Government Spying

I still haven't received any replies to my letters to FL Attorney General Crist or FDLE Commissioner Tunnell regarding government spying. They both received my verifiable complaints against Florida law enforcement officers. Recently Tunnell was forced to resign as FDLE Commissioner as a result of his remarks regarding civil rights leaders and handling of the beating death of a teenager in a Bay County bootcamp. A copy of my letter to Crist is pasted in below. The USPS confirmed delivery on April 23, 2004.
Incidentally, former FDLE Executive Investigations Director Jamie McLaughlin resigned suddenly and unexpectedly the next day as a result of a just as sudden and unexpected investigation regarding charges that could be considered a form of sexual harassment. McLaughlin had also ignored all my veriable requests for an investigation of my charges against Florida law enforcement officers, which he was legally required to investigate.


April 21, 2004

Office of Attorney General Charlie Crist
State of Florida
The Capitol PL-01
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050

Dear Attorney General Crist;

Notice of official misconduct and interception of wire, oral, and electronic communications

Pursuant to Title 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4, I’m notifying you in your official capacity as Florida’s Attorney General of official misconduct and illegal interception of wire, oral, and electronic communications by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Holmes County (HC) Sheriff’s Department. In addition, I’m charging FDLE Director of Executive Investigations Jamie McLaughlin, FDLE Professionalism Program Director Rod Caswell, HC Sheriff Dennis Lee, HC Deputy Christopher Wells, and former HC Chief Deputy Aubrey Carroll with violations of the moral character standards as defined under Rule 11B-27.0011, Florida Administrative Code. These Florida certified law enforcement officers either knew about or were involved in the illegal interception of wire, oral, and electronic communications, misuse of official position, threatening witnesses, conducting so called “investigations” under the color of law, covering up misconduct, falsifying official records, and obstruction of justice. This pattern of misconduct, which continues to this day, violates the most basic principles of the US and Florida Constitutions and demonstrates the abuse of power by arrogant and seemingly unaccountable Florida law enforcement and state agencies.

Request for formal investigation

I’m also requesting that Florida’s Office of Attorney General independently investigate my above charges against both the FDLE and HC Sheriff’s Department because both these law Florida enforcement agencies have proven that they are incapable of policing themselves. Both have an inherent conflict of interest and both not only refuse to investigate my charges but also are in fact covering up.

County and state law enforcement arranged for the bugs’ installation on the utility poles servicing the house and grounds. Officers also arranged for the installation of a remotely activated transponder in one of the vehicles and supplied neighbors with a remote to activate the device whenever they saw me leave. By letter, dated January 4, 2001, I requested that West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC) Association’s V.P. and CEO, William S. Rimes, help in identifying any authorized or unauthorized devices on or connected to any of their lines, poles, transformers, or equipment servicing my residence. I based my suspicions on an echo effect that I heard. By letter, dated January 5, 2001, Mr. Rimes advised:

We take your concerns seriously and have taken the following actions based on your letter and telephone conversation with my Executive Assistant:
First, the appropriate employees have been briefed and assure me that WFEC is not involved.
Second, we have forwarded this correspondence to the Sheriff of Holmes County for appropriate action.

The Sheriff’s first contact was on the evening of January 17, 2001 about 10:30 p.m. when he hovered over the house for more than ½ hr in an FDLE helicopter purportedly search-ing for my neighbor, Freddie Padgett, who they attempted to pickup at his home that evening. A large infrared device mounted under the helicopter assisted in their late night “search.” Earlier in the day, an FDLE Agent disguised as a FedEx driver delivered a 3.5 lb. package of methamphetamines to his wife, Lisa Padgett, during an apparent drug bust. Padgett arrived home as the sting was in progress, saw what was going on, grabbed the package that his wife signed for, and escaped with the evidence. The FDLE returned later that evening on the pretext of apprehending him at his home. However, they knew that he hadn’t returned home. No rational person would believe that someone who ran off with 3.5 lbs of drugs earlier that day would return home later that evening. I was the actual target and not my neighbor. The entire event was contrived in an attempt to provoke a violent incident and then remove their bugs in the aftermath. When I didn’t react as my “profilers” anticipated, the Sheriff who was in the FDLE helicopter piloted by his first cousin ordered the agents to storm the grounds in hot pursuit of my imaginary fleeing neighbor. I asked the FDLE Agents as they stormed the grounds, “Isn’t this a lot of effort for one guy?” One Agent replied, “Yeah, it is.” I lingered outside with them until they left around 11:35 p.m.

The HOLMES COUNTY TIMES reported in its January 24, 2001 edition that agents of the FDLE arrested my neighbor, Lisa Padgett, on drug and theft charges on January17, 2001 and that she was out on $75k bond. The paper reported in its January 31, 2001 issue that they arrested my neighbor, Freddie Padgett, on January 23, 2001 on the same charges. They mentioned that he fled his home when authorities arrived to serve a search warrant on January 17, 2001. Following a first appearance hearing, he was released from jail on a surety bond, the paper reported, but did not say when he was released. The weekly paper later reported in its March 14, 2001 edition that the FDLE arrested Lisa Padgett again on new drug related charges, and additional arrests followed.

The FDLE wasn’t through with us yet, however. When my sister, Bridget Keegan, returned home from work on the evening of January 29, 2001, she told me that two late model sedans followed her from nearby Carmel Church Road when she left for work that morning. My sister said that a third sedan was waiting on the side of the road as she turned onto Rte. 160 and also followed her. Without telling my sister, I followed her the next the morning when she left for work. She drove north up Will Lee Rd without turning left onto Carmel Church Rd as she had done the day before. I turned left on Carmel Church Rd and as I approached Mt. Carmel of Assembly God Church I encountered a number of white and blue sedans like the FDLE used. They seemed to be trying to coordinate a “tail,” and my appearance confused them. I turned around in the Church’s parking lot and headed home, stopping in front of one car that was parked alongside a building so that you wouldn’t see it as you drove west on Church Rd as my sister would have on her way to work. When I saw the driver was female, I continued without stopping to question her. I notified a public official later that morning that I don’t want some SWAT raid picking up where the helicopter left off. The FDLE stakeout and “tail” ended the following morning.

Since neither WFEC nor the Sheriff’s Department would search the utility poles and equipment for illegal law enforcement electronic surveillance devices, my sister hired Florida licensed Private Investigator, Diop Kamau to conduct a “sweep” of her home and property, locating the monitoring station, activating any deactivated bugs, and identifying any bugs discovered.

