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Time to Separate the Wheat from the Tares

The phrase, “God helps those that help themselves”, is thrown around liberally without much thought put into the sentiment. In the last few days, I have been wrangling with this saying anything about this video. While I believe Chip is the only one who can potentially mitigate the damage done internally to the ECSO, he also disappoints me greatly. I know that he knows the story and still chose to make the following video:

What the actual fuck is all I could say. You know, sometimes people can’t get out of their own way. That is exactly what this video represents. Having said that, the only thing that can be done is to lay all the cards on the table. So let’s get to work separating the good from the bad, shall we?

Everyone, at some point, in life has to make a choice that defines them. This is the time for Chip. The biggest unkept secret in the ECSO is the citizenship status of Alejandra Duda. Some time ago, Sheriff Morgan was told about Ms. Duda being a citizen currently, but she came to the country illegally. Her parents used a relatives name and social security number to get her into school. Ms. Duda, married, divorced, bought property under the fraudulent social security number. She did so in a couple of states prior to becoming a citizen.

Deputy Ray Briggs did an investigation on this when it came up, years back. He took these finding including a video of Duda telling the tale of her illegal immigration to Sheriff Morgan. Briggs was told to bury it and after maintaining a copy of the investigation, Briggs did just that. This was the end of the issue, until other employees saw the Latina getting preferential treatment. The bigger office chair…..a new car.

Others have come to Chip to tell him of this situation. However, Chip claims that after talking to people, he was assured the feds simply merged the fraudulent social into the new legal social and all is good.

Now when I heard that, I busted out laughing. But I did ask people “in the know” who assured me this doesn’t work that way and it could be no further from the truth. ICE doesn’t merge illegal socials into legal ones. And the fact Chip is not looking any further should concern everyone.

He is now an accomplice and by releasing this video, puts himself in the position to be blown away. Enemies of his could easily detonate this bomb and there is no plausible deniability here. This woman has defrauded the United States. And Chip’s ignorance of the details, by his own choice, is not a legitimate defense. He knows this is wrong but he chooses to stick his head in the sand. This just confirms the Morgan legacy of lying and covering things up is going to continue.

Put this all on top of the rest of the things Chip has let slide.

No one was punished for the incomprehensible neglect of the Jadekiss case.

No one was punished for the destruction/tampering of evidence in the Manning Case.

Employees that are clearly sabotaging the agency and the community sit in comfortable chairs, drawing a salary. I know I’ve heard this will all take care of itself in January, but that is extremely naive to think that anyone will look at the what will be long past cases to review. But what Chip doesn’t understand is that the good people hanging on til January, see these other people who are NEVER held accountable. Hell, I’ll say it; if following the laws or rules is optional, why the hell is there a sheriff’s department?

As someone who sees both candidates for who they are, Escambia is screwed with either choice for sheriff. I am extremely underwhelmed by Chip.

Chip, as I have said MANY times, what is your stand? Let the criminal acts depicted in this video continue, in the hopes that one of your political enemies doesn’t take this particular case, you have flaunted in everyone’s faces, and run to ICE, DOJ or the FBI or are you going to do the right thing?

What’s it going to be?

Ever Dance with Devil in Pale Moon Light?

I have been a keen observer of Pensacola politics for 6 years.  Before that, I spent 25 years as a passive, generalist of political news. I knew the headlines and heard the talk but I couldn’t tell you specifics most of the time. During that time (the past 31 years), I have seen some of the most extraordinary stories like the dead baby taken to the Brownsville Revival, Fred Levin claiming he found dead canaries, Jake Horton’s plane crashing into a subdivision, the King brothers, Tim McVeigh’s connection to Pensacola via his sister, the collard green scandal between WD Childers and Willie Junior.

I thought I had seen blatant corruption before but looking at Chip Simmons’s campaign donations is one for the books.  Chip has been long favored by law enforcement and public alike for his charm, charisma and/or looks.  He is the epitome of the Hometown Guy everybody roots for, but I see something different. I see a persona, known and well liked publicly, who was drawn in by a true criminal, Morgan by some sort of back room promise of support, I’m sure. Then I see, this pro-LEO down-home guy, beloved by all, standing silent while the inmates run and rundown the asylum. As Haines’s propaganda and vendettas against his employees runs rampant, Morgan shows his inner child by throwing tantrums about the BOCC and deputy pay (which still has not been given to deputies yet, despite the fact the ECSO has had the money on the books for weeks). So where was the good guy while all this was going on? Where is the advocate for the deputies while they are dealing with Haines and hearing the public lies about the budget from Sir David?  I see an ineffectual cog in the wheel, too scared or too compromised to lead the agency out of the current wasteland state.  But I digress.

The problem with the contributions to Chip is in the numbers he’s banked in just 3 short months. With 2+ years until election day, and being currently UNOPPOSED, Chip has raised $88K.  That number alone isn’t problematic; it is more who contributed.chip_Page_01chip_Page_02chip_Page_03chip_Page_04chip_Page_05chip_Page_06chip_Page_07chip_Page_08chip_Page_09chip_Page_10chip_Page_11chip_Page_12chip_Page_13

**Please note also the most common work-around in the political contributions area. $1000 cap is set for all persons and businesses. So people have every employee, household member, and then, their corporate donations on the books. Essentially, one entity can give numerous thousands by using this simple work-around.

So here’s the concern: the number of “money people” and “important people” who have backed him.  He’s unopposed and still has 2+ years left….why amass this much so early?  One theory was that, this “war chest” will prevent competition.  Well, that is certainly true because there are not enough of the money people left to catch up to Chip.

Another theory was that he needs this kind of money to prepare for the advertising in a Presidential Election year.  While that may be legitimate, the fact he is unopposed seems to negate that.

What I see, however, is that Chip has favors he will owe each donor. That money is paying for someone’s kids’s DUI, another guy’s domestic violence 9-1-1 call, and yet another’s need to get out a drug charge.  Chip’s integrity is chipped away in every donation. That has always been the way it is and Chip is savvy enough to know that.

Corruption is alive and well in Escambia County. Remember, also, these same money people backed Sir David. We’ve seen that no criminal, unethical or immoral act he has committed has been punished because of his political backing exclusively. While Chip, presumably, has functional moral compass, at least according to reputation, he’s giving away his soul with every donation. We are seeing how corruption swallows the souls of presumably good men.  This is going to be a good before-and-after story.

CHIP DEVIL

Commentary on the Escambia County Sheriff’s Forum May 23, 2016

I don’t know what to say. Should I start with the biased reporting of Kevin Robinson by claiming John Johnson “attacked” Sir David? Mr. Robinson does not understand the meaning of the word “attack” if he thinks that is what Johnson did.  Johnson merely unveiled the current conditions to the people. Morgan likes to whitewash the community erosion by saying it does not exist.  Escambia County isn’t Never Never Land. It evokes the tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes.  Sir David would have the citizens believe his rhetoric over the statistics, experiences of people around him. Let’s not forget the community vulnerability that cannot be explained away. Citizens are targets in their own sanctuary of Escambia County.  Where there is smoke, someone should be looking for fire.

Finally, to end this rant of bias by PNJ, Mr. Robinson, being a journalist, you should have a better grasp of vocabulary. Could you have used more legitimate wording?  Certainly! Challenged, confronted, impeached are all better descriptions of the dynamics of the forum. Unless Robinson’s vitriol was part of the propaganda machine of Team Morgan, there is no reasonable explanation of Robinson’s choice of words.  Ignorance or Venom—you decide.

P.S.

Mr. Robinson, do you or the PNJ get LET money to provide endorsements of political candidates?

Issues in the Forum

One of the most conspicuous things I noticed was roughly 19 minutes into the video. The moderator noted the long-standing corruption problem and asked what the candidates would do to increase public trust in the ethical (snicker) behavior of public officials. Sir David either misunderstood the question or he chose not to address “ethical behavior”. Funny how there is no reference to the “Good Ole Boy crew” he claims to have removed with McNesby. He’s put that song and dance to bed. Apparently, his hypocrisy has some limitations.

