A finding of probable cause is not a determination that a violation has occurred. Such a determination is made only after a full evidentiary hearing on the allegations.

Dr. Erwin Jackson, a local business owner and watchdog of local government, filed the complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics addressing three separate issues involving Mr. Fernandez.

Jackson, who was allowed in the closed-door hearing, told TR the staff recommendation determined that the Edison catering discount was a gift valued at over $6,000 and that Fernandez received 16 football tickets valued at $128 each.

If a settlement is not reached between Fernandez and the Commission on Ethics, a full hearing will take place in the coming months.

Jackson told TR that the “Florida Ethics Commission has confirmed today, what I have been saying for several years, that Rick Fernandez used his position as city manager for his personal financial gain. He is finally being held accountable for his unethical actions. I am certain several other city officials will be held accountable soon. I am disappointed that our city commissioners gave Fernandez a $100,000 bonus to get him to resign. Shameful.”

The complaint and the statement of facts addressed a discount that the daughter of Rick Fernandez received from the Edison restaurant for a catering event, the hiring of the salesperson for the catering event, Eddie Kring, without publicly advertising the job, and accepting football tickets from the owner of the Edison restaurant and city lobbyist Adam Corey in 2016.

TR broke stories in 2017 on the catering discount, the unadvertised job provided to Kring, and the solicitation of football tickets by Fernandez.

After TR’s reporting, the Tallahassee Democrat recovered a copy of a text message showing Fernandez soliciting football tickets from a city lobbyist.

Also, the Tallahassee Democrat’s Jeff Burlew reported earlier this week that the Florida Commission on Ethics would recommend “that former Tallahassee City Manager Rick Fernandez be charged with violating state ethics laws, according to sources close to the matter.”

When the video began playing during an open microphone period of the May 9th city commission meeting, Gillum continued to interrupt the presentation and the video was stopped.

Dr. Erwin Jackson finished his interrupted three minute presentation with only comments.

“Do we have any obligation to show this?” asked Gillum.

The city attorney said yes.

Ultimately Gillum achieved his goal by not letting the video play. But he may have exposed the City of Tallahassee to a  lawsuit.

The 30 second video, produced by Jackson, could be characterized as political satire aimed at City Commissioner Scott Maddox who has been targeted by the FBI in a pay for play scheme.

Jackson, who has been a thorn in the side of the city commission for years, has had various successes challenging the actions of city officials.

For example, he challenged the city’s support of a bio-mass plant and played a major role in the ultimate demise of the project that also raised ethical questions about city commission votes.

Jackson also exposed the private use of a city credit card by former Mayor John Marks.

But lately Jackson has become more embolden as the accidental leak of an FBI search warrant has verified many of Jackson’s allegations about Maddox and the city commission.

Until recently, the allegations have been routinely dismissed by city insiders as wild conspiracies.

But that has changed.

First, there was a lawsuit over Maddox’s residency. Jackson lost in court, but the FBI leak indicates Jackson’s claims had merit.

And second, he has repeatedly questioned Maddox’s behavior as a city commissioner and the current investigation has provided support for Jackson’s allegations.

It appears now, as Jackson continues to remind the city commissioners of his allegations and the current status of the FBI investigation, his 3-minute presentations are hard for elected officials to handle.

However, as newly appointed city attorney Cassandra Jackson told the elected officials, Jackson is well within his rights.

The only question now is if Jackson will file a lawsuit against Mayor Gillum for interfering with his rights to address elected officials.

The complaint alleges Maddox violated his professional obligations in two cases in which he was involved. Most recently, in 2016, Maddox gave false testimony under oath in a lawsuit filed by Dr. Jackson.

Similarly, in 2014, the complaint alleges that Maddox gave false testimony under oath in an ethics complaint filed against him by Dr. Jackson.

In each instance, the complaint alleges that Maddox committed the crime of perjury and violated his professional obligations as a member of The Florida Bar.

In both instances, the complaint alleges that the false statements are related to Maddox’s relationship with Governance, Inc.

