On the afternoon of April 5, 2000, I received a letter from Ms. Ustick, dated March 29, 2000, notifying me that my paperwork had been forwarded to the Escambia County Contractor’s Competency Board for them to handle this matter. She notified me that, “According to Ms. Judy Hardy, your case has been referred for review by the County Competency Board, which is scheduled for April 5, 2000 at 9:00am.” Even though the letter was dated March 29, 2000, the envelope was postmarked April 4, 2000. This meant that I could not have received the letter before the afternoon of April 5, 2000, which prevented me from attending the meeting. A copy of the letter and envelope from Ms. Ustick follows:
The person who scheduled this matter to be reviewed, Ms. Hardy, did not contact me about the meeting. I had not been informed of this meeting by either City Officials or County Officials in time to attend. This is similar to Mr. Wilkinson’s secret hearing where I was also not informed so that I could attend.
The review was to discuss Mr. Wilkinson’s findings (he found nothing wrong) and Mr. DeStefano’s findings (he found nothing wrong). The County Competency Board also found nothing wrong during this review and reported the investigation to Florida State authorities as finished and that they had found nothing wrong. I wrote Mr. Mayo on April 5, 2000, notifying him that the letter telling me of this meeting came too late for me to attend.
I wrote Ms. Ustick, on April 5, 2000, the afternoon I received her letter notifying me of this meeting, and told her that the notice came too late for me to attend. I also notified Ms. Ustick that “there appears to be a large construction theft ring operating in Pensacola.” No steps were taken by Mr. Bonfield or Ms. Ustick to investigate the “theft ring,” stop the stealing or locate and return stolen property which in our case consisted of historic artifacts, building materials and money spent on false requirements.
I wrote Ms. Ustick, on April 5, 2000, the afternoon I received her letter notifying me of this meeting, and told her that the notice came too late for me to attend. I also notified Ms. Ustick that “there appears to be a large construction theft ring operating in Pensacola.” No steps were taken by Mr. Bonfield or Ms. Ustick to investigate the “theft ring,” stop the stealing or locate and return stolen property which in our case consisted of historic artifacts, building materials and money spent on false requirements.
I wrote a letter to the Assistant City Manager, Ms. Ustick, dated May 11, 2000, where I told her I had received no answer to my letter to her of April 5, 2000, in which I asked her to:
Find out why I did not receive notification (by her letter) of the hearing on April 5, 2000, until after the hearing was over (the second time this had happened).
Find out what happened to my stolen historic artifacts discussed between Mr. Wilkinson, Mr. DeStefano, Mr. Miller, and Mr. McFatter at their secret hearing.
Mr. DeStefano’s official report stated that my property (historic artifacts, building materials, etc.) was being held by Mr. Miller as Mr. Miller stated that I owed him money. This was not true and I had submitted all invoices, all paid in full, from Mr. Miller. Even if I owed him money, which I did not, grand theft if not authorized and was a felony. A mechanic’s lien was the proper action if a contractor believed he was owed money. All parties in this illegal hearing have refused to divulge what happened to my stolen property, most of it irreplaceable historic artifacts, 120 years old, most made of heart pine (which is now extinct) and/or mahogany. Neither of the public officials at this meeting, Mr. Wilkinson or Mr. DeStefano or their supervisors reported this apparent grand theft to the authorities which is required by Florida Law.
I also addressed other problems caused by City Officials that I had brought to the attention of the City Manager, Mr. Bonfield, and the Assistant City Manager, Ms. Ustick, many times.
In response, I received a letter from Ms. Ustick, dated May 23, 2000, where she stated,
“Thank you for your letter, dated May 11, 2000, describing your concerns with the policies and procedures of the Inspections Department. I am in the process of looking into your allegations and will be providing a written report once my review of Inspections Department policies is complete.
Thank you for your patience and congratulations on winning the North Hill award for the restoration of your historic property.”
I received a letter from DBPR, dated May 11, 2000, requesting that I complete and return the complaint forms they sent. Remember, I have diligently reported the apparent illegal/criminal actions against us by “professionals” to DBPR on several occasions, sent them extensive documentation, and yet they have previously stated that they could see nothing wrong. I completed and returned the forms they had sent.
I attended the Pensacola City Council Meeting on May 25, 2000, and, again, raised the problems I had previously raised at City Council Meetings. The minutes of this meeting can be located at www.ci.pensacola.fl under council minutes for May 25, 2000. I also discussed City Officials not mailing, until April 4, 2000, the letter of notification that a hearing would be held on April 5, 2000, at the Escambia County Competency Board concerning my case.
I had sent a copy of the letter, from Ms. Ustick, dated March 29, 2000, (which notified me of the hearing on April 5, 2000, and a copy of the envelope postmarked April 4, 2000 so that we received the notice to attend after the meeting was over) to Mayor Fogg, the City Manager, Mr. Bonfield, and all City Council Members. Only Councilwoman Jones and Councilwoman Thompson appeared to be concerned about the continued failure by City Staff to notify me of pertinent hearings that I should attend.
As you can see from the minutes, pages 37-43, Mr. Bonfield refused to admit that the City Staff was responsible for not notifying me of the hearing in a timely manner.
Even though I have frequently furnished all City Council Members with documentation clearly presenting many actions on the part of City Staff which were in violation of City Ordinances and Florida State Statutes, Councilman Wiggins stated, on page 40 of the minutes,
“We may have disputes, we may have disagreements, but I think when someone stands up and says, “Your staff is breaking the law,” that’s a pretty tough accusation to make, and I quite frankly don’t believe it. Our staff is good.”