But He does jump into the fact he doesn’t have a “hate-filled Facebook page”.  What does that have to do with corruption or even unethical behavior? It is social media and campaign ads are simply not unethical.  What is unethical is putting a senior officer on admin leave for something that is purely a civil action between his mother and another officer. What is unethical is the targeting of personnel that do not agree with you and forcing another senior officer into early retirement for liking a anti-Morgan Facebook post. How about targeting women and minorities to make their employment environment a living hell of discrimination and condescension? These are unethical.

Perhaps Mr. Robinson and Sir David should take the same vocabulary lessons.

I could continue with the 10+ blatant prevarications & misdirections throughout the forum but I want to discuss something more offensive.  Sir David repeatedly started bombastic, defensive proclamations with “If Escambia County is so bad”.  This is a tragic effort to validate his re-election campaign by trying to bring the virtues of the county to light. He tried to take credit for everything Escambia County great.

So why do I care? There seems to be a perception that I am an outside agitator. That is far from the truth.  I spent the majority of my life in Escambia County.  I came to live with my Dad in 1986. He was a fisherman and a supervisor for BE&K (worked at International Paper).

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His name was Jim Barnett (that’s why I’m Jimmie). My Dad was an exceptional man in a very un-exceptional world. He was a straight-shooter that people tended to love. His friends will attest to that, I was the pride and joy of his life. As his only child, he spoiled me rotten but in that, he did teach me the difference in right & wrong.

He passed away May 23, 1997. He was a veteran and was buried in Barrancas. There will always be a part of me in Pensacola.

I told that story to talk about the greatness of Escambia County, despite Sir David’s damage. Escambia County is not “so bad” as he would make it sound but he has been detrimental to entire county. He had no hand in making Escambia great, therefore he doesn’t have the power to take away that greatness.

The things that make Escambia great are the people, the values and the ability to live in a community for decades and NOT HAVE TO LOCK THE DOORS. By systematically fleecing the taxpayers, disrespecting the deputies and insulting the citizens, Sir David attempts to blame the community, but I submit to you that he cannot take away anything the constituency doesn’t allow him to take.

As for the disease of corruption, Sir David is patient zero. He is currently the biggest albatross Escambia County has. It is not the Sheriff Dept—it is him. He is either psychopathically delusional or sociopathically indifferent to the crime problem in the county. Sir David is the nexus of racism and discrimination in ECSO as well.  A double digit number of employees have filed lawsuits for discrimination, civil rights violations and hostile work environment.  DOUBLE DIGIT.  This is the largest number in recent history. Ronnie Mc did not have this sort of litigiousness.  When there are this many people seeking judicial relief because of animus at work, maybe it is time to consider the Sheriff is the problem.

In any other job, if you fail so completely by maliciously endangering the community, you get fired or arrested. If you misappropriate money, you go to jail. Why is Sir David allowed to sit in his office? Only the people of Escambia County can unseat this albatross.

Make Pensacola great again, VOTE MORGAN OUT-2016.

 

 

“MAJOR DRUG BUST” Purely Accidental

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Sir David got some face time with this drug bust done several days ago. He was out of town at a marketing conference in New Orleans. This also allowed him time to develop this overblown story of a 4 year investigation that culminated in the seizure of $500K  of drugs.  There are many details of this “investigation” that are being propagated & are false.

To clarify, this pursuit may have been originated 4 years ago, but was it continually worked and on-going? The answer is yes and no. The dealer, Alfred Hayes, went by the nickname “E”. E has been tracked by a “stingray”. The deputies got a line that a deal was going down but prematurely hit the house only to find the money for drugs and no actual drugs. The money “was seized” but no arrests were made and paradoxically, the money was never recorded at the ECSO.

