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Chastain: No contest to Sunshine infraction
By JUSTIN LANG jlang@lakecityreporter.com
The Florida Crown Workforce Executive Director decided not to contest a civil infraction for aiding and abetting a Sunshine Law violation brought by the State Attorney's Office.
At a 11 a.m. pre-trial hearing at the Columbia County Courthouse in the offices of Circuit Judge Vernon Douglas Tuesday, Assistant State Attorney Bob Dekle said John Chastain wished to not contest the infraction.
Chastain had previously said he would be "exonerated."
Dekle said he was told Chastain now acknowledged the violation as an "error in judgment" but is furthermore "on the path to righteousness" and conceded the state's request for a penalty to the court.
On the recommendation of Paul Silverman, Florida Crown board attorney, Douglas fined Chastain $100 for court costs. The maximum penalty for the civil infraction is $500.
"We are very sensitive now to Sunshine Law," Silverman said. "If two board members were to enter into a restroom together, one would walk away."
Though he said there is no history of Sunshine Law violations at Florida Crown and "there've been hundreds and hundreds of meetings published correctly," Silverman recognized the organization had become "lax" in adhering to the open meeting and records statutes.
He said there was no harm to the public by Chastain's violation and that Florida Crown has taken corrective actions to educate its board members about Sunshine Law to ensure it doesn't happen again. Silverman also told Douglas Chastain doesn't need a fine to make him aware of the infraction.
As the infraction was not contested, it will officially be recorded as a Sunshine Law violation by the court.
Before the hearing, almost 20 people were waiting outside Douglas' office.
In the small room, Chastain sat quietly beside Silverman and was joined by Florida Crown Board representatives including Chairman Ralph Tyre and Vice Chairman Alonzo Philmore.
When asked by Douglas if he wished to comment, Chastain declined.
After the hearing, Silverman told the Lake City Reporter the decision not to contest the civil infraction was made over the past few weeks.
"Mr. Chastain decided it was not in the best interest of the board to have a trial," he said.
The State Attorney's Office filed a civil complaint against Chastain in December. On Jan. 19, Silverman filed a response stating Chastain officially denied the alleged violation.
The complaint was heard in circuit court because it was assigned a CA (circuit civil action) number by the Clerk of Courts' Office. The complaint stemmed from alleged improprieties made in August against Chastain by former Florida Crown employee Frankie Law.
An internal subcommittee of the Florida Crown Board was formed to investigate the allegations, but later disbanded after deciding it couldn't make an objective recommendation.
A report from Agency for Workforce Innovation Inspector General James Matthews substantiated Sunshine Law violations. According to Matthews' report, "evidence provided by both the complainant (Law) and the Executive Director (Chastain) strongly indicates that meetings have been held that did not comply with Florida Statutes governing public meetings."
Matthews' report says Chastain sent an e-mail on July 17, 2002, to certain board and staff members asking how to "get around" the Sunshine Law statutes to hold a meeting with short notice.
According to a complaint filed by Dekle on Dec. 16, on July 17, 2002, Chastain "did then and there unlawfully and willfully" cause members of the Florida Crown board to violate Sunshine Law.
Despite not contesting the infraction, Silverman said he still believes no meeting was held on July 17 and Chastain would have won a trial had he decided to proceed.
After Tuesday's hearing, Silverman produced documents to the Lake City Reporter with an e-mail allegedly from Chastain on July 17, 2002, and recent affidavits from board members Perley Richardson and Craig Womer recalling no meeting took place a year and a half ago.
Though the Florida Crown Board recommended to make procedural changes because of the allegations, like training on Sunshine Law, it did not reprimand Chastain or call for his resignation.
At a 11 a.m. pre-trial hearing at the Columbia County Courthouse in the offices of Circuit Judge Vernon Douglas Tuesday, Assistant State Attorney Bob Dekle said John Chastain wished to not contest the infraction.
Chastain had previously said he would be "exonerated."
Dekle said he was told Chastain now acknowledged the violation as an "error in judgment" but is furthermore "on the path to righteousness" and conceded the state's request for a penalty to the court.
On the recommendation of Paul Silverman, Florida Crown board attorney, Douglas fined Chastain $100 for court costs. The maximum penalty for the civil infraction is $500.
"We are very sensitive now to Sunshine Law," Silverman said. "If two board members were to enter into a restroom together, one would walk away."
Though he said there is no history of Sunshine Law violations at Florida Crown and "there've been hundreds and hundreds of meetings published correctly," Silverman recognized the organization had become "lax" in adhering to the open meeting and records statutes.
He said there was no harm to the public by Chastain's violation and that Florida Crown has taken corrective actions to educate its board members about Sunshine Law to ensure it doesn't happen again. Silverman also told Douglas Chastain doesn't need a fine to make him aware of the infraction.
As the infraction was not contested, it will officially be recorded as a Sunshine Law violation by the court.
Before the hearing, almost 20 people were waiting outside Douglas' office.
In the small room, Chastain sat quietly beside Silverman and was joined by Florida Crown Board representatives including Chairman Ralph Tyre and Vice Chairman Alonzo Philmore.
When asked by Douglas if he wished to comment, Chastain declined.
After the hearing, Silverman told the Lake City Reporter the decision not to contest the civil infraction was made over the past few weeks.
"Mr. Chastain decided it was not in the best interest of the board to have a trial," he said.
The State Attorney's Office filed a civil complaint against Chastain in December. On Jan. 19, Silverman filed a response stating Chastain officially denied the alleged violation.
The complaint was heard in circuit court because it was assigned a CA (circuit civil action) number by the Clerk of Courts' Office. The complaint stemmed from alleged improprieties made in August against Chastain by former Florida Crown employee Frankie Law.
An internal subcommittee of the Florida Crown Board was formed to investigate the allegations, but later disbanded after deciding it couldn't make an objective recommendation.
A report from Agency for Workforce Innovation Inspector General James Matthews substantiated Sunshine Law violations. According to Matthews' report, "evidence provided by both the complainant (Law) and the Executive Director (Chastain) strongly indicates that meetings have been held that did not comply with Florida Statutes governing public meetings."
Matthews' report says Chastain sent an e-mail on July 17, 2002, to certain board and staff members asking how to "get around" the Sunshine Law statutes to hold a meeting with short notice.
According to a complaint filed by Dekle on Dec. 16, on July 17, 2002, Chastain "did then and there unlawfully and willfully" cause members of the Florida Crown board to violate Sunshine Law.
Despite not contesting the infraction, Silverman said he still believes no meeting was held on July 17 and Chastain would have won a trial had he decided to proceed.
After Tuesday's hearing, Silverman produced documents to the Lake City Reporter with an e-mail allegedly from Chastain on July 17, 2002, and recent affidavits from board members Perley Richardson and Craig Womer recalling no meeting took place a year and a half ago.
Though the Florida Crown Board recommended to make procedural changes because of the allegations, like training on Sunshine Law, it did not reprimand Chastain or call for his resignation.
. wrote on Jan 30, 2008 11:01 AM: