On January 9th, Scott Haines reported to Maxwell AFB Federal Prison Camp. It appears this is minimum security camp rather than prison. I still find it less than acceptable that this is all he gets. How ridiculous! Terrorizing a family; stealing; conspiring; exploiting and he gets camp for a year.
Previously, I have voiced my disgust over this situation, and it may seem like I’m harping on this, but seriously, Scott was targeting Matt Groelinger. TARGETING! For 5 years, the SRSO employees ran him through NCIC/FCIC repetitively. Adam Riddle, the Public Information Officer, ran him in 2020 as well. This can’t be a case of “no harm-no foul” because there is harm. In Matt’s case, it’s his well-being. You know thee guys were not just looking at his info for kicks. There was something else going on. Yet they face no penalty whatsoever.
(Only a portion of the full report)
Why aren’t these other people being reprimanded? There are so many of these people on the state’s payroll. For example, Mike Gilmore failing to act in the JadeKiss case, forget the moral reprehensibility of it, how do people keep jobs when they are risking the legal liability of the agencies they represent?
But Mr. Gilmore like Adam Riddle, still has a job. Steve Cappas has a job. Yet Philip Nix doesn’t. There is no logic to this at all.
But I digress. Getting back to Scotty. I recently got a copy of the transcript of his sentencing in federal court from November. It’s quite amusing. His attorney attempts to argue and split hairs as to whether he should be punished in federal court since he pled guilty in state court. His attorney attempts to argue that Ms. Dot was there and would be willing to testify that Scott never broke the law. Thankfully the judge begs to differ.
So then, the federal prosecutor spoke:
But naturally Haines’s attorney kept trying to press the judge:
Then Scott got to speak:
Then the federal prosecutor spoke again:
Thankfully the judge wasn’t impressed.
Apparently, I am told, Scott did not anticipate jail time and that was judicial discretion. Bravo is all I have to say!
For a full transcript of that hearing, click here.
On Monday, November 21st, Scott Haines was sentenced in federal court. He took a plea and pled guilty to lying to FBI in an elder exploitation investigation. This is the DOJ press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Former Santa Rosa County Deputy Sheriff Sentenced To Federal Prison
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Scott P. Haines, 50, of Milton, Florida, was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison, following his previous guilty plea on the charge of making material false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation during an elder exploitation investigation. United States Attorney Jason R. Coody announced the sentence.
“Criminal conduct by those sworn to uphold the law represents a betrayal of the public trust,” stated U.S. Attorney Coody. “The corrupt acts of an individual law enforcement officer can erode the public’s trust in the legions of brave men and women who faithfully honor their oaths’ and place their lives on the line each day to keep our communities safe. We will vigorously investigate and prosecute any officer who betrays their sworn oath and the public’s trust.”
During his plea in federal court, Haines admitted that he became personally involved in the real property management and finances of an elderly woman in Santa Rosa County and deposited rental payments from tenants of the elderly woman into his own bank account without authority to do so. When confronted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Haines made material false statements regarding his involvement with the rental properties, the depositing of rental payments into his personal account, and his knowledge and involvement with the Last Will and Testament of the elderly woman of which he became a beneficiary.
“Police officers are given immense trust and responsibility, and are therefore held to a higher standard,” said Sherri E. Onks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division, “so there are serious consequences when one tarnishes the badge by breaking the law. Scott Haines disgraced the uniform when he abused his authority to victimize an elderly individual for his own personal gain, and his sentencing affirms that the FBI has zero tolerance for officials who prey on the citizens they have sworn to protect.”
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office cooperated fully with the FBI/FDLE investigation and immediately relieved Haines of his duties prior to the filing of criminal charges.
Haines will be required to serve one year on federal supervised release following his incarceration. He was formally adjudicated guilty by the United States District Court and is now a felon. Haines previously relinquished his criminal justice certifications.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg prosecuted the case.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Florida (850) 216-3845 libby.lastinger@usdoj.gov Follow us on Twitter | @NDFLnews
Updated November 22, 2022
Now I want to draw your attention to this part:
“Criminal conduct by those sworn to uphold the law represents a betrayal of the public trust,” stated U.S. Attorney Coody. “The corrupt acts of an individual law enforcement officer can erode the public’s trust in the legions of brave men and women who faithfully honor their oaths’ and place their lives on the line each day to keep our communities safe. We will vigorously investigate and prosecute any officer who betrays their sworn oath and the public’s trust.”
During his plea in federal court, Haines admitted that he became personally involved in the real property management and finances of an elderly woman in Santa Rosa County and deposited rental payments from tenants of the elderly woman into his own bank account without authority to do so. When confronted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Haines made material false statements regarding his involvement with the rental properties, the depositing of rental payments into his personal account, and his knowledge and involvement with the Last Will and Testament of the elderly woman of which he became a beneficiary.