On March 14, 2001, Kamau’s employee, Mr. Underwood, arrived late for the scheduled “sweep” and with no testing equipment. He walked around the house and inspected the utility pole in the backyard. As he left, he said, “It’s time for the cameras.” On March 23, 2001, Mr. Kamau’s employee, Doug Jones, showed up with test equipment and was surprised by the off the scale readings he got verifying electronic surveillance. However, he refused my sister’s request for his report and when I asked him for it, he said that the police would arrest me if he supplied it. I told him to let them and I would sue for false arrest. I told him that I do not have the FDLE’s drugs that my neighbor, Freddie Padgett, ran off with and which are still supposedly missing to this day. 3.5 of dope disappears and the FDLE doesn’t formally investigate. Jones still refused to supply his report. When I told him that the cops were harassing my sister as well, he appeared incredulous and had a pained expression. Jones called my sister later at work to discuss installing cameras. She told him no cameras and to supply the report. When she later demanded her report from Kamau, he told her to get a lawyer and he would provide it to him, although that was not part of the original agreement. He also told her that he would fax her a list of lawyers at work, but never supplied the list.

Neither one of us could get a lawyer. Some did not even return our calls and about the only legal advice we got from any was to get a lawyer but someone else. One Panama City criminal lawyer told me to try Pensacola or Tallahassee, which I did with the same results. A Tallahassee attorney told me that I would have a hard time getting any lawyer to sue the county, never mind the state. They all knew that state law enforcement was involved even though I never told them.

By letter dated, March 26, 2001, I notified WFEC VP and CEO, William S. Rimes, that the Sheriff still hadn’t contacted either my sister or myself regarding the electronic surveillance. I requested that he arrange for his WFEC to check their equipment during the week of April 2nd to determine if there are any illegal devices on the lines providing service and to supply a report of their findings. I told him to schedule the inspection for the afternoon so that my sister can be present, and to notify me of the date and time. I told Kamau that when Rimes gives me a date I’ll tell him and he can be present.

Neither one of us had received any prior written notice, however, when on Tuesday morning, April 3, 2001, I observed two utility company pickups with lift baskets pass by. Sometime later, I saw that they had returned and were parked at the front gate and one employee was trying to pick the lock. I went over and asked the one who appeared to be in charge if he’s here to remove the bugs. He said that he was here to remove the bugs. He identified himself as Doyle Short. The other three refused to identify themselves. I told him that he can’t come in and to return when my sister was home. He had mistaken me for a utility worker from another area. He insisted that he was going to enter the property. I told him that he wasn’t, left, and returned with a cell phone and camera.

Mr. Short threatened to call the Sheriff if I didn’t let him enter. I told him to go ahead. He did. He dialed a number on his cell phone and I heard him say, “Dispatcher.” When the deputy arrived. Short said that he’s here to change the lights on “their property (the utility poles)” and that I won’t let him in. He changed that story when he remembered that we don’t have any pole lights and said that he’s here to read the meter, then qualified that reason by saying to verify meter readings because the radio remote meters are too far and they can’t read them. When I said that he did that last month, he then said that he’s here to do a “safety inspection” and waved some piece of paper saying, “they requested it.” I told the deputy that I wrote that letter and requested an inspection for any illegal attachments and insisted on advance notice. I told Short to show the deputy the letter. He didn’t, but that ended the letter argument.

The deputy’s nametag identified him as Wells. I told Deputy Wells that Short is trying to cover-up. Short sarcastically replied that the deputy is here. I remarked that it was probably the Sheriff’s Dept. that installed the bugs. Mr. Short then made an issue that they’re there to inspect their property and that I wasn’t the property owner. I learned afterwards that Short had called my sister at her office in Panama City to notify her that he was at the gate and requested her permission to enter and inspect. She told him no, that she wanted to be present, and that she can’t talk any longer because she has a meeting. He then told her that he saw someone coming and hung up. He neither told Deputy Wells that he had called my sister and that she had told him not to enter her property without her being there nor did he tell me that he had spoken to her. Wells then asked my name and DOB I answered his questions because I was afraid that he’d arrest me under some pretext, even though the gate was locked, I was on private property, and I requested the “bug” inspection in the first place. The deputy then asked Short if he wanted to enter the property. I suggested that Short reschedule the inspection for Friday afternoon. Deputy Wells asked if that’s okay with him and Short agreed. The deputy then called in on a cell phone- not his squad car radio- and asked for Aubrey Carroll. I asked, “Is that HC Investigator Aubrey Carroll?” He replied, “Yes sir, it is.” Before he left, the deputy asked Mr. Short if he wanted back up for the rescheduled inspection, Mr. Short said yes and that he wanted this same deputy back. The deputy agreed and left. The others lingered for a while before leaving. My sister later canceled that Friday appointment.

In an attempt to get Kamau to finish the sweep and supply his report as well as to disassociate myself from any possible link to the “missing” drugs, I mailed my petition, dated April 12, 2001, to Gov. Jeb Bush. I requested an investigation of my charges and related the above incidents in addition to describing my strained relations with my immediate neighbors on the south, Mathew and Janice (nee Padgett) Connors, which I attributed to law enforcement officers’ instigation. Janice Connor is the sister of Freddie Padgett, who lives with his wife, next door to them. Foey (“Junior”) Padgett, another sibling, lives across the street. I don’t have any personal, social, or business relations with any of them.

My neighbors had previously filed two false reports against me. I was concerned that they might try to either implicate me in their relatives’ drug dealing to use as a “bargain-ing chip” or else say that I had the missing drugs, which would serve as a pretext for another raid. In my petition, I described the two previous false complaints that my neighbors filed against me. The first complaint stemmed from an incident in which Mathew Connor tried to bury about 8 cubic yards of scrap metal on my sister's land just across the property line. When I saw what they were up to, I went over and told Janice (nee Padgett) Connor to move the junk. She told me, “To get out,” and threatened, "I'm going to call the law on you." I told her to go ahead. She did. I saw the deputy’s car pull in her drive. I waited for him to come over, but he never did even though he spent about an hour and half there. Her cousin who was there said that the deputy said it would have to be a criminal matter before he talked to me and told her to move the junk. She later offered to move the junk if I gave her the photos that I took of the incident. During my fourth attempt to secure a copy of the Deputy’s Incident Report, the Sheriff’s office filled up with deputies. I left without securing a copy. Sometime later after a local licensed engineering firm surveyed and staked the southern property line between my sister’s property and my neighbor’s, Mathew Connor approached me as I walked my dog by his residence one morning and said, “You don’t know what you started by that!” I was surprised and asked him, “By what?” He pointed to the staked property line, and said that you can see where it’s off and waved his arm to indicate that it wasn’t straight. The surveyors used a laser transit to measure the property line. Before I got the chance to install a fence along the line, they installed a barbed wire fence on their side.

