1 July 2001: Cryptome spoke with Dennis Cooper today (tel: 305-292-2108) to confirm that all his articles on the cop scandal are available in the KWTN archives cited below, including the ones that led to his arrest.
30 June 2001: Link to Dennis Cooper's blast of June 29, 2001:
http://kwest.net/~kwtn/local_news/01-06-29-KWTN-THE_ARREST_DID_DILLON_LIE_TO_JUDGE.html
27 June 2001
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 22:32:56 -0400
To: politech@politechbot.com
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject: Police arrest newspaper editor for criticizing Florida cops
Cc: Office@KWTN.com, postmaster@KWTN.com, SSolares@keywestcity.com,
Attorney@keywestcity.com, JAvael@keywestcity.com, BDillon@keywestcity.com,
JWeekley@keywestcity.com, TomO@oosterbooster.com,
merilimccoy@compuserve.com, cpcjr@webtv.net, HBethel@keywestcity.com,
JAnthony@keywestcity.com, carmenturn@aol.com, emc@artifact.psychedelic.net,
cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Police in Key West, Flordia have arrested a newspaper editor for printing an article that criticized an internal police investigation, according to an Associated Press report. This brutish action by police and prosecutors should be widely denounced.
As of this afternoon, the Key West newspaper's site at kwest.com was still up (I read what appears to be one of the articles in question at
http://kwest.net/~kwtn/local_news/01-06-15-KWTN-FDLE_Investigating_Police_Internal_Scandal.html).
But while the server is still alive -- it responds to ping requests -- connections to port 80 are now refused. Unfortunately, the article is no longer in my cache.
It looks like the editor, Dennis Cooper, is being prosecuted for allegedly violating a state law. Under Florida law, it's a crime to disclose information about a police investigation -- even if you're the person who had filed a complaint alleging police wrongdoing, as Cooper seems to have done.
You can find contact information for Key West officials here:
http://www.keywestcity.com/directory.html
http://www.keywestcity.com/depts/police/policetelephone.html
I've copied the mayor, the chief of police, and other officials. If they would care to reply, I would be happy to extend them the usual courtesy of distributing their response unedited.
If anyone puts up a mirror site with the article [see three articles by Cooper below], please let me know. And I urge you to write to the city officials copied above. (BTW I have verified that the below article did run on the AP wire.)
-Declan
---
From: Eric Cordian <emc@artifact.psychedelic.net>
Subject: Journalist Arresting for Criticizing Cops
To: cypherpunks@einstein.ssz.com
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 08:58:05 -0700 (PDT)
In today's news of the truly odd.
-----
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- A newspaper editor and publisher was arrested for publishing an article alleging a cover-up in an internal police investigation he had filed an official complaint about, police records show.
Dennis Cooper, 66, editor of the weekly Key West The Newspaper, was arrested Friday and released two hours later on his own recognizance.
The affidavit for his arrest cites a Florida statute that makes it a misdemeanor for anyone involved in an internal police investigation to disclose information before it has been entered into public record.
Cooper has alleged a police lieutenant lied in court about a 1996 stop of a bicyclist, and that the Key West Police Department covered it up.
He filed a complaint last month with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement accusing an internal affairs investigator of falsifying information about his review of the incident.
[...]
---
>(4) Any person who is a participant in an internal investigation,
>including the complainant, the subject of the investigation, the
>investigator conducting the investigation, and any witnesses in the
>investigation, who willfully discloses any information obtained pursuant
>to the agency's investigation, including, but not limited to, the identity
>of the officer under investigation, the nature of the questions asked,
>information revealed, or documents furnished in connection with a
>confidential internal investigation of an agency, before such complaint,
>document, action, or proceeding becomes a public record as provided in
>this section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
>provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. However, this subsection does not
>limit a law enforcement or correctional officer's ability to gain access
>to information under paragraph (2)(a). Additionally, a sheriff, police
>chief, or other head of a law enforcement agency, or his or her designee,
>is not precluded by this section from acknowledging the existence of
a
>complaint and the fact that an investigation is underway.
http://legal.firn.edu/justice/01law.PDF
>Unauthorized disclosure penalties: Section 112.533(4), F.S., makes it
a
>first degree misdemeanor for any person who is a participant in an
>internal investigation to willfully disclose any information obtained
>pursuant to the agency's investigation before such information becomes
a
>public record. However, the subsection "does not limit a law enforcement
>or correctional officer's ability to gain access to information under
>paragraph (2)(a)."92
[Thanks to Anonymous for the three articles.]