This week, the “bust” in the spotlight, a source who was inside the holding area reported Melissa Buchanan was stopped on a routine traffic stop. No one knows her from Adam. She is in possession and trafficking of a quantity of methamphetamine and is taken into custody. In the holding room at the ECSO, she is overheard trying to cover her own ass to try to make a deal. She calls E but he’s callous as to her arrest but she gives him 30 minutes to arrange her release. After the time expired, in her panic and feeling of being shunned, she dimed him and his cousins out. E is the grandson of a woman that owns a nursing home. The family had been selling prescription drugs of people who had passed on.  This is common knowledge in the community.

The prevarication of events in the press conference were a self-serving narrative developed over the days following these arrests for maximum political collateral for Sir David’s re-election efforts.  An accidental arrest turned sting…not a prolonged investigative effort that finally paid off.  Misdirection and misrepresentation of events…sounds vaguely familiar for the stories Sir David likes to deliver to the unknowing people of the county.

 

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Mr. Money, Sir David Morgan

So Sir David gives all this money to special interests in return for campaign contributions, but personally, he supports very little. In being valued at over $1 million last year, he and Susan gave away $4600 in charitable donations. This year, so far, they paid off $92K on their home. Where is all this money and real estate boom coming from? Is there anyone else besides Bill Eddins who is showing this kind of financial growth out of a public servant’s pay??

Charitable gifts

2012- $2380

2013- $3795

2014-$4640

Seriously, I got all over Gene Valentino’s ass about being so caught up in money, but he has a business that he profits from. This is supposed to be something else.

So in comparing Country Boy Bill Eddins net worth from 2013-2015, there is no wealth growth nearly close to Morgan’s. He owns more real estate, yet his net worth doesn’t grow exponentially year over year.  These are apples and apples being compared…WTF??

 

Morgan’s Net Worth

net worth
7 mos after the last disclosure= $188,998.60 or approx $27K a month–DAMN

 

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* Note: I do realize his wife’s income is included. However, she is a professor at Pensacola State. Her income is far from lucrative. They have a few rental properties but they are low end. There is also $100k/yr in pure pensions for them both. That on top of the $145+k/yr as Sheriff STILL DOESN’T EXPLAIN THIS AMOUNT OF WEALTH. The problematic part is the high flux of the numbers. $27 K a month?  Really??

The Angry Man@the GOP Sheriff Forum

Wow! That is the only thing I can say.

I read about John Johnson’s speech. It didn’t go as planned. He tried to make a point by asking if women and children felt safe going to Walmart after 9pm. The woman he asked didn’t play along. She said she did…OOPS!

Next I watched Doug Baldwin’s speech.

I was very impressed with Baldwin’s articulation, coolness and value based approach. While I don’t necessarily agree with his politics, he was very persuasive. Hell, one of Ronnie Mac’s biggest supporters told me he was there and he would have voted for Baldwin had the election been held that night. He was that swayed by Baldwin’s speech.

Then I watched this:

This is just an attack on the people of the county. Sir David has lost his shit!  He’s an angry man. He has NOTHING positive to say and basically says “Don’t judge me; I didn’t want this job to begin with”.

To that I say, I agree…you should just move along, because you have just pillaged the people of Escambia County. His reluctance to be a politician was so overtly a lie. He’s always wanted to be the center of attention. His $30,000 smile is proof of that. Plus if he was so reluctant, why is he running for a third term since he clearly feels under-appreciated?  No one buys that BS.

Yeah, you used county money to feed into religious organizations that, in turn, contributed to you. Should we look at each agency you donated to, compare the staff of said organization with donations within proximate timing of their campaign contributions to you and see how that shakes out?

Again he went on about “parsed words”.

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Needless to say, my feelings in regards to his speech, was a bit angry at how he blamed everyone and said crime statistics don’t show Escambia County is a more dangerous place. Numbers don’t lie. This is just January – June 2015 compared to the entire year of 2014. Already there is a big disparity that is absolutely unexcuseable.

