Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Sheriff's Office denies request for Stanton inquiry

By JONATHAN ABEL AND LORRI HELFAND
Published June 2, 2007

LARGO - Who knew what about Steve Stanton's transition plan? And when?

Those and other questions about the months-long controversy at Largo City Hall will not be answered by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

On Friday, the department announced that it was declining Largo's request for an investigation into whether commissioners and staff had violated the city's charter by conspiring to keep Stanton's plans secret.

"At a time in which all governmental resources are limited, I must ensure that the resources of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office are utilized responsibly, " Sheriff Jim Coats wrote in a letter to the city.

"As such, " Coats concluded, "I decline to conduct an investigation into the ... allegations as they are not supported in fact and appear to be political in nature."

The decision did not surprise Mayor Pat Gerard, who had voted against requesting the investigation.

"I would have been surprised if they had decided to put a lot of energy into it, " Gerard said Friday. "There's nothing there to find out."

The request for an investigation started with a May 1 petition signed by 23 Largo residents. The petition stated that the charter had been violated by officials who did not report what they knew of Stanton's plans to become a woman. Among those singled out: the mayor, the police and fire chiefs, the human resources director and the city attorney.

On May 15, the City Commission voted 5-1 to ask the Sheriff's Office to investigate. The request was sent to the Sheriff's Office on May 21.

But it was all for naught.

In a letter dated Thursday, Coats said there was not a "credible factual basis" for the allegations and, moreover, the allegations concern political issues, not criminal ones.

"These matters are appropriately resolved by the city's electorate as they do not call into question any criminal statutes or administrative rules, " Coats wrote.

Moreover, Coats wrote, "the issues surrounding former City Manager Stanton's conduct concern personal values and social and moral judgments that make it impossible to objectively establish the alleged 'wrongfulness' of the former city manager's conduct.

"Therefore, " Coats' letter stated, "to prove that the mayor or a commissioner 'knew' of the 'misconduct' by Stanton that he or she failed to report is virtually impossible because such a determination requires a value judgment."

Curtis Holmes, an outspoken critic of Gerard who turned in the petition, said he wasn't surprised by the sheriff's decision. No one was calling this a criminal matter, he said. Rather, it should have been referred to state Attorney General Bill McCollum or even handled by the City Commission.

"I don't fully grasp the logic of running to the Sheriff's Office in the first place, " he said. "If I were the sheriff, I would have blown the thing off, too."

The next question, officials say, is what does the commission want to do with the matter now.

"I'm hoping we can move on, " said Gerard, who voted against pursuing an investigation. "We obviously have more important things to talk about."

Commissioner Gigi Arntzen, who voted in favor of the investigation, also said it's time to move on.

"I would like to see it go away. We just have so much else to worry about with the cuts we're going to make in the budget eventually, " Arntzen said.

Meanwhile, a couple of residents are asking for yet another investigation.

Friday afternoon, former Mayor Bob Jackson delivered a complaint to City Hall accusing Commissioner Rodney Woods of violating the charter by meeting with a police official to discuss allegations that Holmes threatened him.

Police investigated whether Holmes threatened or extorted Woods and closed the inquiry this week due to lack of probable cause.

The charter says commissioners shall not give orders to employees. The complaint, signed by Jackson and resident Chester Rowe, says Woods "directed the deputy chief to have the police conduct an investigation."

"That's absolutely not the truth, " said Woods. "I spoke to the lawyer who told me that it was a violation of Florida law. And I went to a police officer to report the violation of law."

Woods suggested Jackson may have a motive for requesting an investigation. He pointed out that Holmes founded Friends of Largo, an organization that supported Jackson's failed re-election campaign.

"Curtis Holmes and Bob Jackson are sleeping in the same political bed, " Woods said.

Jackson said his only motive for filing the complaint is that he wants commissioners to follow city rules.

"I worry about people not paying attention to what procedures are set in place, " Jackson said.

Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or 727 445-4157. Lorri Helfand can be reached at lorri@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4155.

[Last modified June 1, 2007, 23:22:07]