The complaint cites parts of the FBI search warrant from the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Florida filed to obtain records related to Maddox in the ongoing investigation of city hall.

The complaint also includes the assessment of  FBI Special Agent Evan Hurley that “Maddox lied under oath in a deposition” in a 2016 lawsuit filed by Jackson.

The complaint references a summary of statements given by Maddox under oath to an investigator with the Florida Commission on Ethics.

The statements were in references to his business ties to Governance, Inc. while he was serving on the Tallahassee City Commission.

The complaint concludes by saying Maddox’s “conduct showed a total disregard for the judicial process. Under oath in two proceedings, Maddox gave misleading and evasive answers that were designed to obstruct the judicial process.”

Ultimately, Jackson lost the court case. However, it now appears that questions answered by Maddox in that case about his relationship with Governance, Inc. are part of the FBI investigation into corruption.

From pages 12-14 of FBI search warrant:

E. Maddox’s False Statements Concerning his Relationship with Governance

On November 30,2016, MADDOX gave sworn deposition testimony concerning a civil lawsuit whereby the complainant challenged MADDOX’s status as a resident of
Tallahassee. During that deposition, MADDOX was asked the following questions and gave the following answers:

Q: Do you have any other business interest or dealings with Governance Services, LLC?
A: Repeat the question. I’m sorry.

Q: Sure. You have mentioned paying rent, the law firm pays rent for the Adams Street properties to Governance Services, LLC. Other than that do you have any business relationship, you or your law firm, with Governance Services, LLC?
A: I’m not sure whether we represented them on anything. I don’t know.

Q: What about Governance, Inc.? Are you familiar with Governance,Inc.?
A: Yes.

Q: Who owns Governance, Inc.?
A: Paige Carter Smith.

Q: Do you or your family or your businesses have any relationship with Governance, Inc.?
A: I don’t know what that relationship would be.

In September, 2017, the FBI interviewed a witness (hereafter “WITNESS THREE”) who was employed by GOVERNANCE from approximately 2006 to 2014.

WITNESS THREE advised that MADDOX was in charge of GOVERNANCE throughout WITNESS THREE’s employment at GOVERNANCE, to include the time period whereby MADDOX was a Tallahassee City Commissioner.

WITNESS THREE advised that GOVERNANCE sold its political influence and local government experience, largely through MADDOX’s political connections in Tallahassee and other parts of Florida.

WITNESS THREE had not seen CARTER-SMITH represent a client, recruit a new client, or go to the City Commission podium on behalf of a client while employed at GOVERNANCE.

WITNESS THREE advised that CARTER-SMITH did not have a viable firm without MADDOX and that CARTER-SMITH did whatever MADDOX wanted.

WITNESS THREE was ultimately fired from GOVERNANCE by MADDOX in 2014.

Dr. Jackson has made it clear to city officials that he intends to file a lawsuit under the Florida Sunshine Law if his concerns are not addressed.

At the end of the last city commission meeting, Dr. Jackson signed-up to speak on the controversial issue involving the city attorney vacancy. Due to the number of speakers, the city commission cut off public discussion after approximately 30 minutes and told those that did not get to speak that they could speak during the unagendaed speakers section of the meeting.

However, when Dr. Jackson rose to speak, during unagendaed speakers, the city commission refused to allow him to speak on the issue.

Dr. Jackson spent his three minutes arguing with officials about the violations of policy and then was told to sit down.

After Jackson’s time expired, City Commissioner Scott Maddox asked the city attorney to verify that the city’s process is consistent with state law.

See Dr. Jackson interact with city officials below:

This is the second time in a month that Dr. Jackson and other citizens have been denied the right to speak on an issue before the city commission.

Previously, Jackson tried to speak on the resignation of former City Manager Rick Fernandez.

Prior to that meeting, Dr. Jackson contacted Deputy City Manager Reese Goad and informed Mr. Goad that at least twenty citizens intended to speak at the meeting on the resignation of City Manager Rick Fernandez.