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Mr. Morgan, coming from I’m sure what you’d call, “a coward behind a keyboard”, as a sheriff, you are a liar and a FAILURE. Your job is to make Escambia County safe…no, ifs ands, or buts. The buck stops with you. Can’t take the heat? Get out of the fire or the reluctantly held seat that you didn’t want to start with?

VMO2016 #5-Sheriff Morgan’s Money Handling Skills Need Attention

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In September 2015, Sir David jeopardized the Filipino-American Club’s tax exempt status. As a 501(c)3 non-profit, they have to abstain from political activity in any form and be complete apolitical . Yet they rented out their building, which they own, to the Republican candidate Morgan. This is violation that the IRS does not let slide easily. This was one of many of Morgan’s “karaoke night” fundraisers which fellow blogger Dr. James Scamanaci was escorted out of by Chief Deputy Haines even though he paid the $10 donation entrance fee to the event.  Yes, I said entrance fee and donation in the same sentence.

But the onus was not merely on the Filipino-American Club, Sir David should have done his due diligence to not put a supportive organization under the gun for involvement in his campaign, but he didn’t.  Not that anyone is surprised.

Florida Statute 106
(b) Candidates, political committees, affiliated party committees, and political parties may not solicit contributions from any religious, charitable, civic, or other causes or organizations established primarily for the public good.
(c) Candidates, political committees, affiliated party committees, and political parties may not make contributions, in exchange for political support, to any religious, charitable, civic, or other cause or organization established primarily for the public good.

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But WAIT, THERE’S MORE……

 

On October 27, 2015, the Irish Politicians Club hosted a fundraiser with high dollar people, supposedly in attendance, like Sandy Sansing & Jim Reeves.  These guys give and give big.  Yet look at the total amount of contributions reported for this “high dollar” event.Candidate Reports - Candidate Log In.clipular (3)

Somehow with all the money people hosting Sir David, he only walked out of this fundraiser with $100 cash from 1 couple. Really? No one else gave to Morgan ?  The cost of the invitations and flyers alone wouldn’t be worth it.  For just $100.  I would suspect that the money NOT REPORTED that changed hands or perhaps the fact that out of all the people there who supposedly hosted this event, Sir David failed to impress, thus not receiving funds.  Either way, there is something rotten going on and it is a pattern of behavior for Sir David.

Given that Greg Marcille had Greg Fink arrested for failing to have a disclaimer on the bottom of a flyer, it stands to reason that NOT REPORTING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS & ACCEPTING FUNDS IN VIOLATION OF FLORIDA STATUTES ie Filipino-American Club.

So which is it did Sir David just blow an opportunity to wow the elite of the community or did he embezzle the funds he collected?  I say embezzle because money off the books is embezzlement.

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Sheriff Morgan on the “Super-Predator”, Thug Concept: “We are Family”

Since last week’s video release from the Escambia County Sheriff to the black community, a number of comments have been raised. The video has gone viral. One has to question, why a man running for office would willingly go on camera and essentially dismiss a huge demographic that he would need to be re-elected?

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In doing some research, I went to Youtube and watched numerous publicly recorded speeches, interviews and press opportunities of the Honorable David Morgan for the last five years. I feel as if I got to understand Mr. Morgan and his politics. He repeatedly asserts statements about ECSO deputies arriving at scenes in certain neighborhoods and describing the hostily towards law enforcement by the members of the community over the crime that is taking place. While this situation may be overwhelming and no one is discounting that, he refers to these actions as “pack” mentality to try to intimidate the officer. Pack? That is a term used towards animals, wolves particularly. Is that what he’s equating these communities as—“packs”?

Another keyword for Sheriff Morgan is the “thug mentality” of the black community. That will also not win him any votes when he overgeneralizes all black people (not African-Americans, cause he believes that is offensive) as “thugs” and have a “pack mentality”.   These characterizations intimate the fact he considers this community substandard to the rest of the community. Animalistic with criminalistic proclivity. That is the divisiveness that is in the community.

