Park house. Pinellas Park records show a billing to a J. Frank Jr. The account was opened Nov. 1, 1987. The account is current.

Frank said he does keep his dogs in Pinellas Park because someone broke into the house. And, he says, he spends much time there because he is fixing it up to sell so he can build a house on the Lealman property.

[Last modified October 30, 2005, 01:13:18]