Some Food for Thought

Imagine that you are one of the many unemployed citizens in Tampa and you are struggling to find a job and put food on the table for your family. Now imagine that your tax dollars are going to someone who wants to spend $50 on cupcakes and $9 on a slice of cheesecake. I'm sure it would make your blood pressure rise just a bit. Well that's exactly what was being done by some of the top executives at the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance (TBWA), an agency funded by tax payer dollars to help put people back to work in Tampa Bay. News Channel 8 Senior Investigative Reporter Steve Andrews helped uncover this misuse of money.

Andrews' investigation began when he received a phone call from a current employee at the TBWA who told him that he should look into the alliance and its spending practices. After months of phone calls and investigative work, Andrews was about to give up on his search, until one employee suggested that he looked into what the alliance was spending on food. Andrews made a public records request and found some odd charges for food that were paid for with government money. He made another records request and found a gold mine of information.

An incredible $20,000 was spent on food by the alliance in the past year, according to Andrews' report. Andrews also found that meetings were held at Outback Steakhouse and Stonewood Grill, and tax payers footed the bill. Meetings were even held at TBWA's President and CEO Renee Gilmore's Temple Terrace home, where food was ordered for delivery. These meetings took place outside of the office despite the fact that the government had recently spent thousands on refurbishing it.

Andrews showed his findings to State Senator Ronda Storms, who was infuriated by the expenditures. This sparked a state investigation on the TBWA and it was found that, in total, $130,000 was spent on food by the alliance, and it was all taken out of the pockets of the taxpayers. The state then investigated all work force alliances in Florida and found that $600,000 of government money was spent on food by the work forces. As a result, the state enforced a rule stating that no work force alliance may spend any money on food until July 1st.

As a result of Andrews' investigation, 3 of the 4 Board of Directors at the TBWA resigned. Renee Gilmore took a leave of absence and was eventually fired. This exposure of government money being wasted was due to Andrews' hard work and determination. His relentless pursuit of contacts and records helped expose the alliance and its misuse of tax payer money. Because of Andrews, we can be assured that we are no longer picking up the tab for these government employees.

If you're interested, you can view this story here.

Money Laundering: Drop Your Pants Here

Public records are used every day by journalists in the newsroom at The Tampa Tribune, however, one man stands above of the rest. Political Reporter William "Windy" March utilizes these records more than any other at the Tribune. They are the backbone of his reporting and that is no truer now than it was in 1996.

During this time, President Bill Clinton was raising soft money for the Democratic Party. While reading an article in the New York Times, March noticed something strange. One of the top 10 donors was a man named Mark Jimenez of Miami. March, a seasoned political reporter in Florida, had never heard of this man, so he decided to investigate this mystery donor. March searched public records on a site called sunbiz.org and found that Jimenez owned Future Tech, Inc., a corporation located in Miami. March then began research at the federal level on fec.gov, the Federal Election Commissions website. Here he found a list of employees at Future Tech who donated the maximum of $1,000 to Clinton's campaign. March researched these individuals further and found that none of them had given money to any other political campaign at any other time.

Something was definitely off here, so March auto tracked these individuals. After receiving a large compilation of public records about them, he found that many of the employees lived in cheap houses and condos in shady parts of Miami. He also found that they drove cheap, older model vehicles. This prompted March to make a trip to Miami himself.

Here he found the employees' small, cheap houses and took pictures of them. He also found that Future Tech was run out of a warehouse and not a large office building. He also found, through public records, that most of the employees who donated money either never voted or weren't registered to vote. March wrote an article on these findings and Jimenez was indicted for money laundering.

Public records were vital to March's extensive investigative work on Jimenez and the money laundering scheme. However, it's worth noting that without doing the leg work like traveling down to Miami and finding these records and homes, the story would not have been as compelling or convincing as it turned out to be. Although public records were a major help to March and his investigation, it was the dedication and hard work of March himself that helped put Jimenez and Future Tech out of business.

The Hillsborough County Tax Collector's Office is a Wealth of Public Information

I never realized how much information can be found at the Hillsborough County Tax Collector's Office (HCTCO) until I heard from Director of Administration and Special Projects of the office Preston Trigg. According to Trigg, the office is a gold mind for information about property taxes, motor vehicles and business taxes. But the best part is, most of the information is public record and can be accessed by anyone.