The second false report was criminal in nature and demonstrates not only the Sheriff Department’s awareness of my neighbors’ false reports but also that they encouraged them by accepting them. Shortly after taking some photographs of the surrounding area, I observed a HC Deputy vehicle pull into my neighbor’s yard. I opened the front gate and waited for the inevitable. Within a short time, the squad car zoomed in. There were two deputies. One was in uniform and one in civilian clothes. I asked them, “What's the charge this time?” Hamilton, the uniformed one and driver, replied, "Stalking." I then asked Hamilton, "Does the Sheriff know about this? He replied, "He's available."

I wanted to end my neighbors’ practice of filing false reports once and for all, so I excused myself, left, and returned with a tape recorder. I wanted a record of this incident, since I still could not obtain the report from the last one. Both deputies consented to being tape-recorded. I then asked Hamilton to repeat the allegation. He refused. After having them identify themselves and asking a few questions, the plainclothes one took a bullet from his shirt pocket and started playing with it. A neighbor told me earlier that the deputies would beat me up and leave me and then later told me that they'd kill me if I kept "playing with them.” I asked the deputy if that bullet was for me. He folded his hand and asked, "What bullet?" After additional banter, I ended the conversation. They left. I thought that they might come back, so I shut and locked the gate, and hid the recorder. They returned within 10 minutes. I went to the gate. Deputy Hamilton got out. He asked some additional questions, including my DOB. I answered his questions and, unlike Deputy Wells in the April 3rd incident, he left without calling in to any Inspector.

Coincidentally, on April 13, 2001, FDLE Agent Dallas Herring left a message, which consisted only of his name, phone number, and “FDLE,” on my sister’s answering machine at work. I assumed that WFEC CEO Bill Rimes had contacted the FDLE to resolve this matter since the Sheriff’s Department appeared unwilling, and that was the reason for Herring’s call.

The Governor’s office forwarded my April 12, 2001 petition to FDLE Executive Investigations for review. In his reply, dated April 26, 2001, FDLE Executive Investigations Director Jamie A. McLaughlin wrote:

Your letter wherein you complained of electronic surveillance of your home, has been reviewed by this office. We have determined that the subject matter of your allegation does not fall within the purview of FDLE.

There does not appear to be a criminal predicate which would warrant investigation by the Office of Executive Investigations. The subject matter of your complaint may involve judicial or civil issues that necessitate you seeking legal counsel and/or advice. Such issues must be addressed in the courts, not by FDLE.

In order to be specious, a reason must at least sound good. Director McLaughlin’s statement does not even pass the specious threshold. Instead of encouraging Kamau to supply his report, my petition- or rather McLaughlin’s refusal to investigate my charges- had the opposite effect. My sister could no longer even contact Kamau and Jones by phone or fax, as they appeared to have disconnected them.

My sister notified Doug Jones on May 29, 2001 that she scheduled an inspection for June 8, 2001 at 1pm and instructed him to arrive early. She also sent Sheriff Dennis Lee a letter, dated May 29, 2001, requesting that the Sheriff’s Department search the utility poles and lines for any illegal listening devices and to supply a report, and she scheduled him for the same time. Jones canceled shortly before the scheduled day claiming that he has to go to Louisiana on a case. If memory serves, the Sheriff supposedly went on vacation and was also unavailable. A Tim Brown from the HC Sheriff’s Department left a message June 7, 2001 on her answering machine at work for her to deal with WFEC and not them. WFEC CEO Rimes referred this matter to the HC Sheriff’s Department in the first place and now the HC Sheriff’s Department was referring it back. The purpose of requesting the Sheriff’s presence was to reassure both Kamau and WFEC that the bugs were illegal. My sister canceled the inspection by WFEC since the other two parties were unavailable.

After my sister sent a certified letter, dated June 18, 2001, demanding that Kamau either complete the sweep and supply his report or else refund her money, Doug Jones called her at work a few days later. He told her the illegal bugs were on the pole, instructed her to schedule an appointment with the utility for “safety reasons” so that the utility couldn’t go after us for tampering with their property, and suggested that she get an injunction against the police. My sister eventually scheduled an inspection by WFEC for July 27, 2002, notified the Sheriff and requested his presence, and notified both Kamau and Jones.

In the interim, the Sheriff finally responded to one of my record requests, but he only sent a copy of Deputy Wells’ 4-3-01 Incident Report, case #2001041393, Report #9842. Wells’ narrative read:

ON 4/3/01 DOYLE SHORT WITH R.E.A. STATED THAT JOE KEEGAN WAS REFUSING ACCESS FOR THEM TO CHECK THEIR METER AND CONNECTIONS. HE SAID MR. KEEGAN’S SISTER OWNS THE PROPERTY AND HAD GIVEN PERMISSIIN BUT SHE LIVES IN HOSTON, TEXAS. MR. KEEGAN SASID HE DIDN NOT WANT THEM TO CHECK ANYTHING UNTIL HE COULD HAVE SOME PEOPLE THERE. HE BELEIEVES R.E.A.* HAS LISTNEING DEVICES ON THE WIRES AND IS COMING TO REMOVE THEM. MR. SHORT AND MR. KEEGAN AGREED FOR R.E.A. TO RETURN ON FRIDAY, 4/6/01 AND HE WOULD ALLOW ACCESS.
*Rural Electric Association (REA) is the WFEC.

In my letter to Sheriff Lee, dated June 9, 2001, I accused Deputy Wells of lying and submitting a false report to cover up law enforcement’s involvement and requested an internal review by the HC Sheriff’s Department. At no time during the April 3, 2001 incident at the front gate did Mr. Short even refer to my sister while Wells was present, never mind saying that she’s the property owner lived in Houston, TX, and gave permission to inspect the lines without her being present. He only said that I wasn’t the property owner. If Mr. Short had made any of these statements, I would have corrected him. I said that my sister insisted on being present during any inspection. As I learned later, Short called my sister at work from the front gate before I approached them. I didn’t refer to any other people and other than answering Wells questions and asking him if that was Chief Deputy Aubrey Carroll I didn’t get into any conversations with the young deputy. Deputy Wells also lied when he wrote in his report that I said that the electric cooperative had listening devices on the wires and is coming to remove them. I said that it was probably the Sheriff’s Department that installed the bugs.