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There are plenty of financial disadvantages to running the only
newspaper in town without a rich backer. But there is one super-dooper major
advantage: Nobody can fire me for having an opinion and writing about it!
That wasn't the case for Key West Police Lt. Tom Chapp back in 1997;
and it wasn't the case for Joe Pais last week.
On Jan. 10, 1997, an excerpt from a long letter from Lt. Chapp was published
in Key West The Newspaper. The full text of that letter was
later published in the Citizen. Chapp's letter was rambling and
philosophical. But the excerpt that got him in trouble was his opinion that
it was OK for Bahama Village residents to fire guns into the air on New Year's
Eve because it was a "cultural thing".
Several fellow officers filed Internal Affairs (IA) complaints against Chapp.
And City Manager Julio Avael, at that time in a full court press to build
a case against then-Police Chief Ray Peterson sufficient to fire him
or force his resignation or retirement, reprimanded Peterson for "allowing"
Chapp to publish the letter.
Chapp was subsequently fired, not for writing the letter, but for causes
that resulted from his letter-writing. He didn't show up for his IA hearings.
He says he he was too ill to sit through multiple hearings— they were
all scheduled on the same day. And he had a note from his doctor. Too bad,
Avael said. You're outta here. Chapp is suing the City. The trial started
Monday and will continue into next week.
Last week, former City Commissioner Joe Pais was also fired for having an
opinion and writing about it. He was fired from a job at the Key West
Art & Historical Society (KWAHS) that he had held for 11 years. Pais'
opinion, published last Friday in his regular column in this newspaper, was
that soft drink vending machines with large, bright, back-lit panels on the
front should be banned from the historical district. A previous column on
the same subject had resulted in a lighted machine being removed from the
cemetery. Joe's opinion about those who place these machines around town
was stronger and stated more colorfully than our's would have been on the
same topic— but it was his opinion.
Why would the management of the KWAHS care one way or the other about Pais'
opinion on soft drink machines? Well, it seems that the local Pepsi Cola
distributor is a contributor to the KWAHS and, reportedly, applied some pressure
to some people over there who, apparently, don't stand up to pressure very
well. And Pais was fied the same day his column appeared.
But what makes this whole scenario so bizarre is that Pais had already announced
that he was resigning to accept a prestigious job up in Tallahassee in early
January as Statewide Supervisor of Museum Services for the State Division
of Historical Resources. One of his duties will be to administer grants to
museums around the state.
So we have to ask: Who's bright idea was it to fire Pais after he had already
resigned-- and insult the guy who will be instrumental in determining what
museums will get what grants? (Duh!) Was a single member of the KWAHS board
consulted before this radical action was taken? We don't know the answer
to those questions because, if you can believe this, the official position
of the KWAHS is "no comment"!
We called and faxed the office of Attorney Susan Cardenas, the president
of the KWAHS. But she was, apparently, hiding under her desk. Maybe we would
have been more successful in getting her to the phone if we had told her
secretary that we wanted to give the KWAHS some money. No comment indeed!
What could they have been thinking when the snap decision was made
to fire Pais after he had already resigned? The answer is that they wern't
thinking at all. Didn't it occur to anybody over there that this could
blow up into a major scandal? In fact, the five-column, all-caps headline
in another weekly newspaper yesterday read: "Scandal Rocks Art &
Historical Society!" The man was already leaving town! Those involved in
the decision to fire Pais-- and it was, reportedly, a small group of
people— may have seriously damaged the image of the Society that many,
including Pais, have worked so hard to build. Who would want to give money
to an organization that is being managed by people with this kind of witless
judgment?
