Neugent And Monique
By Rick Boettger
I am going to be filing a formal complaint with the Florida Ethics Commission about County Commissioner George Neugent’s actions against Stand Up For animals (SUFA) and its director, Linda Gottwald. I have cleared it with the Commission’s legal staff that it is my First Amendment right to report any facts and allegations I care to put forth regarding this case. If the Commission decides to do their own investigation based on the factual allegations I put forth, it is part of their charter to keep their findings confidential until they reach a conclusion.
In brief, the facts show that Neugent violated Florida Statute 112.313 (6) Misuse of Public Position. “No public officer . . .shall . . . attempt to use his . . .official position . . .or perform his . . .official duties, to secure a special privilege, benefit, or exemption for himself . . . or others.”
In the summer of 2010, Neugent forcefully used his authority as county commissioner to initiate an investigation of SUFA, freeze their funds to put SUFA out of business, and give SUFA’s quarter-million-dollar/year animal control contract to a different organization. (Its members were in fact friends and supporters of Neugent, but that is not required by the statute.)
In 2012, 25 out of 296 official complaints like mine, that is, only 7%, found a “Probable Cause” resulting in sanctions by the Commission. Also, I risk having to pay Neugent’s attorney’s fees if the complaint is dismissed.
So why am I doing this? I actually like the good George. The last time I spoke at a commission meeting I supported his motion regarding a marine issue, his area of expertise. But what he did to SUFA was far beyond the pale, far beyond putting them out of business and suing their board. I have listed all of the investigations and attacks on Gottwald before, but now we have it official that everything they did was against a completely innocent person. Read it again in that light:
- The County Clerk’s office audited Gottwald without even interviewing her. In her eight years of administering a quarter-million-dollar contract, they found one utility check paid from the wrong account. The County itself averages a mistake like this every day. They recently failed to record the $$5 million they paid for Rowell’s Marina.
- They froze her funds, both the County’s payments and her $100,000 in private donations, putting SUFA out of business. This was overturned on appeal, as being completely illegal.
- They released the preliminary audit, showing only their attacks before she could respond, a criminal violation of state law. Their slanted allegations were repeatedly printed in local corporate media, including the Miami Herald, ruining her reputation nationally.
- The tried to get the State Attorney to prosecute. Mark Wilson said what I had written: that SUFA was an independent contractor, not subject to the County’s micromanagement.
- They set the FDLE on her for months, keeping her under a felony investigation that cost her friends and jobs up north. There was nothing for the FDLE to find.
- After losing the frozen-funds appeal, they tried to pressure Gottwald by adding her kindly board of directors to their lawsuit against her. The judge ruled, properly, that doing so was against both federal and state law. They kept up the pressure on the non-profit board for a total of over 8 months by trying again. This time the judge dismissed “with prejudice.”
- They approved contracts adding up to $110,000 for an outside forensic auditor to try to find anything bad in SUFA’s 10 years of bookkeeping. There was nothing to be found.
The County did not decide to drop their suit and pay Gottwald $45,000 because they thought she was guilty. No, they themselves were guilty, and knew they risked having it proven in court. Realizing after the embarrassing depositions of Roman Gastesi, George Neugent, and Danny Kolhage that they would look foolish if not criminal in front of a jury, they have finally faced the facts.
Neugent’s actions permanently blemished the following:
- the County Clerk’s office, who did the reprehensible audit;
- Roman Gastesi and Danny Kolhage, who illegally released that preliminary audit;
- Judge David Audlin, who mistakenly approved freezing SUFA’S funds;
- the County Attorney’s office, forced to put forward a no-chance suit destined to humiliate their legal team;
- the other commissioners who trusted Neugent and backed him to the end, despite all the facts and legal rulings surging against them;
- and the Keys’ corporate media.