In his June 28, 2001 letter, Sheriff Lee wrote:

I have talked with Deputy Wells about the report and have learned that Deputy Wells wrote his report after the incident had occurred and he did a summary of all the information he had gathered. Deputy Wells would have no reason to lie in his report and I have no reason to believe that Deputy Wells would lie about your or anything else. I would also like for you to know that we would love to have electronic surveillance equipment like you were talking about. But, we do not own any or have access to any such equipment. We are a small rural department with a very limited budget. Our primary responsibility is responding to the needs of the people in Holmes County. Unless there is something I do not know about you that you would like to share with me, I have no reason or desire to set up any kind of surveillance on you. Your correspondence has been filed.

In my June 30, 2001 letter, I wrote the Sheriff that other than what I stated in my June 9th letter, I didn’t talk any further about electronic surveillance equipment. Either the Sheriff or his former Chief Deputy helped Wells concoct that story for the rookie deputy. I also requested copies of the two earlier Deputy Incident Reports. The Sheriff did not supply them because they would serve to discredit any other false charges by my neighbors, which apparently served as a pretext to investigate either one or both of us.

Deputy Wells listed Doyle Short’s work phone number in his report as 263-3231. I believe that was Mr. Short’s mobile phone number. If that’s the correct number of the cell phone that he had with him that day, then a check of the phone records would reveal that Short called my sister at Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL, contradicting what Wells wrote in his report.

The bugs were not just on the poles on my sister’s property, however, but on the ones in my surrounding neighbors’ yards as well. On July 17, 2001 I videotaped two WFEC employees working on a utility pole in the Connors’ front yard. I filmed Bowers (sp?) in the truck’s lift basket removing the ceramic fuse mounted on the pole. There was no other equipment on the pole at this time. Once he removed it, he lowered the basket to ground level and handed the fuse to Gillie (sp?). Gillie opened it, stopped what he was doing, and approached me. He agreed to be videotaped. Gillie said that they were installing a lightening resistor, but did not answer my questions regarding the fuse that Bowers removed and handed to him.

Bowers first removed what he later identified as a fuse from the utility pole, handed it to Gillie who worked on it and then returned it to Bowers along with what Bowers iden-tified as a lightning arrester. Bowers then installed a bracket and mounted both devices on it and made the necessary connections. When he finished, he lowered the basket, approached me, and consented to be videotaped. When I asked Bowers what he removed from the hollow fuse, he replied, “a broken bolt.” He also said that they’re installing the lightening arrester to prevent any problems resulting from a tree limb falling on the line even though there are no trees in the area around the pole and there were fuses and lightening arresters already mounted on both transformers on my sister’s property.

Bowers wanted to cover for his employer. He volunteered that he was out here when lightening knocked a tree branch down dislodging the live wire to the transformer at the house, but that he didn’t come back to the house, which would contradict what I wrote in my letter, dated 1-4-01, to WFEC CEO & VP Rimes:

The first incident, which suggested that some WFEC employees might know something about this matter, occurred about 1:30 am one Sunday morning. A WFEC pickup zoomed up by the side of the house and two men got out. They had cut the chain on the front locked gate to gain access and drove the ¼ mile back to the house. The previous evening a lightning bolt knocked off a tree limb that dislodged the line to the transformer, knocking out power to the house. Since it was then early Saturday evening, I figured that I call the next morning. I asked them how'd they know power was out? They said that they were in the neighborhood, so stopped by to fix it. I asked again, “How'd you know the power was out?” The driver asked me, “Why didn't you call?” I replied that that I intended to call in the morning. They repeatedly refused to answer my question.

Bower’s actions are indicative of an attempted cover up. The tree limb falling knocked out power only to my residence whose lights could not be seen from the road or my neighbors. I wanted to know who called WFEC and instructed them to come out and repair the problem, since whoever did was either the one monitoring us in real time or knew who was. Utility employees install many of the legal and illegal bugs and taps used by law enforcement agencies. When those monitoring us realized that they could no longer hear us, they called or had someone call the utility to investigate. The two WFEC employees cut the chain on the locked front gate to access the property around 1:30 am and installed one of their own locks on the chain.

Shortly after Bowers and Gillie left, I observed an old white van with WFEC lettering whited out in front of my neighbors. The driver was carrying something that looked like stereo components. I went back to the house and returned with the camcorder, but by then the van was gone.

WFEC showed as scheduled on July 27, 2001, but not Kamau or Jones. When WFEC foreman Doyle Short first saw my camcorder, he turned and headed back to his truck, but then returned. I ignored him, which seemed to calm him down. The WFEC employees present, including Short, agreed to be videotaped. Short’s superior made a point to say that Bowers who I videotaped on July 17th working on my neighbors pole was not out here the night the tree limb knocked out power to the house. They completed their “safety inspection” and found no “safety hazards.” They did not search for any illegal listening devices. Jones showed up later. He denied that either he or Kamau said that I would be arrested or that the bug was on the pole. He detected another bug on the northeast side of the house, but said that he could not pinpoint it. He refused to try to activate the remote transponder in one of the vehicles, which they said that they could do. He again refused to supply his report. Incidentally, although Kamau represented himself as a licensed and expert witness, I learned later that he only received his Florida Private Investigator's license the month before in June 2001. Under the circumstances, in my opinion, the timing raises some disturbing and troubling questions. Jones also said that he was working under Kamau’s license.

I filed an August 16, 2001 complaint, pursuant to Rule 11B-27.0011, Florida Administrative Code, with the FDLE against Deputy Wells for filing a false report. In his August 27, 2001 reply, Michael D. Crews, Bureau Chief Bureau of Standards Criminal Justice Professionalism Program, wrote:

Your verifiable complaint regarding the above individual has been forwarded to me for response. The Officer Discipline Section does not have investigators who go out and investigate allegations of misconduct by an officer. Whenever a complaint is received alleging an officer has committed a moral character violation, the complaint is forwarded to the officer’s employing agency with a request for them to investigate the matter.

Our records indicate that Mr. Wells is presently attending officer training school and has not, as of yet, been certified by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission. Therefore, the Commission has no authority to discipline him at this time. Also, according to the correspondence you forwarded with you complaint, it appears the agency has already looked into this matter and did not sustain a moral character violation by Mr. Wells.

The above is disingenuous at best. The agency didn’t sustain a moral violation because Deputy Wells was acting under their direction. Chief Deputy Aubrey Carroll sent a rookie who had not even been certified yet because he would do anything to get a permanent job with the Sheriff’s Department.

