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Surprise at road chief's secret

Neither colleagues nor filmmakers he helped knew Ralph Mervine is a gay-porn producer.

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER, ALEXANDRA ZAYAS, JANET ZINK, S. I. ROSENBAUM
Published November 10, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT Ralph Mervine has resigned as executive director of the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority. [Times photo] Asked about porn, road chief resigns (Nov. 9)

TAMPA - Ralph Mervine was a young filmmaker's dream. He had money, gave creative control and never sought a dime in return.

But away from the camera, Leora Chai, a 30-year-old filmmaker, didn't know exactly what to make of her middle-aged benefactor.

"He was kind of secretive in what he did," said Chai, whose 2004 NASCAR documentary was financed by Mervine. "I knew he worked as an engineer. He was very secretive as far as family life or who his friends were."

Mervine's penchant for keeping secrets failed him Wednesday, as his private life as owner of a gay pornographic film company in California collided with his public life as the chief of Hillsborough County's toll road agency.

The 55-year-old resigned from his $208,000 job as executive director of the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority after he wouldn't answer questions about records linking him to Coast Productions, a San Diego video production company.

Mervine's sudden departure ended a stormy two-year reign. Since August, his tenure was beset by allegations of impropriety. Investigations looked at his conduct and agency spending. Lawmakers said the agency's recent troubles were signs it should be abolished.

The added scrutiny led to revelations about Mervine's ties to Coast Productions, stunning not just those who knew him as an engineer at the Expressway Authority, but also for young filmmakers he helped finance.

"It seems to me that his legal, private endeavors should have no bearing on his public position," said 24-year-old Jeremy Gardner, an actor and writer in Queequeg Films, a small non-porn film company formed by friends in Norwalk, Conn., who have produced films together since high school.

To the guys of Queequeg Films, Mervine fell from the sky in 2002.

"We met Ralph at a screening of our first film at the TamBay Film Festival and almost immediately struck up a relationship," Gardner said. "He gave us the opportunity to make another film that would have been fiscally beyond us otherwise."

And he had equipment - tons of it. Really expensive, high-quality stuff. Dolly-boom cranes. Tripods worth a couple of hundred dollars. A Canon XL1 professional digital video camcorder worth thousands of dollars.

"The equipment that he had, for someone who really wasn't involved in filmmaking - it was a little bit odd," said Chai, who met him at the same film festival, which she organized.

The Queequeg guys didn't know Mervine on a personal level but never questioned his integrity, said 21-year-old actor and writer Christian Stella.

"He was a genuine and honest man who got a kick out of seeing his name attached to a project," Stella said. "We haven't seen Ralph in many years but will always stand by him for so unselfishly making our silly movies a reality."

Colleagues shocked

An archived Web site of coastproductions.com listed 12 movies available from the production company as of 2006.

Some of the DVDs, including titles such as Ballzy Boys and My Lads, sell for as much as $39.95.

This endeavor came as a surprise to Chai, Gardner and Stella. It came as a shock to those at the Expressway Authority, who barely even knew about Mervine's dabbling in more mainstream fare.

"I never thought of ol' Ralph as kinky," said board member Bob Clark, who nevertheless lauded Mervine's stint as head of the agency for his ability to get their construction work done.

Still, when Mervine filled out his application, he should have listed all his business interests, Clark said.

The financial disclosure form Mervine had to file as the head of the Expressway Authority made no mention of the California video company. It did list Carter Construction & Development, a home construction firm. Records also show Mervine owns 10 home lots in Marion County.

But penalties for incomplete disclosures from those serving in public agencies are slight. If Mervine is found to have violated the rules, he could face a fine of up to $10,000, said Julie Costas, an attorney at the Florida Commission on Ethics.

"A typical fine is more like $300," Costas said.

Mervine, who is single, lives in Mulberry. Attempts to contact him at his home were unsuccessful, and agency officials said they didn't know where he was.

'No instability'

Mervine was scheduled Thursday to update the Tampa City Council on the Expressway Authority's proposed toll road in eastern Hillsborough County.

Martin Stone, planning director for the Expressway Authority, filled in for him. After Stone's presentation, council member John Dingfelder asked him if planning for another agency project, a toll road in New Tampa, was moving forward, given the apparent instability of the agency.

"There is no instability at the Expressway Authority," Stone replied.

Stone said many staff members have been working at the agency for years and are capable of manning the helm until the board names an interim director. The board will meet Monday to discuss temporary replacements.

In an interview later in the day, Dingfelder said he met late Wednesday with Mervine and attorneys Rhea Law and Fred Karl before the details about Mervine and the porn business were made public. They discussed ongoing investigations of the authority.

"The ship was stable. That was the message I got," Dingfelder said. "Rhea said, 'I think all the bad stuff is behind us.' "

Still, he found it odd that Mervine left abruptly in the middle of the meeting to talk on his cell phone. And after the meeting, Mervine, Law and Karl slipped into a City Hall meeting room for a private conversation.

"I thought something was up," Dingfelder said.

Thomas Scott, who is stepping down from the agency board after he lost his County Commission race on Tuesday, said he was glad Mervine was gone.

Scott called for Mervine's resignation in September after accusing Mervine of playing favorites with a lucrative legal contract. But he said the agency needs to find a leader quickly.

"(The agency) has had so many blows lately," Scott said. "It can only recover if they find someone who can raise the image and credibility of this agency."

Times researchers John Martin and Cathy Wos and staff writers Abbie VanSickle, Kevin Graham and Rebecca Catalanello contributed to this report.

[Last modified November 10, 2006, 11:24:48]