We, the taxpayers, are unblemished, but we’re stuck with paying at least $150,000 in accumulated legal costs even before the $45,000 settlement, as well as losing the local benefits of the $240,000 SUFA had accumulated in donations on behalf of Middle Keys animals. Plus the tens of thousands of our tax dollars spent on the State Attorney and FDLE investigations. If you add up just the money, Neugent took more from us than Monique Acevedo did. And all she did was steal and have fun with it. Neugent’s theft from us persecuted an innocent woman and besmirched vast swathes of our public sector. Acevedo spent years in jail. So should Neugent.
Next week: exactly what he did and when, as I will draft in my official complaint.
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Thanks to Konk Life, reporter Rick B. and Editor Guy D. for having the courage to write about one of the most egregious Bubba scandals in Monroe County history. Looking forward to next installment.
My compliments to Rick for having the guts to stand up against Commissioner Neugent on behalf of SUFA. If we the people don’t get some sort of handle on some of the backdoor dealings in the Keys, we may as well stop voting and submit to whatever the government throws our way which will only be in government’s (or the official with greased pockets) best interest.
I admire Rick Boettger for his willingness to stand up to a system that needs overall and corrective action. No individual is above the collective good of the citizens of Monroe County. How can we expect good intentioned citizens to be active in non-profit organizations and serve for the good of the order if they have to worry about being sued and threatened by a government entitiy.
Throughout the protracted persecution of Linda Gottwald and SUFA, Rick Boettger has been the one member of the press who has both persistently and consistently sought and reported the truth. It is encouraging to know that not everyone in the Monroe County media is under the thumb of Mr. Neugent and his crooked compatriots. Kudos, Rick and please continue your quest to expose corruption in the Keys!
This whole conspiracy and attack against SUFA has brought nothing but shame and a loss of credibility to the government of Monroe County. Linda Gottwald and SUFA ran the happiest, most efficient, most community-friendly shelter we have ever seen in Monroe County. I commend Rick for taking on the defense of SUFA, at a time when most people would bury their heads in their Netflix and let the government do what it will with their money and their future. Some day they will wake up to discover that their beloved pet has been euthanized and they have no rights, because the county animal control has been hijacked. I only wish we could bring back Linda Gottwald and her supporters, and indict Neugent forthwith for the damage he has done to SUFA, the voters, and Monroe County.
The bubba system always was alive and well in Monroe County – witness who had to get rid of lower enclosures and who didn’t – but George Neugent, along with some County puppets who seem not to be able to think rationally, if at all, took it to extremes. Destroying the reputation of a woman who ran the best animal shelter in the Keys – and it was truly a “shelter” – just to give the contract to his special interests and subsequently to steal the organization’s money was reprehensible, but to accomplish this by deliberately ignoring numerous Florida statues is, without doubt, the best example of what is so wrong with the BOCC and Monroe County Government.
Of course, it was only taxpayer money, so it was easy to spend it in his vendetta against an organization running two shelters and who’s Director only asked to be compensated in line with the FKSPCA which runs only one. But that was unrealistic it seems, and it unleashed actions which would be laughable anywhere but in the Keys where they are too common.
I really admire and appreciate a newspaper and reporter who are not afraid to tell the truth! Years ago, that was what newspapers did – they exposed corruption – read about Watergate. However, these days most newspapers publish articles so slanted that they are not worth reading. Konk Life is a breath of fresh air, sorely needed in the Keys.
Sadly, media has earned the reputation of entertaining rather than factual reporting. SUFA was a loyal supporter of animal lives, and Linda Gottwald was an outstanding director. It’s our loss that local politics and politicians destroyed her standing in the community. We are left without animal care and control in Big Pine Key other than the occasional visit from SHARK (not to criticize their work as they are also basically a no-kill shelter). I look forward to seeing Mr. Boettger’s next article as he has apparently done his homework and presented facts rather than the spurious accusations and false claims presented by an ever-deteriorating political system.
I applaud Rick and Konk Life for having the guts to report what really happened. The people of Monroe County are tired of the apparent corruption in our elected and appointed officials. Let’s get these people out of office. The problem is finding someone honest to take their place!
I look forward to the next article.