My sister eventually got a lawyer to help secure Kamau’s report, but Kamau’s lawyer refused to hand over his client’s report to my sister’s lawyer. Her lawyer then instructed her to copy the next expert’s web page, listing equipment used and report provided, to leave no possible questions regarding the scope of the sweep and report of its findings.

In his letter, dated Oct. 1, 2001, replying to my letter to the governor, Jamie A. McLaughlin, FDLE Director of Executive Investigations, wrote:

Your letter, wherein you requested assistance in obtaining copies of two Holmes County Sheriff’s Office incident reports, was forwarded to the Office of Executive Investigations by the Executive Office of the Governor for review and response. Based upon our review, the subject matter of your request does not fall within the purview of FDLE and would be more appropriately handled by the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office.

Therefore, by copy of this letter your complaint has been forwarded to Sheriff Dennis Lee for review and any action he may deem appropriate. Should you have further questions concerning our review, please feel free to contact our office at (850) 410-8240.

I reminded Director McLaughlin in my Oct. 9, 2001 reply that last time someone forwarded a letter to Sheriff Dennis Lee for appropriate action that the “Honorable” hovered over the house in an FDLE helicopter and I didn’t want an encore performance.

Lisa Padgett’s arrest, pending trial, and the missing drugs had been big news in the local papers from the time of her arrest. However, interest intensified when the HOLMES COUNTY ADVERTISER February 20, 2002 headlines read: FDLE MADE NO FORMAL INVESTIGATION INTO MISSING METHAMPHETAMINES. Journalist Bill Pate asked in his article why the FDLE had not investigated their disappearance. People wanted to know what happened to the missing drugs and why the FDLE refused to formally investigate.

About a week earlier, I went out one night around 11:00 p.m. to see why one of my dogs was barking. As I stood on the deck, someone hidden in the woods about 100 yards away fired a shot. The house is surrounded by trees and is about ¼ mile off the road. You either have to be lost or looking for me to find the place. Whoever fired the shot was looking for me. I didn’t see any point calling the Sheriff’s Department. In the past, someone hidden in the bushes would fire shots as I walked along the ¼ mile driveway to open or close the front gate in the evening. These shots were threats and always followed some informal inquiry resulting from one of my letters to a public official reporting police misconduct.

This time, however, I was infuriated. The more egregious, vicious, and vile law enforcement’s official misconduct, the more they sought to defame us. We’ve been repeatedly threatened, slandered, harassed, subject to endless secret investigations based on secret charges by secret witnesses under the color of law designed to slander and discredit us, but that was not enough for them. Now someone felt confident enough to trek back to the house to threaten us. I decided to answer Bill Pate’s question why the FDLE did not formally investigate their missing dope.

I contacted Bill Pate on March 5, 2002 and answered his question: the FDLE will never allow any formal investigation into the “missing” drugs because the FDLE would have to explain why Sheriff Lee hovered over my residence in an FDLE helicopter piloted by his cousin for over ½ hour on the evening of Jan. 17th and left as FDLE agents stormed the grounds. The FDLE is covering up their official misconduct involving both the FDLE and Sheriff’s Dept. and doesn’t want a fully developed record, which would have to address charges listed in my April 12, 2001 petition to the Governor. Just as WFEC VP & CEO Rimes took my earlier charges of illegal electronic surveillance seriously, so did Bill Pate take my charges of FDLE official misconduct. As a result of Pate’s investiga-tion, they forced the Chief Deputy to retire early for his role, but he was just the patsy.

Later on or around March 20 or 21, 2002, Lisa Padgett drove her All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) from her home to where I was working on fence along the southern property line. This was the first time that I ever spoke to her since moving here. She talked about her upcoming trial and apologized for the helicopter incident because she worried what kind of people we thought they were. She said that she knew that the entire area was bugged.

The HOLMES COUNTY TIMES reported in its April 24, 2002 edition:

On Thursday, April 4, a retirement party was held for Aubrey Carroll, who spent nearly 15 years with the Holmes County Sheriff’s Department.
Everyone from State Attorney Jim Appleman to Carroll’s grandchildren attended the event, kicked off by Kim Durden singing the national anthem.

Following the above announcement, Lisa Padgett, as well as others, shook my hand and congratulated me for getting Carroll “fired.” I corrected her by saying that they forced him to retire early so that he would keep his pension. Lisa Padgett also told me that the reporter, Bill Pate, questioned her about me after I contacted him and he kept asking her, “What did he do?” because he could not believe that the cops would do what they were doing without some reason. Lisa Padgett told me that she kept repeating, “Nothing.” “He didn’t do anything.” She later told me that her husband was ashamed for what his family said about me, but did not elaborate. She said that one of the FDLE Agents compared them to Norriega and that some FDLE Agents tested positive for drugs. She said that the DEA did not want to become involved in this high profile case because the FDLE screwed it up. Shortly afterwards she stopped talking to me.

Law enforcement officers gave my neighbors carte blanche to do or say whatever they wanted. Others referred to “jealous neighbors” and locals remarked that “they all have criminal records.” Glenn (“Red”) Riley told us that the Sheriff’s Department was using them and would discard them when they were no longer useful. He related one incident in which his niece, Janice (Padgett) Connor tried to get him to falsely accuse someone with her that she disliked for trespassing. He refused to do so. He later told me that a deputy threatened to place him at the scene of a crime if he should ever “talk” about any of this. He has good reasons to take that threat seriously.

When FL licensed P.I. Diop Kamau’s lawyer continued to refuse to turn over his client’s report, my sister’s lawyer suggested hiring another electronic surveillance expert and instructed her how to copy the website detailing what equipment used, services performed, and report provided.

My sister hired her second electronic surveillance expert, Florida licensed PI Jim Toth and explained the situation regarding illegal electronic surveillance by law enforcement. She followed her lawyer’s instructions and copied the appropriate pages from his website. Toth said that he would be happy to help with any legal or illegal intercept problem. He agreed to do the sweep and supply a written, signed report. However, when he arrived here in to do the sweep on April 15, 2002, he said that he cannot talk about any FDLE or any other law enforcement electronic surveillance devices or he will loose his license. He tried too hard to be our friend and even dropped the names of some celebrity clients, such as Mick Jagger and Rosie O’Donnell. He tested for video as agreed and said that he picked up some signal and that there is a camera nearby, but he could not pick up a clear image. When I asked him if there are any law enforcement listening or video surveillance devices on the utility pole in the backyard, he said that any device on the pole would have to belong to law enforcement because there are too many easier places to put one. Toth repeatedly refused to check the pole although that is what he came here to do and said that he would have to climb up it and plug his equipment (an OSCOR) into it and that he does not intend to do that. He then instructed us how to install an array of speakers on the deck to create a “white noise” if I think that there is a listening device on the pole.