Now, we know Joe Pais pretty well. His "Pais Report" columns have appeared
on this page every week since Nov. 10, 1995. We doubt that he will be vindictive
when considering future grant requests from the KWAHS— assuming that
there's anybody over there that can write a grant request now that Pais is
gone. He's far too classy to be vindictive. And far classier than the
knee-jerk performance of KWAHS's management last Friday.
We'll miss Joe's thoughtful contributions to our paper every week. Although
we often disagreed with his opinions, our philosophy has always been that
a variety of voices make our product more interesting. Good luck, Joe!
SEE JOE PAIS' FAREWELL COLUMN ON THIS PAGE; AND TWO RELATED LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR ON PAGES 6 AND 7.
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____________________________________
Did you catch the fawning interview with "motivational trainer"
Paul Clayton in Solares Hill last week?
An editor's note ballyhooed the interview as Clayton's first public statement
since his now-famous incident at the home of City Commissioner Tom Oosterhoudt
last December. Clayton, as a City-paid consultant working directly for City
Manager Julio Avael, reportedly warned Oosterhoudt that, unless he became
more of a "team player", he would be isolated from City Staff and the other
Commissioners and become a one-term Commissioner.
Key West The Newspaper was, apparently, the first to interview
Clayton shortly after the incident. He told us that he went to see Oosterhoudt
wearing both his Trust In Government Committee and Gay Liaison hats—
hats that he's paid by the City to wear. After the incident blew into a
scandal, however, he changed his story. He now says he went to see
Oosterhoudt as a "private citizen"— although he did admit that he reported
back to Avael about the meeting. Why would a "private citizen" report back
to the City Manager?
One of the things we did learn from the Solares Hill interview is
just how absolutely wonderful Paul Clayton is— at least according to
Paul Clayton. He says that he conducts seminars all "around the country",
teaching people how to "empower" themselves. He says he makes lots and lots
of money and that his $27,800 contract with the City is "cheap."
"I can make in a day elsewhere what I make in a month on my contract with
the City," he was quoted as saying. Yeah, right, Paul. That may be a good
pick-up line in a bar, but it doesn't fly with hard-working Key Westers
who are really pissed off that Julio Avael continues to allow you to dip
into our tax coffers.
In the interview, probably much to Avael's chagrin, Clayton did admit that
he has used his City seminars to get City employees to sign petition cards
to help a local politician get on the ballot. This is an interesting admission,
because Avael told the City Commission on Jan. 25 that he didn't know anything
about it.
But Key West The Newspaper had informed Avael of the allegations,
in writing, a week or so earlier. It would be hard to believe that Avael
wouldn't ask Clayton about something like this, especially if he thought
he might be questioned about it by the Commission. Surely Avael's policy
is that City employees should not politic on City time or on City property.
Right?
Here's what we think. Of course Avael asked Clayton about it. And when he
learned that the allegations were true, he had to fib when Oosterhoudt asked
him about it at the Commission meeting.
The City employee who anonymously reported the petition card allegation said
he went along with Clayton's request to sign the card— even though he
didn't know anything about the politician in question— because he didn't
want Clayton to think he wasn't a "team player."
Clayton says he didn't bill the City for the time it took to pass out the
cards, promote the candidate and collect the cards. That's good. If you believe
it. But those employees sitting in that room were certainly on the City time
clock. In essence, that time was stolen and used for something other than
City business. But that's apparently okay with City Manager Julio Avael.
But as we have told you before, the Clayton Incident isn't really about Clayton.
It's about Avael. Avael, Clayton and Solares Hill would like you to
believe that the incident is a tiny tempest in a very small teapot. But it's
not. In fact, we believe that it may have been part of an orchestrated effort
by Avael to discredit Oosterhoudt— a known enemy of Avael on the
Commission— and ensure that he becomes a one-term Commissioner.
Avael, of course, will publicly scoff at this suggestion. "I wouldn't do
anything like that," he will say piously. But the fact is that he did
do something like that— in 1997 when he systematically discredited former
Police Chief Ray Peterson and, ultimately, forced one of the most
popular police chiefs in the history of the City to retire! Virtually
no one who was here to witness that outrage believes that Avael acted honorably.