Then this part:
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office cooperated fully with the FBI/FDLE investigation and immediately relieved Haines of his duties prior to the filing of criminal charges.
This is last part is probably the most indefensible position asserted in this press release. This entire case undermines public trust and I’ll tell you why. In 2017, I got an email from Matt Groelinger, who is Dorothy Rogers’s grandson and was entrusted with overseeing their family trust. I asked him to call me to hear his story. He was apprehensive to say the least. I didn’t even know his name. He was scared to tell me what was happening to him. I must say if you knew who Matt was, you’d know that his physical appearance, his size, is intimidating to most people, but he was scared the first time I talked to him. As he told me about Scott and the whole situation with his grandmother, I knew I needed to have a second set of ears hear this story. I contacted Philip Nix, a close friend, who I have worked with on the Billings Case. He was someone who knew the magnitude of what Matt was saying. I added Phil to the call. As unsure as he was about Matt’s story, he remained opened minded.
Over the next few days, Phil and I poured over documents that Matt had. He had meticulously kept every document, proving his account of what was happening. His fear on the phone was well founded. Scott told Matt’s grandmother, he would have him arrested for the drug issues he had, which was a lie. He also told her that sometimes drug users, like Matt, would just die in custody. This is the basis of his fear. You had a cop threatening to create a crime to get a arrest and he did it. There was some very sketchy events in this arrest playing out that convinced Matt that he had a target on his back. There is contradictory documentation by the SRSO and varied testimonies of other deputies that show the plausibility of this threat by Haines. Timelines that don’t flow; people omitted from CAD reports; the whereabouts of deputies that were not accurate; fictitious accounts of conversations that unfold when lies can’t be remembered. It was very squirrely and would be suspect even if it was by the book as they claim.
It took months for Matt not be afraid. He believed, rightfully so, that he could be killed and it could look righteous. Think about that. A brotherhood of people invested in removing you from your family and possibly this world. Scott Haines getting a year and one day with 5 years probation and then being allowed to keep the properties he essentially stole, that are priceless to the county, which allows him to be a wealthy man in 2024 if not sooner.
What about the hard drives taken into custody? The search warrant executed on May 13, 2021. There were cameras in Dorothy’s home. Scott monitored her constantly. Is that ok?
Just think about the fact no one in the SRSO, FDLE or the FBI, apparently, prosecuted this stuff. Why? Elder exploitation is still ongoing in this case because Bob Johnson, who miraculously doubled his assets without any additional income, is still in office after failing to uphold Florida Law.
This week Scott Haines went to state & federal courts to enter a plea bargain. This was an impromptu hearing without much advance notice. I spoke with an expert in law enforcement prior to the first hearing in state court Tuesday. He advised me that the optics of Haines going into state court first and then the following day, into federal court, signals no state jail time. If he agreed to jail time, he would be taken into custody immediately and he would be unable to go to court the following day. So, it was not a surprise that he simply got probation plus court/investigative costs. But the FBI DROPPED virtually all the charges.
This is truly injustice and corruption in action. If you or I were to do what Scott did in this case, there is no way this would be the outcome. I cannot tell you how deeply dismayed I am. Thousands of documents and investigative hours were poured into seeing justice prevail; yet all that work died on the vine. There was a clear conspiracy to defraud. Several people looked the other way or actively assisted Haines in misrepresenting the circumstance to the courts and to the press.
In the universal battle between good and evil, evil prevailed thanks to the corruption of the FDLE and the apathy of the FBI.
While I am amazed by the injustice in this case, I will continue to fight for the people who were victimized. What else can I do?
There has been speculation that Eric has been a part of Scott’s circle of cadres, but both of them claimed to have nothing to do with the other. I have suspected it was a smoke screen but without proof, it was just a theory.
Well now there is definitive proof. I requested a Master Name Index Lookup on Scott in Escambia County. This is what I found:
So what this shows is that Eric Adam Haines was actively looking at his brother’s info in real time during the 10/28/20 stalking of Marivel Meister. He had no legitimate reason for using his resources. This shows a violation of policy and possibly, a violation of law, to check up on his brother. That establishes a connection to include Eric in this conspiracy.