When we drove up front, I repeatedly asked him why he didn’t bring equipment to test poles because that’s what my sister hired him to do. I bothered him enough that at one point he said that “you’re pissing me off.” I asked him if he wanted me turn off my camcorder and he said no. He had also agreed earlier to being videotaped. On the drive back to the house, he pointed to about 300’ of bright yellow hose along the driveway used to water the plants indicated that was “probable cause.” When I asked Toth if the FDLE would not allow these charges to be proven, he nodded in the affirmative. When I asked him if the police intend to “debrief” him when he leaves, he said, “Possibly.” He also insisted that the police put a GPS device in the minivan and not a police transponder as I suspected.

Toth also said that the police have a warrant and have to tell us about the bugs in thirty days. Toth had a conscience and what the FDLE was forcing him to do troubled him. He said that if he lost his license that he would have to do menial labor. Before he left, he said that the bugs on the poles came from Audio Intelligence Devices (AID) and to check them on the Internet. He said that he would do some more research himself. AIDs (www.aid-nia.com) sells only to government and law enforcement. AID also has a training branch, the National Intelligence Academy (that is the NIA in the URL). He still has not supplied a signed written report of his findings. He told my sister that he would mail his report in three days. She insisted on the signed hard copy. He said that it would take ten days. She told him that she would wait. He said that he would send the report to her lawyer. She told him to send it to her. He said to have her lawyer call him.

Toth emailed my sister his report replete with lies and omissions and addressed it to MRS. Koegan. And finished it with extra large bold type to call if she has any questions regarding the report. He still has not provided a signed written report. My sister notified her lawyer of Toth’s “sweep” and supplied him with a copy of the video.

Since Florida law enforcement’s position was that our charges were just “allegations” without an expert’s written signed report,, my sister hired Technical Surveillance Counter Measure expert Jim Ross from out of state to conduct a sweep and supply a signed written signed report of his findings. Again she explained the circumstances including law enforcement’s involvement. I also spoke to him and said that his predecessor identified Audio Intelligence Devices as the supplier of the device.

Ross and his wife left Virginia by car on July 17 and we had power outages at the house on July 17, 18, and 19. I believe that they managed to deactivate the bugs during these outages because I noticed that the echo effect either diminished or disappeared altogether during these outages which lasted between one and three hours, but always returned when the power returned.

Ross appeared as scheduled on July 19, 2002. He said that he had been out the night before to check. The echo was quite pronounced that evening. He had a word of wisdom that he wanted to share with us before he began: “Don’t trust hotels.” I thought, uh-uh, here we go again. His story was that he rented hotel space for his expos and the last one billed him 7k for services they didn’t provide. He was still upset. He walked around the house and insisted that any echo that I heard was from my voice bouncing off the house and not from the open air. When we went inside, he played with his equipment and then stunned me by saying that he can’t do what we want him to do. He didn’t say that he didn’t detect any bugs at the time or the evening before, but only that he can’t do what we want him to do, which was sweep and supply a report of his findings. He also confided, “They want to be in charge.”

Instead of doing a sweep and supplying a signed written report, he offered to get my sister on the G. Gordon Liddy show to discuss her blacklisting. He also said that she would have to move. My sister declined. The reason why they us want both to move is that some locals are blackmailing the cops with their knowledge of our illegal surveil-lance and the cops cut deals with others. Ross also told her to have her lawyer sue Toth, who was the apparent fall guy.

If Ross had disclosed his conflict of interest, which he was ethically bound to do, my sister would not have hired him. I did not tell Ross that I knew that the G. Gordon Liddy took over the NIA’s greater school mission after Hurricane Andrew destroyed its Homestead facilities and renamed it the Liddy Institute, with AID retaining the name. I suggested that I go on Liddy’s show, instead. Ross wanted more money and said that he couldn’t guarantee that I’d get on Liddy’s show. I told him to forget it. Like the two before him, he still hasn’t supplied a signed written report.

The above clearly proves a pattern of threatening and tampering with witnesses to cover up official misconduct. Apparently without a report our charges are just allegations and therefore they’re taking the position that they don’t have to investigate allegations. They have not said this, but how else would you explain the above? I know that Florida law enforcement officers threatened the first two expert witnesses, but I am not sure what influenced Ross other than a misguided sense of loyalty to Liddy. Ross also runs his own TSCMP school and is well connected. When my sister filed complaints against the two Florida P.I.s with the Florida Licensing Board, he began badgering me with inane
e-mails, including soliciting me for his TSCM school.

By letter, dated August 1, 2002, I petitioned the governor to investigate the FDLE for threatening the two Florida electronic surveillance expert witnesses as well as Director McLaughlin.

Around 8:30 a.m. on August 15, 2002, I walked up front to investigate what sounded like construction work. I observed two WFEC trucks working on the poles in my neighbors’ yards. As I watched them, a WFEC pickup drove up, stopped, and Doyle Short- the WFEC employee that called the Sheriff on April 3, 2001 when I refused to let them enter- got out and told me that he wants to talk to me by the front gate. When I reached the gate, Mr. Short and his superior, Russell Dunaway, were waiting. They both consented to be videotaped. They said that they were upgrading service and would have to replace the two transformers on the property within a month or else disconnect power. I asked Mr. Dunaway if he knew anything about any illegal electronic surveillance devices on their poles. He said that he had no knowledge and that they’re not in the electronic surveillance equipment business. My questioning appeared to irritate Mr. Dunaway as he turned beet red (visible in the video). He then added that I put the device on the pole myself. He appeared quite serious. One crewman told me later that Dunaway decided which transformers were to be replaced. It was not too surprising that my sister’s relatively new transformers were among the chosen.

My sister notified her lawyer on August 16, 2002 about Ross and requested he contact him to get a copy of his report. Her lawyer contacted him and Ross later emailed my sister a copy of what he sent to her lawyer telling him about his offer to get her on
G. Gordon Liddy’s show. Ross never supplied a written report. A decided chill in the attorney client relationship ensued at this point. Her lawyer never replied to her request to get an injunction to block any utility upgrade until after an official state investigation.