Clayton says he "wasn't around" then— although he claims to have lived
here for 13 years. But he still blindly defends what Avael did to Peterson.
If you've been in town since 1996, bear with us for a moment while we give
Clayton a little history lesson. (Hey, Paul. Clip this and put it in your
dossier on Avael.)
First of all, even though Avael won't admit it, most of us know that he had
to agree in advance to get rid of Peterson in order to get the job of City
Manager here. Mayor Dennis Wardlow blamed Peterson for calling in
the FBI to investigate corruption in City government, an investigation that
resulted in the Mayor being indicted on bribery charges.
Wardlow was subsequently acquitted, but then the State Ethics Commission
nailed him on influence peddling charges. He was fined $12,900 and given
a public reprimand.
We reported our suspicions about a possible pre-employment deal in June 1996,
even before Avael moved into his new office at City Hall. In May 1997, another
candidate for the City Manager job confirmed our suspicians when he told
us that he was asked if he would fire Peterson if he got the job.
"When City Manager Felix Cooper announced that he would be retiring,
I went to talk to the Mayor and some of the Commissioners," said former City
engineering executive Paul Mitchell. "Mayor Wardlow asked me straight out
if I would be willing to fire Chief Peterson if I got the job. I told him
I would not feel comfortable firing him without cause.
"It was clear that firing Peterson was Wardlow's primary objective."
Former City Manager Felix Cooper also told us in April 1997 that Mayor
Wardlow and others repeatedly "leaned" on him to find reasons to fire Peterson.
"I resisted that pressure because I thought Peterson was a fine Chief,"
Cooper said.
In any event, Clayton and other readers may be surprised to learn that Avael
was not the Commission's first choice to replace Cooper. We reported
here in May 1996 that Mayor Wardlow and Commissioners Harry Bethel and Percy
Curry wanted to promote Assistant City Manager Paul Cates. Commissioners
Jimmy Weekley, Sally Lewis and Carmen Turner were leaning toward Kathi Rice,
Assistant City Manager up in Clearwater.
Commissioner Merili McCoy was the swing vote. She alone wanted Avael. And
here's how she pulled it off:
When a vote was called to name Cates to the job, McCoy voted "no." That gave
Cates only three votes, one short of victory.
Then McCoy quickly nominated Avael. Wardlow, Bethel and Curry had no intention
of allowing Weekley to choose the next City Manager, so they were literally
forced to go along with McCoy.
"At least he's a Conch," they rationalized. Avael is a Key West native
and a graduate of Key West High School.
But Avael came with baggage. In January 1993, when he was County Administrator
up in Lee County, County Commissioners gave him a choice: Get fired or take
a demotion. He accepted the demotion.
After Avael was demoted, the Ft. Myers News-Press editorialized: "Now
that two members of last year's special interest troika are out of office
(County Commissioners), along with their hand-picked hatchetman (Avael),
County government has a chance to move forward . . . Lee County's name has
been dragged through the mud for too long now by public officials engaging
in questionable dealings that benefited special interests."
In July 1996, three days before Avael officially took over as Key West
City Manager, he swore to KWTN writer Mike Smith, "I'm no hatchetman!"
But just three months later, rumors began to circulate that Avael had offered
Peterson a retirement deal he wouldn't be able to refuse. But if there was
ever a deal, it quickly fell apart. Peterson said he had no plans to retire.
So Avael got busy. If he couldn't force Peterson to leave, he knew he would
be in trouble with the Mayor and other Commissioners to whom he had given
a get-Peterson commitment.
In early March 1997, Avael unveiled a hand-drawn chart he said illustrated
some of the "administrative problems" he had observed in the Police
Dept. Primarily, Avael seemed concerned about who reported to whom.
A few days later, however, Avael abruptly suspended Peterson with pay, pending
an investigation of unnamed "problems" within the Police Dept.
Enter Tom Oosterhoudt.
"I was outraged when I saw this happening," Oosterhoudt said. "And it seemed
that everybody I talked to was outraged. Ray Peterson was one of the best
Chiefs we ever had. I couldn't just stand by and allow Avael to get away
with this politically-motivated travesty."