What is intriguing to me is that Matt was falsely arrested in Dec. 2015 for exploitation of the elderly. During this same approximate time in Escambia, that same allegation was being leveraged by Eric on Philip Nix. Ultimately resulting in Phil being terminated. The irony of this is when Matt first contacted me about his grandmother and Scott, I immediately conferenced in Phil Nix to listen to Matt’s story. Phil ended up getting Marie Mattox to represent Matt. Now this all happened after this dual accusation, but it seems to be a pattern of behavior, similarity in thinking. Although in Phil’s case, APS was never contacted by the ECSO, which should have been done. Matt had APS investigating already in his case and had a determination of no wrong doing. But it was only a half-hearted attempt on Eric’s part as he didn’t follow his own accusation. It would have been fruitless but the effort should have been made to seriously think anyone would believe his concern. Also, FDLE found no cause for termination in Phil’s case, just as APS and, in time, the Santa Rosa court system in Matt’s case. Just an observation.
Next installment will address the “Facilitators”, beginning with Sheriff Bob Johnson
1, Scott Haines was never named trustee. Ms. Dot was and still is the trustee based on her deposition and her attorney Brian Hoffman’s court filings.
2. Ms. Dot grossed almost 2 million dollars in rental proceeds in 2005, when she was healthy. The rental proceeds continually diminished as her health declined, but there is still a large amount of rental income and potential to make over 2 million in gross rental proceeds if the business was back to running like it did when DR was healthy, BUT rents have all gone up and it’s easily possible to make 3 million.
To add clarification and context:
1. Scott Haines met Ms. Dot in 2012, when he was working off duty for her, through the SRSO. Groelinger was with Ms. Dot when she first met Haines in 2012; it was around Groelinger’s birthday. At this time, Haines said he was getting out of law enforcement due to being caught in the middle of “porn gate”. It’s worth mentioning that Groelinger witnessed the first conversation between Haines and his grandma, Ms. Dot. Haines told Ms. Dot that he wanted to learn the rental business, and she agreed to teach Haines. This is how Haines learned the income and assets of the elderly widow had. This knowledge was not even known to her family, outside of Groelinger. Haines worked a total of 6 times as an off duty SRSO from 2012-2015, and in that time he was able to become extremely close to Ms. Dot, because he was learning her business, as well asthe family dynamics.
2. When Groelinger reported Haines to the SRSO- Bob Johnson oversaw the “unfounded complaint” that should have shown Haines was targeting Groelinger. The FBI is who reported that Groelinger’s 2015 citizens complaint was valid- and Sheriff Johnson did not correct the situation by readdressing Groelinger’s 2015 citizens complaint and taking corrective action because they should have investigated the citizens complaint. A valid investigation would have found that Haines had committed crimes that he was finally charged for in 2022, specifically, abuse of official equipment.
3. Kilburn and Watson as deputies and Bob Johnson is Sheriff Bob Johnson. More details to come.
4. Groelinger reported Haines to the FDLE, but according to sources, the special agent in charge, Chris Williams, would not open a case. When Groelinger reported Haines to FDLE repeatedly in 2015/2016/2017,which saw Williams do nothing to investigate what would have lead to the arrest of Haines. As well validating the wrongs done to Groelinger is what ultimately let to Haines arrest for his actions against Groelinger in 2021. This is something that Williams could have stopped way earlier, but Williams comradery with Haines & Kilburn through his time at the SRSO, with whom Williams is still friends on FB with Kilburn, to this date, seems to have influenced his ability to perform his job.
The shitshow that is the SRSO is very complex; therefore, I will attempt to present the situation and the actors involved. You can’t keep up if you don’t know how interactions between people is affecting the case. You have to know who is who, or why the relationship, or actions, may be improper.
First, let’s recap the narrative. Scott Haines manipulated his way into a family business, Skirpan Properties. The main asset of the company is the Eastgate Mobile Home Ranch. It brings in roughly $1 million in revenue, per year, from trailer rentals. The property is also an asset because it is located at the back gate of Whiting Field. In fact, many offers have been made over the years by federal and county representatives who wanted to purchase the parcels that make up the trailer park, which includes some vacant parcels that are behind the trailer park.
Scott moved into the trailer park during his divorce. He befriended the owner, Dorothy Rogers, aka Ms. Dot. She appreciated having a deputy living there because the knowledge of a law enforcement officer living there would deter crime and provide security to the residents & Ms. Dot, as well. At this point, there is a mutually reciprocating relationship. Ms. Dot feels safe; Scott gets to act like the protector. But that doesn’t last long. Scott doesn’t know how dysfunctional Ms. Dot’s family was. Being the matriarch of the family and a widow, Ms. Dot realized prior to this that she didn’t want to be vulnerable to people trying to swindle her, nor was she did she want in-fighting or mishandling of the entire family’s legacy, so she met with an attorney and created an irrevocable trust, to preserve the assets in her possession.
As I said, the family was dysfunctional, there was bad blood with Ms. Dot & her kids for various reasons. That is why she made her grandson, Matthew Groelinger the trustee. A trustee has the fiduciary duty and legal responsibility to manage the assets of the trusts, ie the trailer park. Ms. Dot is the trustor and Matt was the trustee. The trustor and the trustee work hand-in-hand to manage the trust. In many cases, the trustor and the trustee are the same person. Unless otherwise defined, they have symbiotic responsibilities to manage the trust’s assets.
