Manfre faces $1,500 ethics fine

Palm Coast Observer
News

Flagler County Sheriff James Manfre faces a $1,500 fine and restitution of $850.50 for using an official, Sheriff’s Office vehicle for a personal trip out of state. The Florida Ethics Commission, which is handling the case, will rule Dec. 12.

The Ethics Commission case arose from complaints filed by former Sheriff’s Office Finance Director Linda Bolante, who said she was forced to resign in March after noting that the sheriff had used county vehicles for personal trips, and used his Sheriff’s Office credit card inappropriately to buy dinners and drinks. She has sued Manfre.

She made four separate allegations of improper conduct: that Manfre had used agency vehicle three times for personal trips out of state — once to Virginia, where he had a minor car crash and failed to properly report it, once to New Orleans, and once to Tennessee — that he once had his paycheck issued early to buy a fridge; that he used his agency credit card to pay for meals and drinks, including alcoholic drinks for himself and his wife, without submitting receipts; and that he stayed in Undersheriff Rick Staly’s cabin in Tennessee for five nights but failed to promptly report the stay as a gift, as required. Documents detailing the Ethics Commission investigation, an advocate’s recommendations, and Manfre’s lawyer’s response were first posted on FlaglerLive.com.

The Ethics Commission found that Manfre had violated Florida law by using Flagler County Sheriff’s Office vehicles for out-of-state personal transportation. As Manfre agreed to settle for that allegation, the commission dismissed two other charges of which it had found probable cause for a violation — that Manfre had used his FCSO-issued credit card to buy meals for his wife and others, and that he’d failed to properly report the free stay in Staly’s cabin. The cabin usually rents for $370 to $430 per night; Manfre had been charged just a $75 cleaning fee. Staly told the commission he advised Manfre to report the stay as a gift, and that Manfre initially declined, then said he was thinking about it but would claim the rental value as $99 per night. Manfre told the commission he didn’t recall the conversation, and he “did not file a gift disclosure until he learned that this Ethics Complaint was to be filed against him,” according to the commission advocate’s recommendation.

The commission threw out the charge about the early issuance of Manfre’s paycheck, finding that “corrupt intent is not shown, and the act would not be considered inconsistent with the proper performance of (Manfre’s) public duties.”

Manfre admitted that he’d used agency vehicles for personal trips out of state. He told ethics investigators that “during the period of time he took the trips listed, he was under the impression that there was no problem with his using a FCSO vehicle for personal trips because it would allow him to return quickly to Flagler County in the event of an emergency.”

In the first trip, in January 2013, Manfre took an unmarked black Crown Victoria from the Florida Sheriff’s Association conference in Destin to New Orleans for a vacation with his wife. Manfre was pulled over by a state trooper from another state, and called the Sheriff’s Office for car registration information.

The second trip was a May 3-7, 2013, trip to Pigeon Forge in Tennessee, where Manfre stayed in Staly’s cabin. In his first interview with the Ethics Commission about the complaint, Manfre told investigators that he’d driven his own BMW. They checked with the county’s fleet services coordinator, who told them the county’s gas pumps require drivers to enter a car’s odometer reading before filling up. Manfre’s agency-issued white Dodge Charger averaged 450-500 miles between fill-ups for three months including May. But May 2-10, the difference in odometer readings was 1,920 miles, roughly the round-trip mileage from Flagler County to Pigeon Forge.

“In his second interview, (Manfre) stated that it is possible that he used the FCSO vehicle for the Pigeon Forge trip, but he cannot remember,” and that he may have confused that trip with one to Naples. In August 2013, Manfre took the Charger to Virginia, to visit relations and view colleges for his teenage son. There was a minor accident in a parking lot: Someone backed a U-Haul truck into the parked Sheriff’s Office car. Staly noted the damage and suggested Manfre file a report, as required whenever an agency car is damaged. Manfre “replied that he would think about it,” according to the advocate’s recommendation, and “no report was filed.”

The Sheriff’s Office vehicle policy in place at the time had been created by former sheriff Donald Fleming. It stated, “Vehicles will not be taken out of county without permission. All members taking a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office vehicle out of Flagler County must obtain permission from their supervisor.”

Before Fleming had put that policy in place, Manfre had created one during his previous term as sheriff. It stated, “Member(s) who are assigned an Agency vehicle and are scheduled to take annual leave, sick leave, administrative leave or any other leave for five (5) working days or more shall return the Agency vehicle to the FCSO parking area, lock it, and turn the keys over to their immediate supervisor.”

In April 2014, Manfre again changed the policy. Now, non-executive staff employees must obtain permission from the supervisor to take an agency car out of county. Sworn executive staff members “who are subject to emergency recall,” under the new guidelines, “may use their assigned vehicles within a three-hour emergency recall area of Flagler County. … However, in no event shall an agency vehicle be driven out of state while off-duty unless on official business with prior approval.”

In a Q&A in the Palm Coast Observer during his 2012 re-election campaign, Manfre said, “The public should vote for me rather than my opponent due to his pattern of unethical behavior over the past nine months that has affected his credibility and that of the department, I will return the office to community policing, high ethical standards and a business approach to budgeting.” That comment was quoted in the commission advocate’s recommendation. Manfre did not reply to the Palm Coast Observer’s requests for comment.