I contacted State Attorney Golden's office again and again and reported the apparent rampant corruption I observed in City Government especially regarding the apparent grand theft ring operating out of City Hall.
I received a letter from the State Attorney, Mr. Curtis Golden, dated May 27, 1999, in response to my letter to him pointing out the illegal activities of City Officials.
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“This will acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 21, 1999. The Office of State Attorney does not do routine law enforcement investigations. Any complaint must be filed with the appropriate law enforcement agency.
I might advise you however that your letter does not set forth sufficient allegations to pursue an investigation.”
Signed Curtis A. Golden
State Attorney
I received a letter from Mr. Wilkinson, dated May 27, 1999, where he informed me that we had a requirement, under the Certificate of Occupancy, for a temporary power installation and fees. I wrote Mr. Wilkinson, dated May 28, 1999, that this did not apply to us as the requirement is only if you are getting a new Certificate of Occupancy. We exchanged letters and phone calls regarding this matter and, as usual, Mr. Wilkinson threatened that our building would sit until it rotted if we did not comply. I complied, went in, paid the fees and completed the paperwork required under the Certificate of Occupancy so we could get the use of our property even though construction laws exempted us from obtaining a new Certificate of Occupancy.
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“Your office was recommended by the local law enforcement agencies as the proper office to pursue misuse of government office.
If you need any additional information, please call me at 850-492-1962. I have a copy of the extensive correspondence I have had with the City over the past year.”
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I received a letter from the State Attorney, Mr. Curtis Golden, dated June 15, 1999.
---------“In reply to your letter of May 28, 1999, I refer you to my letter of May 27, 1999. In your letter of May 28, 1999, you mentioned failure to inform you of a new ordinance. You are advised that an ordinance is a public law of which the general public is presumed to have knowledge. Failure to advise you of the ordinance is not a violation of the public records law.”
Signed Curtis A. Golden
State Attorney---------
I had sent a copy of the letter I had written, dated May 21, 1999, to Mr. Bonfield, the City Manager, to Mr. Golden with my letter of May 28, 1999. In this letter, I had spelled out the apparent trick on the part of City Officials of calling the illegal requirement for a new Certificate of Occupancy on change of tenant “minor changes” in the newspaper advertisement and at the City Council Meeting itself. No reference was made to Certificate of Occupancy in either of these places, which is required under Florida State Statutes. City Officials failed to inform anyone through newspaper ads or at the hearing itself of the true nature of this ordinance, in violation of Florida State Statutes, it was hidden under “minor changes.” It appeared that Mr. Golden ignored this violation of Florida State Statutes and refused to take corrective action even though he was the State Attorney.
In addition, this new requirement was in an Ordinance that was not the approved construction regulation for Pensacola. The approved or official construction regulation still forbade a new Certificate of Occupancy on change of tenant in the same classification.
I wrote and telephoned the State Attorney’s office and spelled out the City Officials’ violation of State Laws, including violating the Florida open record’s law, Florida Statutes regarding extortion in regard to unauthorized fees related to the Certificate of Occupancy, and the apparent scam against over the 50,000 people of Pensacola perpetrated by the false Bugs Bunny comic book requirements requiring a new CO on change of tenant.
Since I had not received an answer from Governor Bush in answer to my letter to him dated February 28, 1999, I again wrote and sent extensive documentation (evidence) to show that under the real construction regulation, the Standard Building Code, a new Certificate of Occupancy was not required on change of tenant. I pointed that we had no change of tenant after the effective date of February 11, 1999. I again explained, in detail, the illegal activities on the part of Mr. Bonfield and Mr. Wilkinson, in that:
They had not modified the Standard Building Code, the construction regulation, but had modified an ordinance which had as much authority on a construction regulation as a Bugs Bunny comic book, to illegally require a new Certificate of Occupancy on change of tenant.
The effective date of the illegal ordinance was February 11, 1999, and there had been no change of tenant on our property since June, 1998, so we did not fall under this illegal ordinance.
I pointed out, again, that their illegal requirements were in violation of local ordinances, Florida State Statutes and federal laws concerning extortion, conspiracy, grand theft, and restoration of historic properties.
In answer, I received the following letter from Governor Bush, dated June 17, 1999.
Once again, it appeared that Governor Jeb Bush had ignored the facts in my letter but had passed me off to someone else instead of stopping the apparent illegal/criminal actions against us, thereby allowing City Officials to apparently continue to scam and swindle us here in Pensacola. Every day we were being cheated out of our life savings, historic artifacts, and building materials we had purchased - mostly vintage.
Governor Jeb Bush stated in paragraph 1:
I sympathize with your difficulty in obtaining the required approvals for a Certificate of Occupancy from the Pensacola Building Inspection Office, but would encourage you to follow the established procedures in your jurisdiction for appealing decisions by the building official. Persons serving on the Construction Board of Appeals are independent of the local government and practice building construction or design, so they should be familiar with the city’s rules and regulations. As they are independent of the city, they are not obligated to follow the decision of your building official. If you are not satisfied with the result at that level, it is my understanding you can appeal to the full city council.
On June 23, 1999, I answered Governor Bush’s letter. I reiterated, again, the illegal activities on the part of Mr. Bonfield and Mr. Wilkinson
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I again wrote to Mr. Bonfield:
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“The City Building Inspection Department needs to do the work they are being paid to do instead of writing ordinances, enforcing nonexistent ordinances, bluffing building owners and lying to us again and again.
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“I received your letter of 6/30/99 in which you state:
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