Hundreds of citizens turned out at protest rallies organized by Oosterhoudt.
Activists Ray and May Chote conducted a "thumbs-up, thumbs-down" campaign
on Roosevelt Boulevard at the entrance to the island.
"By far, most people supported Chief Peterson," reported the Chotes.
On the other hand, the police union, the Police Benevolent
Association, backed Avael. When we asked for a list of names of the cops
who had voted to betray their Chief, we didn't get a response. This is the
same PBA chapter that would soon be put on probation by the state organization
for "checkbook irregularities." This is the same PBA that would endorse Michael
Ritchie for the City Commission in 1999.
On April 10, 1997, Avael unveiled his now-infamous "Blue Book" of charges
against Peterson. If it hadn't been such a serious matter, this amateurish
and deceitful effort would have been laughable. Most of the charges had no
merit at all. And those that may have had some substance certainly would
not warrant the firing of a popular Police Chief with an excellent
record.
Avael's desperate strategy was obvious. Charge Peterson with anything.
Anything. Substance was of absolutely no consequence. It was classic
in-your-face Bubbaism. Make the charges, have some kind of hearing, and fire
the man. The deed would be done. And everybody would soon forget all about
it.
How could Avael get away with this? Because he had the backing of the Mayor
and three City Commissioners: Wardlow, Bethel, Curry and McCoy. They were
forced to show their colors at a special Commission meeting on July 3, 1997.
All four voted to support Avael if he wanted to demote Peterson.
Let's look at a few of the "charges" in Avael's Blue Book.
First of all, he cited the report by the so-called "Blue Ribbon Panel" that
had taken a look at "problems" within the Police Dept. in 1995. Avael
said that this report pointed to "managerial deficiencies" on the part of
Peterson.
That was a lie. The major finding of that panel was that there was too much
political interference in the Dept. by elected officials. And the cops were
bitching about radio equipment.
"If they're claiming that officers who testified before that panel were
complaining about Peterson, that's absolutely wrong," said former City Manager
Cooper. "I sat through every one of those sessions. The big concern
was communications equipment, not the Chief.
"So we bought new equipment and the Dept. now has a new communications room,"
he said.
Another "charge" blamed Peterson for "allowing" one of his officers to write
a letter to the editor. We're not making this up.
Another charge was a whining protest by Police Capt. William McNeill
that a reprimand he received from Peterson— after McNeill loudly and
publicly cursed several of his officers— was "improper."
Another "charge" was that Peterson had written a "character reference" letter
for a prominent gay businessman— a former Chamber of Commerce Man of
the Year— accused of a "lewd" act. Everybody who was anybody in town
had written similar letters. But Avael said the Chief of Police's letter
was an example of "an attempt to gain popularity despite the character of
the individual."
After an almost silly hearing conducted by a virtually clueless retired judge
from Miami, it was Avael— not the judge— who ruled that Peterson
had been found guilty.
If you were following this story back then, you probably remember the judge's
bizarre "ruling": "If true, these charges would warrant dismissal."
And the judge took his fee and got out of town as soon as possible.
Avael: "Close enough! Peterson is guilty!"
The City would now negotiate a settlement deal with Peterson and his attorney.
This part would not go as well as Avael might have hoped.
Peterson's attorney was top-gun J. Allison DeFoor, former judge, former sheriff,
former candidate for lieutenant governor. He whipped the City like a cur
dog. Peterson retired at the full rank of Police Chief, with a sizable
financial settlement and a pension. And— get this— a letter was
placed in Peterson's personnel file that certified that all of those charges
against him were "deemed unfounded"! Duh!
But Avael could have cared less about all of that. He didn't care what the
settlement cost the City. And he didn't even care that he had to admit that
all of those Blue Book charges were just a bunch of baloney. (Heck, we all
knew that all along, didn't we?)
All he cared about was that he had accomplished the dirty work that he had
promised he would accomplish. He had told them in advance that he would get
rid of Peterson if they would make him City Manager. Done deal.
So, Julio, don't you— or your hired apologist— dare try
to tell people in this town that you wouldn't stoop to organizing a back-room
plot to try to get rid of Tom Oosterhoudt. Your record is clear.
Last year, Tom Oosterhoudt ran for City Commission as an anti-corruption,
quality-of-life candidate. Chief Peterson came down from his home in Jupiter
to walk door-to-door with the him.
"It was like campaigning with a movie star," Oosterhoudt said. "He still
has tremendous support here. Everybody knows that he was terribly wronged."
Tom won by a landslide over a slate of formidable opponents.
Toward the end of last week's interview in Solares Hill, Clayton made
a telling statement that reveals his lack of understanding about Key
West politics: "I think the whole problem with him (Oosterhoudt) is that
he hasn't made the transition from activist to Commissioner."
Paul, in this town, that's a plus, not a minus. Many of the voters voted
for Oosterhoudt because he had the courage to stand up for Peterson against
the forces of evil. The reason we liked him is because he's an activist.
Why, then would we want him to change once he's in office?
If the Clayton Incident was part of a scheme to "get" Oosterhoudt, it blew
up in the schemers' faces. Oosterhoudt is probably more popular now than
he was when he was elected. If he ran for reelection tomorrow, it is likely
that his margin of victory would be greater than it was in November.
Meanwhile, we would speculate that neither Avael nor Clayton could get elected
to anything here.
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If you've been around town for several years, you remember City
Manager Julio Avael's vicious and embarrassing vendetta against
then-Police Chief Ray Peterson.
Among the litany of allegations against Peterson in Avael's now-famous "Blue
Book" was a charge that Peterson had sent a letter to a judge asking for
leniency for a prominent citizen who had pled "no contest" to a charge of
attempting a lewd and lascivious act involving a child at a school bus stop.
According to Avael, "This is an example of Mr. Peterson's . . . attempt to
gain popularity despite the character of the individual." He held up this
"charge" as one reason Peterson should be fired as Police Chief.
But last year, when it was time to fill an opening for captain within the
Key West Police Department (KWPD), Avael and Police Chief Dillon
selected Thomas "Bill" Fortune, an officer who had previously lost his job
as a Monroe County Sheriff's Deputy in 1985 when it was learned that he had
had a sexual "affair" with a 17-year-old boy.
Dillon told Key West The Newspaper that both he and Avael knew
about Fortune's past when they approved his promotion.
Presumably they both also knew that Fortune had falsified his application
when he applied for a job with the Key West Police Dept., representing
that he had never been discharged or forced to resign because of misconduct
or unsatisfactory service.
On March 5, 1985, Sheriff Billy Freeman gave Fortune the choice of resigning
or being fired from his job as a Deputy Sheriff.
"It has become apparent that you do not meet the standards of efficiency,
morale and reputation required . . . for the responsible position of Deputy
Sheriff with this department," wrote Undersheriff Lawrence Meggs in a letter
to Fortune.
Fortune's resignation letter was short and to the point: "I hereby submit
my resignation effective March 5, 1985."
The forced resignation came one day after Sheriff's Dept. Inspector Mike
Young reported the results of his internal affairs criminal investigation.
The report concluded that Fortune had consensual sex with a 17-year-old male
high school student on as many as four occasions. On one occasion, Fortune
and the boy reportedly spent a weekend together.
The young man had been a participant in the Sheriff's Cadet Program.
On March 6, 1985— the day after he had resigned from the Sheriff's
Dept.— Fortune applied for a job with the KWPD, representing that he
had left the Sheriff's Dept. because of a "personality conflict." He answered
"no" to the question, "Have you ever been discharged or forced to resign
because of misconduct or unsatisfactory service?"
Apparently, KWPD officials conducted no background check and Fortune was
hired.
In 1991, somebody blew the whistle on Fortune concerning the falsification
of his application. There was an internal investigation— and he was
given a 10-day suspension.
Fortune's "secret" has been rumored around the Police Dept. for months,
but it has been difficult to investigate.
When Fortune was first promoted to captain, a source inside the Police
Dept. speculated that it was because "Avael had something on him. He can
control Fortune." But our source couldn't provide any specifics.
Early this year, we heard the rumor that Fortune had been involved in "some
sort of child abuse maybe 10 years ago."
We called the local office of the State Dept. of Children & Families
(DCF) and asked who we might contact to investigate child abuse allegations
concerning "a high-ranking police officer." We never heard from anybody
at the DCF— but we heard from Chief Dillon that same day.
He told us that there was, indeed, something in Fortune's past that he wasn't
proud of— but that he had gotten his life together and that "he is a
fine police officer." But Dillon refused to provide specific information.
He also asked us to kill any story we might be planning. But we didn't have
a story planned. We didn't have enough information.
Dillon also refused to tell us who at the DCF tipped him off that we were
sniffing around. We do know, however, that RaiEtte Avael, the City Manager's
wife, is one of the managers there.
When we checked with the Sheriff's Dept., we were told that most of Fortune's
records had been purged. But we did learn that an internal investigation
had "sustained" an allegation that Fortune had "sexual activity with a juvenile"
and that he had lost his job because of it.
Then we wrote to the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement's Criminal Justice
Professionalism Program. And we thought for awhile that our request for
information had disappeared into that governmental black hole in Tallahassee.
But not so.
This week, we received more than 200 pages of documents which provided
detailed— very detailed— information of Capt. Fortune's
ill-fated "affair," the investigation that led to his departure from the
Sheriff's Dept., and the subsequent KWPD internal investigation into allegations
that he falsified his employment application.
We have no reason to believe that Capt. Fortune is not a good police
officer or that he is doing anything less than an excellent job as one of
two captains on the force. The story here is not Fortune. It's Avael's
demagoguery and double-speak.
On one hand, Avael argued that Peterson should be removed as Chief of
Police— certainly a radical action— because he, along with
many other civic, political and business leaders, appealed for leniency for
a popular local figure who was in trouble for allegedly hitting on a young
boy. Avael gave us all the impression that he was terribly offended and revolted
by Peterson's odious and unsavory act.
Then, Avael does a major flip-flop. He actively participated in the
promotion— to one of the highest-ranking positions in the Police
Dept.— of a man he reportedly knew had had a sexual relationship with
a male juvenile.
And, on top of that, Avael surely knew that Fortune had falsified his employment
records in order to get his job with the KWPD in the first place. That
information is— or should be— in Fortune's personnel file.
So . . . do you think Avael talks out of both sides of his mouth, or what?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Both Chief Dillon and City Manager Avael have been aware
for months that we've been researching this story. And we know that there
has been at least one "damage control" meeting involving Dillon, Avael and
others.
Earlier this week, we informed both Dillon and Avael that we now had the
information from the FDLE. We even included Mike Young's very-detailed internal
investigation report. And we asked for comments.
On Wednesday, we informed Police Dept. spokeswoman Cynthia Edwards
that we planned to go with the story this week— and we again asked for
comments.
Date: Sun, 01 Jul 2001 09:13:05 -0400
To: politech@politechbot.com
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject: FC: Embattled Key West newspaper harassed by cops is back online
Cc: flip@kwest.net
---
Background:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02187.html
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02184.html
---
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 01:31:51 -0400
From: Flip Ferrari <flip@kwest.net>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
CC: politech@politechbot.com, Office@KWTN.com, postmaster@KWTN.com,
SSolares@keywestcity.com,
Attorney@keywestcity.com,
JAvael@keywestcity.com,
BDillon@keywestcity.com,
JWeekley@keywestcity.com,
TomO@oosterbooster.com,
merilimccoy@compuserve.com,
cpcjr@webtv.net, HBethel@keywestcity.com,
JAnthony@keywestcity.com,
carmenturn@aol.com,
emc@artifact.psychedelic.net
Subject: Re: More on arresting reporters and Florida case, by Paul McMasters
View the New issue of Key West The Newspaper on-line now! Front Page lead article is the first official statement by our editor/publisher since his arrest.
Last weeks articles (and ALL prior articles dealing with the current police scandal) are viewable in the archives section.
Sorry for being offline a bit earlier this week, and not haveing last weeks articles online until now, it was a technical problem and in no way related to current legal/political situation.
Flip
Webmaster, kwtn.com
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