Due to the limitations of the  City’s thirty minute rule, according to Dr. Jackson, he and Mr. Goad discussed an alternative. To avoid disrupting the flow of the meeting, Mr. Goad told Dr. Jackson that the City would allow public comment on the issue prior to the scheduled public hearing that was to follow the city commission meeting.

Dr. Jackson agreed so long as the city commission did not vote on the Fernandez matter before all the citizens were given the opportunity to speak. Jackson says that Mr. Goad assured him that would not happen.

Dr. Jackson reminded the city commission that several people were waiting to speak on the Fernandez issue and that the city commission should not vote on it until hearing from the concerned citizens.

However, the city commission – led by Mayor Gillum – voted on the matter anyway, without hearing the views of a number of citizens.

Since that meeting, Dr. Jackson has had his attorney send a letter to City Attorney Shelley highlighting state law and city policy on citizens speaking before governmental bodies.

Florida Statute section 286.0114(2) states “members of the public shall be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a proposition before a board or commission.”

Similarly, City Policy 108.04 states that it is “the City Commission’s policy to provide meaningful opportunities for members of the public to participate in City meetings. Citizen participation in the program and policy development of the City of Tallahassee is recognized as an important element in providing quality public services to the Tallahassee community.

Also, City Policy 108.06 states that public comment on an agenda item “be provided at some time during the decision-making process prior to the point at which the Commission . . . takes official action.”

To ensure this type of situation will not happen again, Dr. Jackson is seeking a written statement from the City of Tallahassee to be read at a city commission meeting.

Jackson is asking that the statement include an admission that the Tallahassee City Commission erred, assures citizens that the Tallahassee City Commission will follow the requirements of the Florida Sunshine Law and City Commission policies, and apologize to the members of the public who were not given the opportunity to speak at previous meetings.

Tallahassee Reports will have an update after Tuesday’s meeting.

His recent publicity from presentations at the city commission meetings and his regular Facebook posts have generated numerous phone calls from individuals who claim to have witnessed the misuse of city resources by high ranking officials.

Information from these phone calls and subsequent meetings was the focus of allegations addressed at a press conference held today by Dr. Jackson.

The allegations are supported by some documents, but mostly rest on statements made by current and former city employees and other individuals.

The allegations center around the personal use of city employees in the City’s Underground Utilities Department by city officials. These officials include Mayor Andrew Gillum and City Manager Rick Fernandez.

At the time of these allegations, current City Manager Rick Fernandez was the Assistant City Manager over the Underground Utilities Department and Mayor Andrew Gillum was a city commissioner.

At the press conference, Jackson outlined four specific allegations and said he was taking the information to law enforcement officials.

Water Pipe Repair for Fernandez Family

City employees have told Jackson that a work crew was directed by Mike Tadros, head of Underground Utilities, to replace a water pipe on the customer side of the water meter at a home owned by the family of City Manager Rick Fernandez.

City employees said they told management that the faulty water pipes were the responsibility of the homeowner.

The work was valued at approximately $700-$1,000 and took place around 2010.

Property records show the home at the center of the allegation is located at 435 Richview Park Circle East and was owned by the Rick Fernandez, his wife, and his daughter from 2003 to 2015.

Fernandez Pool Work

City employees claim that Tim Potter, the Manager of Operations for Underground Utility and Public Infrastructure, picked up a city employee from an active city work site and headed to the home of City Manager Rick Fernandez at 3516 Raymond Diehl Road to work on a pool pump.

Sources say the two employees stopped by a Lowes Home Improvement store on the way to the city manager’s home to pick up materials.

Property records show Rick Fernandez currently owns 3516 Raymond Diehl which was purchased in 1989.

Repairs at Gillum’s Home

Jackson provided city documents that show city employees were directed to City Commissioner Andrew Gillum’s home at least three times within five weeks in 2010.

On November 10, 2010 a work order shows that a city employee was sent to 5325 St. Ives Lane to investigate a water leak. The work order shows that the city employee determined the problem was a “customer leak.”

On December 15, 2010 another work order was created and a city employee informed Tim Potter that the leak was “on his side.”

On December 16, 2010 another work order was created and again noted the leak was in the back yard and was the customer’s responsibility.