I also contacted other state officials and requested that they investigate my charges. One of my letters appeared to have produced some sort of unofficial inquiry. My sister told me that two Colonels and a Master Sergeant at Tyndall AFB where she works as an engineer told her, when they could stop laughing long enough, that the cops said that she was a “pothead.” That was the pretext they gave for going to her workplace. Whatever stooge the cops suborned obviously had never even met my sister. Again, no officer had ever questioned her about anything. We both repeatedly tried to get Sheriff Dennis Lee, the FDLE, WFEC, and the Florida electronic surveillance expert witnesses together to conduct a simultaneous search. And, at various times we had police escorts, state, county, and locals follow us from the moment we got onto any of the main roads. They would also triangulate on our positions combining a training exercise with intimidation. The authorities spared no expense or manpower to stage their January 17, 2001 production to pickup Freddie Padgett at his home, so they sure could have stopped either one of us at any time on any pretext if they wanted. Or, they simply could have accepted one of our invitations or just call us to schedule an interview. However, we could not get them to talk to us. Instead, they attempted to discredit us by innuendo and slander masquerading as investigations. Only a letter to a public official would back them off and when they felt safe they would resume the harassment. One of my sister’s fellow employees alluded to some cops bringing drug-sniffing dogs on base to check some engineer’s vehicle. All of this was done under the color of law to cover up their misconduct.

Another result of my letters to public officials was they appeared to incite my neighbors. Public officials would supply copies of my complaints to the respective law enforcement officers, who in turn would share them with my neighbors. One incident, which followed my letters to the Attorney General and FDLE Commissioner, occurred on Sept. 3, 2002. When my sister left for work at 5:30 a.m., a neighbor, Foey (“Junior”) Padgett, who lives across the street made a point to pull up behind her in his gray pickup with an empty trailer attached as she drove by his house. He also drove by with his trailer loudly rattling along the bumpy dirt road as she pulled into the driveway that evening around 8:00 p.m. That was no coincidence. He wanted to send a message. Like his other siblings he has never met or talked to her, although he knew her schedule and could identify her vehicle. Realize that we do not know what any of the suspected “witnesses” may have said. I suspect that we both have been subject to endless secret on-going investigations based on secret suborned statements by secret witnesses, which served as the pretext for endless secret investigations. There are other recent incidents as well.

My sister has a reason to feel threatened. One of Junior’s relatives told me that he has a criminal record and the cops were trying to put him away as a chronic offender. Someone else said that he was messed up on drugs in high school, has an explosive temper, and I would have my hands full if I got into a fight with him. Why would I get into a fight with someone that I do not even talk to, unless someone is provoking him?

The judge hearing Lisa Padgett’s case tossed out some evidence and rescheduled the trial for June 2002 because the FDLE did not supply her lawyer with some statements that she made. That was about the last coverage of the case, including disposition of Lisa Padgett’s trial. The case destined for the story of the year mysteriously disappeared from both local papers. What was the headline story for months disappeared from the pages altogether. Why? I would like to know why the disappearance of 3.5 lbs methamphe-tamines ceased to be news worthy.

In reply to my August 21, 2002 letter charging FDLE involvement with electronic surveillance, Jamie A. McLaughlin, Director Executive Investigations, wrote in his September 11, 2002 letter:

Your past five letters/facsimiles to this office (April 12, 2001, May 3, 2001, May 4, 2001, August 30, 2001, and October 9, 2001) were also reviewed and indicate that you have continual concerns with electronic surveillance. Based on these concerns, it is suggested that you allow the utility to upgrade the transformers and insulators on your property as they deem necessary. In do doing, the West Florida Electric Co-operative will maintain your electric service using only the equipment necessary for that purpose.

Simply put: Director McLaughlin sanctioned the cover up.

By letter, September 14, 2002, my sister advised then FDLE Commissioner James T. Moore that she has requested that the WFEC conduct an inspection of their lines and equipment for illegal listening devices on September 27, 2002 at 1:00 pm and requested
That he arrange for FDLE also to be present to conduct their own search and provide her with a written report. He never replied.

By letter, dated October 6, 2002, my sister petitioned Gov. Bush to investigate law enforcement threatening her two Florida expert witnesses, Diop Kamau and Jim Toth.

I spoke with Cochran Keating, Senior Attorney Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) on the telephone on Oct. 8, 2002. Mr. Keating said that in his opinion the FPSC did not have jurisdiction to require WFEC to postpone its upgrades to further a criminal investigation. Mr. Keating said than he believed that the FDLE is the proper authority to ensure that its criminal investigation is not compromised by whatever actions WFEC might take. The problem was that the FDLE sanctioned the cover up.

On Oct. 28th my sister received a letter from Director McLaughlin in response to her petition to the governor in which she charged that Florida law enforcement officers tampered with two Florida electronic surveillance experts that she hired to sweep her home and property. McLaughlin wrote that he would not investigate because there did not appear to be a criminal predicate, which was the same excuse he refused to investi-gate my petitions. Coincidentally, the electric cooperative also notified my sister that same day that they would be out on Oct. 31st to either replace their two transformers on her property as part of an upgrade or else disconnect service. She faxed the utility’s CEO, with courtesy copies to their lawyer and two foremen that they would be only allowed onto her property on the condition that they conduct a search for illegal law enforcement surveillance devices before upgrading their equipment. She also notified Sheriff Dennis Lee. She attempted to contact her lawyer, but her email was rejected. She left messages for him on his answering machine and faxed him as well, but he did not reply.

On the morning of October 31, 2002, WFEC foreman Ty Peel from their Graceville office arrived before the others to “upgrade” services by replacing the two transformers, containing the illegal surveillance devices, with new ones. He agreed to allow us to videotape. Foreman Doyle Short and crews from the Bonifay and Graceville offices arrived shortly afterwards along with WFEC CEO & VP Bill Rimes, who oversaw the work from the road. Rimes became visibly upset when I recognized him from newspaper photos and videotaped him. My sister let them in after they again agreed to conduct a search, but once in they refused to search as agreed or even open the lightening arresters. Moreover, they insisted that the lightening arrester was solid and could not be opened, which was a lie. I had videotaped them earlier opening a similar unit on my neighbors’ pole, removing an object from it, and then replacing the unit on the pole. Although they agreed to inspect their equipment for illegal bugs before being allowed onto the property, I videotaped them refusing to do so once admitted and threatening to call the Sheriff and have me arrested if I searched their equipment myself. I asked Peel if he intended to reuse this transformer with the implication for surveillance purposes, and he replied that he had just the place for it. They replaced the existing transformers with new ones and left. The echo effect vanished.