Some of the most valuable information that can be accessed is under the property tax link on HCTCO's website. Here, users can view how much any property in Hillsborough County is worth. Users can search for these properties by owner name or address. Once you've located the property you wish to view, you can see what the property was appraised for and what the taxes are on the property. You can even see if the owner paid those taxes on time. There is also a link to the property appraiser's website. This site shows a map of the property, how much it was sold for in the past and when it was sold. The site even shows the square footage of the property and what the home is made. You can also view a breakdown of how much of the tax money paid goes where. For example, you can see in list form how much of the tax money is going to schools in the county, public libraries, the transit authority and many other government bodies.

Although these records are made available to the public, many people feel that they should be privatized. Many politicians believe that their information should not be available due to their status in the county. Some even use their spouses name as the primary name on the records, making it more difficult for users to find them. However, according to Trigg, it is very important to keep all of these records available for public viewing. He says that this information is very valuable in preventing fraud. Many times, owners' homes are far more valuable than their income, raising suspicions of investigative reporters about how and where their extra money is coming from.

Overall, Trigg helped me realize just how much information is available from the HCTCO and how valuable it can be to a reporter and to ordinary citizens. The information available is a key source for anyone looking to buy or sell a home. It is also vital to any news organization who takes their role as a watchdog seriously.

To see for yourself, visit hillstax.org

Prevent Crime, Tour a Jail

After a recent visit to the Hillsborough County Jail on Orient Road with my classmates, I came to realize two solid reasons to never commit a crime. First, being in jail looks like the worst place to be in the world, and second, everyone is able to find out about it.

Captain Stein and Deputy Addison work at the Hillsborough County Jail and were kind enough to give us an eye-opening tour. We began by going to a large room which was built specifically for DUI suspects. There, suspects are observed for 20 minutes by an officer to see if they show signs of intoxication. I could only imagine how awkward it must be to have someone stare at you for 20 minutes straight with an unobstructed view and take notes of your every move.

While at the jail, we also saw the booking area where newly arrested suspects are taken for processing. There, I noticed that fingerprinting was no longer done with ink, but with sophisticated machinery that copies all fingers and the palm, which creates a more accurate database. Also, any possessions that were on the arrestee are logged and kept in a separate area of booking.

We were also taken into what is called a pod. This is the area where many prisoners await trial or serve their sentenced time. The pod was two stories and had small, one door cells on the outside walls. There was also a small outdoor courtyard where inmates could get fresh air and play basketball. The pods are monitored by officers who, according to Captain Stein, work closely with the inmates and get to know them quite well.

The final part of our tour took us to the public records section of the jail. This area is currently under construction and is being expanded to make room for the huge amount of records available at the jail. This area, as well as Captain Stein, opened my eyes to the fact that everything done in the jail is public record. However, some records can be difficult to obtain because of ongoing cases. Also, records are sent to the Attorney General’s office before there are available to the public, which can make access to the records somewhat difficult.

Overall, the visit to the Orient Road Jail helped me better understand how public records can be utilized by journalists, students and anyone else who seeks them. The visit was also a friendly reminder to continue to follow the law.

The Technologically Advanced Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

After a visit to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, I realized that the sheriff’s office has an incredible amount of technology that it utilizes every day. Public Information Officer Deputy Larry McKinnon and Cristal Bermudez in media relations helped better explain their use of new technology in regards to public records.

One of the most efficient changes to the public records system at HCSO is how police officers file general offense information. Officers used to have to write out these reports on paper and these thousands of offense reports began to become a hassle to store and find. Deputy McKinnon said that all of these records were once kept in a large storage facility. Upon entering the building, you could see boxes staked all the way to the roof containing hundreds of different offense reports in each box. Officers can now file these same reports electronically on their laptops. This allows multiple people to review the report at the same time and saves thousands of dollars a month in paper waste.

Also, the sheriff’s office posts some of its public records online. Individual charge reports and other records can now be viewed at a click of a mouse. HCSO’s website can also lead you to press releases that media relations have created in order to inform the public of what is going on with their sheriff’s office. Photos of suspects and even videos can be posted to these press releases. These press releases are also an instant way to deliver information to the media. Users can also find links on these press releases that lead to more public records regarding offenders spoken about in the release. The sheriff’s office even has its own You Tube channel. Here you can view uninterrupted press conferences held by HCSO.

The 911 call center at HCSO also has amazing technology that helps dispatchers send help as quickly as possible. Computers there enable call takers to contact different departments, like EMS, just by clicking a single button. These computers, along with GPS, also track the phones of those calling and can show deputies available in the area that can respond to any emergency.

Overall, I was amazed at how HCSO utilizes so many forms of technology. I can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next.