Dr. Jackson reported that several individuals have come forward to say that the City of Tallahassee repaired the leak in the back yard of Gillum’s home.

Property records show Gillum owned the home at 5325 St. Ives Lane from 2004 through 2015.

Replacement of Pressure Reducing Valve for City Employee

On April 21, 2009 a work order shows that a pressure reducing valve was replaced at 3493 Gardenview Way.

City employees claim that the replacement of a pressure reducing valve is the responsibility of the customer not the City of Tallahassee.

Property records show that the owner of the home in 2009 was Michelle Bono, who at the time was the assistant to City Manager Anita Favors.

The complaint alleges that Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum may have violated the Florida Code of Ethics by accepting gifts from a city lobbyist, a city vendor, or someone seeking to do business with the city in the form of (1) a trip to New York, (2) a ticket to a professional baseball game, (3) a ticket to a Broadway show, (4) a boat tour of the Statue of Liberty, and (5) having some or all of these same gifts provided to his brother.

Mayor Andrew Gillum has refused to answer any questions about the logistics of the trip.

Dr. Jackson told TR that “since Andrew is not talking, filing an ethics complaint with the state is the only way get answers to questions that the public has the right to know.”

The New York trip was first reported by WCTV reporter Mariel Carbone. WCTV obtained a picture of Gillum, Adam Corey, and Mike Miller on a boat in New York harbor with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported that the Mayors Office released a statement that said Gillum “was in New York on the last day of a business trip for his previous employer, the People for the American Way Foundation, and was invited by Corey to see the Statue of Liberty.”

TR later reported that a person named Michael Miller reserved and paid for rooms at the Millennium Hilton in New York City from August 10th through 12th. The other two presumed undercover FBI agents were also on the trip.

TR also reported that sources verified that the trip included a New York Mets game and a viewing of the Broadway show Hamilton.

Dr. Jackson has previously filed a complaint against Tallahassee City Manager Rick Fernandez.

That request now seems moot.

Dr. Erwin Jackson, a local business owner and watchdog of local government, has filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics addressing three separate issues involving Mr. Fernandez.

Dr. Jackson told TR that “an in-depth investigation is required to determine if Mr. Fernandez has violated any ethics laws. I had hoped the Independent Ethics Board would have been able to address this issue. However, the city attorney Lew Shelley, has made that impossible by writing the city’s ethics ordinance in a way that protects city commissioners and city employees.”

The complaint and the statement of facts address a discount that the daughter of Rick Fernandez received from the Edison restaurant for a catering event, the hiring of the salesperson for the catering event, Eddie Kring, without publicly advertising the job, and accepting football tickets from the owner of the Edison restaurant and city lobbyist Adam Corey in 2016.

The formal complaint reads in part:

This complaint concerns a city manager that violated Florida’s Code of Ethics in three ways: 1) he obtained a substantial discount on catering for his daughter’s wedding reception from a company that was a city vendor and partly owned by city lobbyists; 2) the city manager provided an unadvertised city job to an employee of the caterer who helped him obtain the large discount; and 3) the city manager accepted free football tickets in a skybox owned by one of the city lobbyists that owned the catering business.

The complaint seeks to establish the legal requirement for a full investigation into the allegations by the Florida Commission on Ethics.

The Tallahassee Democrat recently reported that $131,259 of Maddox campaign funds were unaccounted for in campaign finance reports for more than a year.

It was also noted that Maddox’s campaign account for the his Senate run inn 2020 showed a negative balance for his contributions. Florida election law does not allow candidates to spend more than what is in their campaign account.

Maddox stated the problems were clerical errors. He told the Tallahassee Democrat that “as soon as I was informed of this error, we took steps to make
corrective action.”

Jackson told TR that “unfortunately Scott Maddox believes he is exempt from following the laws of the State of Florida. Election records show he has violated 13 provisions of the Florida Election Code.”

Jackson’s complaint claims Maddox’s campaign finance reports demonstrate that he violated many provisions of the Florida Election Code.

