CAN THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT BE TRUSTED TO KEEP CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES WITHIN FLORIDA LAW OR ETHICAL GUIDELINES?
Updated August 26, 2011
"Where a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself a public property."- Thomas Jefferson
UPDATED ON AUGUST 26, 2011 TO CORRECT SOME INACTIVE WEB LINKS
FDLE has a rather long and recent history of questionable practices - in 1985, St. Pete Times report, Lucy Morgan won the Pultizer Prize in Investigative Journalism with her articles exposing corruption within the Pasco County Sheriff Department. We invite you to review the below St. Pete Time article that Lucy Morgan assisted with, that questions the practices of the FDLE.
Given recent media reports, we here at VolusiaExposed.Com are left wondering whether the entire Central Florida area has a large ethical vacuum within several of its law enforcement agencies? Further, does the Florida Department of Law Enforcement lack the ability or the committment to ensure that these agencies stay within established ethical guidelines?
The following are just a few examples of apparent unchecked corruption within local law enforcement agencies.
Both the Sanford PD and the Volusia County Sheriff office (VCSO) are reeling from scandals involving two father(s) / son(s) conflict of interest issues. Were criminal suspects given special treatment because their fathers were ranking members in law enforcement agencies?
In the VCSO father / son situation (OSOWSKI INCIDENT), why was it necessary for this website (VolusiaExposed.Com) to remind the VCSO of its responsibilities (per Florida Statutes 943.1395(5)) to conduct an internal affairs investigation into the matter, regardless of Captain Osowski's pending retirement? We find it unforgiveable that VCSO would not be keenly aware of their legal responsibility to investigate.
For months now, we, the citizens of Volusia County have read horrific allegations coming out of the Volusia County Beach Patrol (VCBP). Were member(s) of our Beach Patrol engaging in underage sex with lifeguard trainees? Did VCBP staff, to include command staff know about it? Did VCBP staff assist in a criminal cover up? Finally, why did it take so long for the State Attorney, Volusia County and FDLE officials to act on these allegations?
Was the ex Volusia Beach Patrol Assistant Police Chief too busy downloading internet porn on duty time to have been properly supervising his law enforcement officers?
Just recently, (second week January 2011) the police chief from the city of Windermere was arrested on allegations that he has been criminally covering up a friend's capital sexual battery crimes. Apparently these activities have been on going for years, up to nearly a decade. Further, it would appear that the police chief had a significant questionable past while serving as a officer in the Melbourne PD. Was this questionable past transmitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as required by law? If so, did the FDLE appropriately handle these past allegations?
Recently, a Special Grand Jury on Public Corruption submitted a report to the governor. Within this report FDLE appears to claim that law enforcement (FDLE) can not investigate all allegations of public corruption due to budget restrains. (see page 113-114 of the below report)
Although VolusiaExposed.Com can appreciate that many law enforcement agencies are being required to do more with less. What we can not understand is how FDLE can allow their investigators to hold secondary jobs while openly admitting that some public corruption cases are not being investigated due to limited staff resources?
Apparently at least two FDLE Special Agents have high level jobs with a security / investigative firm. Are these secondary employments conflicts of interest to their assignments with the FDLE? Are the citizens of Florida being well served by these agents having secondary employment, when they openly admit that they can not complete their primary responsibilities to citizens of this State? What do you think - are the citizens of Florida being well served by the FDLE?
Apparently Special Agent Giddens was not too busy, because in 2006 he received an annonyous cell phone call alleging that the Okaloosa County Tax Collector had taken a county vehicle outside Okaloosa County to attend a funeral. This annonyous telephone call was the apparent catalyst for the opening of Executive Investigation # 14-0083 by FDLE's Office of Executive Investigations.
We invite our readers to read this investigation. Upon finishing your review we ask you (our readers) to ponder why FDLE would investigate such an apparent nonsense case coming from an annonyous cellphone call, but refuses to investigate the events involving the apparent falsifications of official records by law enforcement officers regarding the in-custody death of Volusia County Jail Inmate Tracy Veira?
We (VolusiaExposed) present hard documentation that support our concerns surrounding the death of Inmate Veira. These documents were not generated by us, but rather are law enforcement reports
We ask you to review the below web link and to study VCSO Investigator Campanella's initial report whereas he appears to question whether the condition of Inmate Veira's body (State of Decomp) was consistent with the jail officers last recorded observations of her being alive. Then we ask you to review Investigator Campanella's final report - does he ever address this issue (inconsistencies of jail officers observations and Inmate Veira state of decomp)? Further are the jail officers reports (VCDC 52 - Record of Segregation and VCDC 401 / 402 reports) even consistency with each other (reports (52 and 401) written by the same officers)?
Volusia Exposed has reported the above concerns to the local State Attorney office, Florida State Representatives, the FDLE, the Florida Attorney General's office and the Florida Governor's office, apparently to no avail. Is it possibe that the entire law enforcement / criminal justice system is so corrupted that there is little hope that these matters can or will be properly investigated by State or local officials? Maybe this is why accordingly to the above Grand Jury Report on Public Corruption, Florda lead all other States for federal convictions of public officials from 1998-2007 (page 119 from the above posted Grand Jury Report).
Does the above and following incidents instill any confidence that at least the perception of corruption (if not the actual existence of it) is not alive and well within our local Central Florida law enforcement agencies?
NOW, maybe the Seventh Judicial Nominating Commission has a better understanding of why we (VolusiaExposed.Com) had concerns with their recommendation of Nancye R. Jones to a judicial position. Ironically, Attorney Lambert (see above media article) is a member of the Seventh JNC.