A few days after WFEC’s “upgrade,” the FL Licensing Bureau in Tallahassee notified my sister that they closed out their investigation of her complaint against Diop Kamau. The Fort Walton office had already closed out her complaint on Jim Toth. Both offices refused to pursue any administrative action. The state said they investigated and that they did not uphold the alleged violations. The Tallahassee investigator requested copies of the checks she paid Kamau, but the bank failed to provide copies by the deadline at first insisting there was no record of them. The state investigator did not reply to my sister’s request for an extension. The bank finally provided a copy of one check, but said that the copy of the other was unavailable because the film had been cut off. After she contacted the bank’s CEO, she finally received transcripts of both accounts. The Walton Beach Licensing Bureau manager was openly hostile and did not appear willing to conduct any genuine investigation in the first place.

My sister’s lawyer finally called on November 7, 2002. He said he was on a federal case in Orlando, FL, his computer crashed, and he didn’t understand any of the problems with the electric company. When my sister called him later, he told her to email him and not call her anymore. I have suspicions that he was tampered with by state officials.

You would think that removing the evidence on the utility poles would end it, but it did not. It wasn’t too long before the echo returned. At first it was barely noticeable, but eventually it became even more pronounced than before. Someone had pre-installed remotely activated surveillance devices in the new transformers. They did not have to turn off power to activate these new ones as before. And, as before, their stooges began repeating parts of our private conversations.

To test my theory that they upgraded to remotely activated ones, I voiced my suspicion that my neighbor was involved in an illegal activity where he works. The echo stopped the next morning, but returned a few days later. They did not have to cut power as before to deactivate them, but only had to push a button. If they were acting in good faith, they would not have done that. It’s now more pronounced than before.

Gov. Jeb Bush held one of his Town Hall meetings in Bonifay on January 16, 2003, just one day short of the two years since the January 17, 2001 FDLE drug sting and arrest of my neighbor, Lisa Padgett. I was #8 in line to speak with the Governor. There were two female staffers present during our meeting, both with writing pads. He asked me what I wanted. I told him a sweep and for the cops to stop harassing my sister. He assigned staffer Peggy Kassess to help. She admitted that this was a very big scandal once we left the office and appeared genuinely eager to help at the time. Her enthusiasm waned, however. When I contacted her two weeks later, she emailed that if I believed that I was still subject to electronic surveillance to check with the local authorities.

For over the past two years, both my sister and I have tried to get the state and local authorities to safely resolve this without any success. I had hoped that my meeting with the governor would supply the solution. The state and local authorities are equally culpable and covering up for each other. I have no reason whatsoever to trust either the local or state authorities.

My sister left messages with her lawyer to contact the locals on her behalf, but he never got back to her on that. She originally hired him to secure Kamau’s report and when Kamau’s lawyer refused to turn it over, she followed his advice and hired Toth to do a sweep and supply a report and copied his web pages as he instructed. She told him that Toth identified Audio Intelligence Devices (AIDs) as the supplier of the bugs and later that the third expert, Ross, told her to have her lawyer sue Toth and that he would arrange to get her on Liddy’s show. Since Florida P.I.s only have to hold their reports for two years, she contacted her lawyer and told him to get it. He replied that he doubted that there ever was a report in the first place or if there is one that it is no good. He denied knowing that AIDs was even a company and questioned why Ross would tell her to sue Toth. He said that he would only sue Kamau and not anyone else. I have suspicions that high state officials tampered with and possibly threatened him. In my opinion, he abandoned her some time ago.

On the morning of April 25, 2003, about one week after contacting US Senator Bill Nelson for help, I coincidentally ran into a neighbor at the front gate as I was leaving. He said that there was a surveillance device on the pole up front. I know that there is one, including video, on the pole in the back. He said that the state cut a deal with my drug-dealing neighbors. I suspect that the state dropped its charges in exchange for their silence on the illegal electronic surveillance and the January 17, 2001 helicopter incident. I also noticed that the state returned Freddie and Lisa Padgett’s Blazer. I had not seen it since the state seized it when they arrested her and found drugs, photos, and an ammo box with $17k in it. I figured the state returned it as a part of their deal. He also said out of the blue that he never saw me climb over the two fences, which separate the properties, to talk to them. The last time that I stepped foot on their property was when I told Janice (Padgett) Connor to move the junk they tried to bury on my sister’s property.

By letter, dated February 2, 2004, I wrote the FDLE Criminal Justice Professionalism Program’s Professional Compliance Section and charged them with the above violations. By letter, dated February 20, 2004, Professionalism Program Director Rod Caswell acknowledged my verifiable complaint and in his reply wrote:

The text of your letter does not articulate any violations that the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission would have jurisdiction over. We suggest that you speak with the Holmes County Sheriff regarding this complaint.

Director Caswell is covering up. My complaint does indeed contain violations that the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission would have jurisdiction over. The Director’s suggestion that I speak to the HC Sheriff is ludicrous. Both my sister and myself tried to speak to and get the HC Sheriff as well as the FDLE to come here for quite some time. The fact that this is now being proposed raises some disturbing and troubling questions. Under the circumstances, no reasonably minded person would “talk” with the HC Sheriff nor would any rational person expect someone to do so.

By letter, dated Feb. 3, 2004, I wrote Braulio L. Baez, Chairman of the FL Public Service Commission, and notified him of the illegal electronic surveillance and asked for the FL FL Public Service Commission, and notified him of the illegal electronic surveillance and asked for the FL PSC’s help. Beverlee S. DeMello, Director Division Consumer Affairs replied on behalf of the Chairman and Commissioners. In her letter, dated Feb. 13, 2004, Director DeMello wrote:

…Electric cooperatives do not fall under the authority of the PSC, except for the limited areas of rate structure and safety.

Federal law prohibits interceptions of telephone communications unless the person intercepting the call has received prior consent from one of the parties. Under Florida Statutes, both parties to the communication must agree to the interception. Violation of either Federal law or Florida statues may result in fine, imprisonment, or both. The Florida Public Service Commission has no authority to enforce criminal law.

The matter you have outlined does not come under the jurisdiction of the PSC. I have taken the liberty of forwarding your correspondence to the Governor’s Office of Citizen Services for review.

I still haven’t received any response from the Governor’s Office of Citizen Services for review. How is it that the Director of the FL PSC’s Division Consumer Affairs can recognize criminal violations while high ranking law enforcement officers can’t? Again, I’m requesting that your office officially and independently investigate my charges documented above as those charged with that legal responsibility refuse to do so. And, finally, if your office refuses to investigate my charges, I’d like to know the reason why.


Sincerely,


Joe Keegan