The complaint alleges numerous violations that include the failure to file regular reports for his Senate account from June 2016–July 2017, spending campaign funds with insufficient funds, and falsely reporting or deliberately failing to include information required by Chapter 106.

The complaint alleges that Maddox’s actions were willful.  From the complaint:

Maddox is a perennial candidate for elective office in Florida. He has been involved in elective politics his entire adult life—running for office for the first time in 1990 while still in college….He is thus intimately familiar with the campaign finance reporting requirements of the Florida Election Code.

But even if Maddox could claim ignorance of his general legal responsibilities, the Leon County Supervisor of Elections sent him a certified letter and called him on the phone putting him on notice that he was in violation of the law in September 2016; however, Maddox did nothing for almost a year.

The complaint also seeks an investigation to determine if the $131,259 was actually in the campaign bank account while the reports were not being filed with the elections office.

Jackson said “I am most concerned about the $131,259 that has been missing from the public record. Where has this money been for over a year? Has Scott used this money, or transferred funds from this trust account?”

With regards to penalties, the Florida Elections Commission website states,  “An election law violation is a civil, not a criminal, matter. The Commission may impose a civil fine if the Commission finds that a violation has occurred, but the Commission has no authority to arrest someone or send someone to jail or prison. However, there are criminal violations within the Florida Election Code that may be prosecuted by a state attorney.”

Jackson also filed a complaint against Maddox’s designated campaign treasurer, Christy Cameron.

There were essentially two questions answered by Judge Gievers in the order. Both answers reveal a weakness in the City of Tallahassee Charter language related to residency and explain why Dr. Jackson chose not to appeal the decision.

The first question addressed the controlling date for residency. The second question addressed the evidence provided to prove that Mr. Maddox lived somewhere else on that controlling date.

The Controlling Date

Judge Gievers ruled that the swearing in date, originally November 21st, was the controlling date for residency.

On page 28 of the order Judge Gievers wrote, “After consideration of the authorities cited, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, the Court finds that the November 21, 2016 date when the term of the office commences is the pertinent date.”

Judge Gievers relied on case law presented by the parties and did not explain why she chose the date. In addition, she also did not reconcile this decision with the fact that the City Charter requires residency two months before the election.

This did not go unnoticed by two former candidates that qualified and ran against Mr. Maddox. After the Judge Geivers decision was made public, Bruce Strouble posted on Facebook:

“They are using the November 21st date. But we had to qualify in July. This doesn’t solve the problem at all. Saying that he was a resident after qualifying period defeats the whole purpose of this going to court. I would rather she had said that he had conditional residence during the qualifying period that she felt was legal. This is a “punt.””

This is an issue that needs to be clarified by the City of Tallahassee so that all future candidates have confidence in the integrity of the process.

Determination of Residence

With November 21st set as the controlling date, Judge Gievers then wrote:

“The law does not mandate continuous proof of legal residence, nor does it require specifics [such as presence of washer and dryer] before legal residency is deemed established.”

This premise basically doomed Dr. Jackson’s case. In fact, given these parameters, Judge Gievers’ decision was easy and explains why Dr. Jackson chose not to seek another appeal.

Given this premise,  Dr. Jackson had to prove that Maddox did not live within the city boundaries on November 21st, some 45 days after notifying Maddox his residency was being challenged.

If these parameters were detailed  in the Tallahassee’s Charter, there would have never been a legal challenge.

But think about what this means. Residency only has to occur on a given day. This is not the intent of the City Charter, but Judge Gievers never addressed the intent of the city charter.

Judge Gievers Overstates Findings

Given the above parameters, it was no surprise that the Judge Gievers determined that Scott Maddox was a city resident.

However, Judge Gievers went beyond the decision and made some far reaching statements in the final order that were not consistent with the facts of the case.

Gievers wrote in the final order “No document or testimony conflicts with Maddox’s intention [reflected
in his qualifying papers] that his legal residence/domicile is the 510 North Adams address.”