What about the illegal Certificate of Occupancy requirement on change of tenant which was against construction law? What about my stolen artifacts, stolen building materials and abandoned prepaid projects? What about the Pensacola Police Department refusing to arrest Mr. Miller, even though he admitted he took my property? What about the Pensacola Police Department refusing to secure my stolen property. These are only a few examples where City Staff appeared to be breaking the law.
I wrote a letter to Ms. Ustick, dated June 23, 2000. In response,
I received a letter from Ms. Ustick, dated June 26, 2000, where she stated:
“This will acknowledge receipt of your letter dated June 23, 2000. Your complaints about City staff and City procedures regarding renovation of your building at 520 North Spring Street are still being reviewed. Because of the nature and volume of your complaints, it is taking an extended period of time to review and prepare an appropriate response. It is anticipated that our written report to the City Council will be finalized sometime prior to the August 17, 2000, City Council meeting and you will be provided with a copy of this report.”
Mr. Mayo fired Mr. DeStefano as the Investigator for the Escambia County Contractor Competency Board and assigned Mr. Lynn Adams to that position. Unfortunately, Mr. Adams was an electrical inspector one day and the Investigator for the Board the next day. It appears that, except for limited knowledge in his own field, he had no knowledge of and/or background in the Standard Building Code, Florida State Statutes, or Escambia County Ordinances defining contractor misconduct.
Mr. Adams called me, informed me that he was the new investigator, and asked that I resubmit all information I had previously submitted to Mr. DeStefano and that I meet with him at the property. I did.
I wrote a letter to Mr. Adams, dated July 7, 2000, thanked him for meeting with me and forwarded another package containing extensive documentation about the case.
I again wrote Ms. Ustick on June 23, 2000.
I again wrote Ms. Ustick on June 23, 2000.
12525 Meadson Road
Pensacola, Fl 32506
June 23, 2000
Pensacola, Fl 32506
June 23, 2000
Ms. Maryann Ustick
Assistant City Manager
P. O. Box 12910
Pensacola, Fl 32521-0053
Dear Ms. Ustick
I have received no response to the issues raised in my letters dated April 5, 2000 and May 11, 2000. Your letter of May 23, 2000, a month ago, stated that you were looking into the
allegations, but it seems that you are still ignoring my concerns.
I explained that:
1) Mr. Wilkinson knows of 120-year-old artifacts and building materials stolen from me by
Mr. Miller. I want an inventory of the stolen property.
2) Pensacola has a large construction theft ring aided by questionable Building Inspection Department policies.
3) Mr. Wilkinson illegally dismisses valid complaints against contractors and does not inform property owners of available avenues, declaring every situation a civil matter.
4) The Pensacola Building Inspection Department and some local contractors seem to be involved in permit selling. Qualified contractors pulling permits for contractors not qualified is a common practice here, overlooked by the Building Inspection Department.
Ms. Ustick, you really need to correct this situation. Mr. Delmus Wilkinson, the head of the Building Inspection Department, the former Mrs. Delmus Wilkinson, his assistant head and some of the building inspectors need to be dismissed for incompetence, breaking the law and perhaps even aiding and abetting contractors who commit grand theft.
As always, I will be happy to answer any questions. I can be reached at 850-492-1962 or faxed at 850-491-1205.
Sincerely,
Mary M. Mead
Cc: Mr. Bonfield, Chief Potts
Council Members
On July 9, 2000, I wrote a letter to the Pensacola City Council and City Staff bringing them up to date.
I attended the Pensacola City Council Meeting on July 13, 2000, and spoke, pages 44-48. On page 44 of the minutes, I asked that the Pensacola City Council investigate actions on the part of City Staff which appeared to be illegal.
Councilman Nobles cautioned me that my statements “are also libelous terms and I would caution you about using those statements unless you’ve got proof and you’re willing to stand up in front of a court of law and prove this.” I told him that I was. Councilman Nobles should have said “slanderous” terms as libel refers to written statements and slander refers to verbal statements. Councilman Nobles should have known I had proof as I had sent him extensive documentation to support my statements. His attitude appeared to be mainly to try to publicly intimidate me to stop requesting that City Officials stop breaking the law, return my stolen property and charge those who are breaking the law as defined in Florida State Statutes; and also to verbally intimidate me to serve as a lesson to others about what they faced if they spoke up.
Assistant City Attorney Fleming tried very hard on pages 45 and 46 to charge me with stating that the State Attorney’s Office had recommended that a grand jury be convened concerning this matter. I did not state that but I did state that an individual in the State Attorney’s Office told me that there were many options that the Pensacola City Council could use to investigate and correct what appeared to be crimes (mostly felonies) being committed by City Staff and that convening a grand jury was just one of those options he listed. I had sent a letter to City Staff and members of the City Council, dated July 9, 2000, prior to this meeting spelling this out in detail so I didn’t understand the supposed confusion at the City Council Meeting. The Pensacola Police Chief was in attendance, apparently ready to swoop down and arrest me, on the spot, if I could be trapped into misquoting the State Attorney’s Office.
The State Attorney had so far refused to do anything to stop the apparent illegal/criminal actions against us so I was very careful not to misquote his office staff as they appeared to be hostile to me when I asked them to do the job they were assigned and paid to do. But they appeared to be friendly to City Officials who appeared to be breaking the law.