Here are some of the other quotes by the Honorable Sheriff on race and racial issues:

“I take issue with the time African Americans. We are Americans…The blacks that currently reside in the United States are not from Africa. Those sorts of terms society has chosen to use are divisive in nature. So what are the issues in the minority organizations within Escambia County? Many are real and many are perceived. I will tell you I think many are perceived. Here is why, again, let’s go back to the history of our nation and where we are today. Not that many years ago, the thought of electing an African American president would have been unthinkable in the United States of America. I would remind African American’s that you are a little over 13% of the entire population of the United States…..If those 13 % were the only ones that voted for President Obama, he would not have won that election….the statistics are if we are such a racist nation, why do we currently have an African American president?”

The inference of this video was the Sheriff Morgan was trying to smooth over race relations. What he actually accomplished was more proof of his racism.  Another great speech of his was on the  “Super-Predators” within the community.  Here is an excerpt from that speech:

“The problem in criminal justice is system cannot be fixed by money…. The righting of the wrong is to start in the home. To get into our families, our homes, and yes our churches and start to bring back the training and integrity in our communities. Because we have raised an asocial generation. An asocial generation. Criminologists predicted this about 10 years ago, calling it the rise of the Super-predators. This again is that sociological problem called “anomie’. These are people who are not tethered by faith, family, or religion or community. ‘it’s about me” It’s about my wants needs & desires to the exclusion of anyone, everything and most assuredly institutions. We are seeing that today with the rise of the indiscriminate violence.”

Between both of these videos, the message seems clear. Sheriff Morgan has issues with the black community in Pensacola. He depicts them as “godless” heathens with no moral compass who cannot be stopped because they have no respect for authority or anyone, really. The blame for that he puts squarely on the families and communities.

My only question is how Mr. Morgan justifies his own stepchildren and their effect on society? For those of you who do not know, Mr. Morgan has 2 stepchildren, Greg & Antoinette Demetreon (sometimes known as simply Demetre) who are pornography producers and actors. They have also been charged in the past with “sexual racketeering” that was conveniently taken care of once Mr. Morgan became Sheriff.  Wouldn’t they be characterized as “Super-Predators”?

Besides their Godlessness and lack of a morality, Mr. Morgan’s stepchildren can be classified in the other set of key words Mr. Morgan uses, because they are black (again not African-American). His children are black and criminals. As he insinuates, one goes with other.  So if parents are responsible for their children role in society as adults, is Mr. Morgan willing to accept his failure as a parent to create some of the “thugs” with the “pack mentality” who happen to be “Super-Predators” that he holds solely responsible for the crime and downfall of Pensacola?

Antoinette Demetreon
Antoinette Demetreon

Time for More Campaign Shenanigans

10805719_10204342255690157_5612372976506644598_nMy Fellow Floridians, the time has come for all men to be vigilant & alert to charlatans. David Craig, Community Policing Coordinator/Communications Director/Major of the Escambia County Sheriff’s office is going to be starting his “crisis managing” by trying to fix yet another election. By his own words to Rick Outzen, he called Sheriff Morgan’s first victory spread with a HIGH degree of accuracy before anybody in the county voted.  An amazing feat such as this and of course, his high quality work on Doug Underhill’s campaign, set a pattern of activity that is sure to be re-surfacing here soon. Being a self-proclaimed “crisis manager” (which encompasses providing false information to the media under any one of his fictitious titles at the Sheriff’s department or just a renegade crook), should make Escambia County voters weary of any info coming from this puppet of Sheriff Morgan’s.  What is the old saying? He only lies when he talks.

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It seems if you are an ethically challenged former certified officer who was neutered by FDLE for bad behavior, or a freaky sexual predator, you can get a job at the Sheriff’s office. Also if you are willing to brown nose enough about how pretty Sheriff Morgan is, he will create a job for you with hella-good pay (better than deputies) or he will create a job for your “girlfriend” like he did for Rick Outzen.  As long as you are ok with being Morgan’s bitch, you too can have a cushy job like David Craig or Sena Maddison.