And then she added “No document or testimony conflicts with Maddox’s testimony that his legal residence/domicile has been the North Adams address since 2012; indeed, Maddox’s removal of the homestead exemption from the Meadow Wood house is not only consistent with his stated and not rebutted contention that the North Adams home is his residence, it caused him and his wife to have to pay more taxes to the county for the Meadow Wood property taxes.”

These statements infer that Dr. Jackson had no basis in questioning Mr. Maddox’s residency.

However, these bold statements by Judge Gievers are not consistent with facts presented in court. These facts include the following:

• eight car registrations at the Meadow Wood address that were not changed until 2015
• no lease with landlord of downtown location
• no regular payment schedule for rent at downtown location
• admission, when rent was paid, it was paid by Maddox law firm
• no electric bill in Maddox name at downtown home
• family driver’s licenses with Meadow Wood addresses

To be clear, Maddox did provide facts that supported his residency assertions. These included:

• the removal of the homestead exemption from the Meadow Wood address in 2012.
• tax documents from the City of Tallahassee mailed to downtown location
• changed address on several documents this year

While there were facts to support her decision, the far reaching statements made in the final order by Judge Gievers were not supported by the facts. These statements raise questions about motives and the credibility of her decision.

Chief Judge Jonathan Sjostrom announced today that  Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers will replace Judge Charles Dodson in the case addressing the residency of City Commissioner Scott Maddox.

Judge Gievers was first elected on November 2, 2010. Gievers was up for re-election in 2016. However, no other candidates filed to run and Gievers was automatically re-elected to a six-year term ending in January 2023.

Judge Gievers began her career in 1976 as a law clerk in Miami. She then worked as an associate, and then partner, of the law firm of Anderson Moss from 1979 to 1987. In 1987, she started her own practice, Gievers, P.A., where she worked as the senior attorney until her judicial election. She moved the firm from Miami to Tallahassee in 1999. In 2010, she was elected to the circuit court.

ORIGINAL POST

Today at approximately 11:30 a.m., Judge Charles Dodson notified the parties involved with the Jackson-Maddox residency case that he has decided to recuse himself.

In a three page “Order of Recusal”, Judge Charles Dodson wrote “I hereby recuse myself and request the Chief Judge of the circuit to appoint anew judge on the case.”

Judge Dodson had previously denied a motion for disqualification filed by Dr. Erwin Jackson. However, that changed after the First DCA ruled the motion was legally sufficient.

You can read the “Order of Recusal” here.

Check back for updates.

This how the First DCA order on this appeal impacts the case moving forward.

First, the DCA denied an effort by Dr. Jackson to default City Commissioner Scott Maddox for his failure to file a proper response to the original claim by Dr.Jackson. The First DCA argued that Jackson failed to show material harm that could not be corrected on appeal.

Second, the First DCA, in a 2-1 vote, denied Dr. Jackson’s motion to disqualify Judge Dodson. The court argued that Dr. Jackson’s appeal was not timely filed. The DCA order stated:

While we find that Jackson’s November 15 motion for disqualification of the trial judge was legally sufficient, and was timely as to the conduct of the November 10 hearing, Jackson thereafter failed to take appropriate and timely steps to seek our review of the order denying disqualification and to prevent the trial judge from taking further action pending such appellate review.

And finally, the First DCA ruled that Maddox shall not take the oath of office pending a final judgment in the case. In addition, the court instructed Judge Dodson on how to move forward in the case. The DCA order stated:

for the sake of judicial economy we suggest that the parties make an evidentiary record of Maddox’s residency on all potentially applicable dates so that the issue can be resolved with finality in a single plenary appeal. We direct the trial court to determine the controlling legal definition of “residency,” refine the outstanding requests for discovery and set a discovery schedule, and, barring any extraordinary circumstances, to enter a final judgment by December 6, 2016.

This means the First DCA  has ordered a hearing on Maddox’s residency on all the dates that have been raised (August 30th, September 6th, November 21st) and Dr. Jackson will get  discovery relating to those issues.

Also, the order indicates the First DCA will be the final arbitrator of the issues at hand with an anticipated resolution by the next City Commission meeting, which is December 14th, 2016.