Scott watched as the family dynamics of mistrust & miscommunication created a rift in the family, even more so than before. He also endeared himself to Ms. Dot. Surely, he heard all the family drama. One situation that he heard was that Matt was “into” drugs. Matt was young. His life was changing due to this particular family responsibility. It must be said that mishandling a trust is a crime. Matt had his head on straight, worrying he could go to jail if he screwed this up. At the same time, Ms. Dot’s health was in noticeable decline. She was in a wheelchair and her hygiene was slipping resulting in urinary issues. She had marked cognitive dysfunction and memory loss. Matt was the favored one to Ms. Dot. Scott saw that. He took over Matt’s spot in Ms. Dot’s life. Even when APS investigated, they believed Scott was Ms. Dot’s grandson. Many people still believe that. She has pictures in her home of her at Haines family events and according to one source in a deposition, Ms. Dot “was very generous to the whole family”. She paid for cruises and much more–not limited to just Scott.
To get into the trust, Scott had to get an irrevocable trust, revocable. The process he used was filing a complaint (via Ms. Dot) that her grandson was stealing from her and guilty of exploiting her. This makes him unfit to be the trustee. So as soon as Matt was arrested, Scott, again on behalf of Ms. Dot (he wrote what she told him to, according to him), filed a civil suit and the criminal suit within minutes of the first attempt to arrest after hours (17:39pm). The civil case was filed at 17:39 pm (or 5:39 on 12/7/2015). The civil case was specifically to remove Matt from the trust. Matt via his attorney at the time Michael Grifith, turned himself in to the ECSO the next day.
Ultimately the charges against Matt are dropped in September 2016. However, Scott was made Power of Attorney and Trustee of Ms. Dot’s trust in the days after Matt’s arrest. Oct 28, 2015 this was filed:
So Scott, effectively, stole Matt’s life. He was Ms. Dot’s ‘grandson”. He was introduced as such to renters who Scott took rent payments from every month. He put people up in trailers, allegedly, prostitutes and people he picked up on Craigslist. Renters assert that they paid Scott, in cash and money orders, which never made it to Ms. Dot. This resulted in evictions without basis. It has also been confirmed that Scott had cameras throughout Ms. Dot’s residence, monitoring her communications with family. In the FBI, search warrant, several hard drives were taken and what was on them is pure speculation, but sources have reported his home looked like an IT department with multiple monitors.
In 2018, 2 parcels were sold to Scott for $10 each. These parcels are on the back side of the trailer park. They are the optimum parcels that feds want for expansion of Whiting Field, and Santa Rosa County officials for the new industrial park.
In November 2021, Ms. Dot sold the trailer park, even though, there is litigation regarding who has the right to sell it. She sold the entire complex for $700 K. She made $1 million in rents in the last several years. Not to mention there is a high premium on the value of the property. On top of the rents taken in., this is a gross undervaluation of the property and its assets. The company who bought it is Palantine LLC, which is a shell LLC, that is owned by other LLC’s in various states. Ultimately, in Googling the address listed on the deed and the signer on said deed, I was able to track the property to Smooth Property , owned by Prashant Patel of AJ Hospitality. According to Corporationwiki.com, here are all the corporations attached to Patel:
Beaufort Management is one of the shell companies that own Palantine LLC.
The shell companies are located all across the country, including Palatine, which is said to be running out of Utah, Beaufort has an Alaska address but it ultimately connects to Smooth Property and the Patels.
The questions just roll out. Why did Bob Johnson, who knowingly covered up for Scott would do so? Why did Watson & Kilburn also back him up? Is there a financial incentive to this? Who brought Palantine into the picture?
Coming soon: Part 2- Who are the characters in this grift?
Most people know Scott Haines was arrested by federal marshals. He was eventually turned over to FDLE. Other than the following press release, I haven’t gotten a straight answer on so many things regarding this arrest and Scott’s subsequent release. Here is the Justice Dept’s press release:
Strangely, he was released later that night from jail yet arraigned the next morning in federal custody. Curiously there is no court record anywhere of anything other than this.
Some Back Story:
In 2017, Matt Groelinger called me because no one was even willing to listen to him and what was going on. Scott Haines had him falsely arrested in order to have a reason to make an irrevocable trust, revocable. The charges were bogus and dropped but not before Scott Haines SRSO officer convinced Matt’s elderly grandma that Matt was trying to take her family’s legacy. He was made the trustee over a huge trust because of his grandma’s decline. When Matt was arrested, after hours, SRSO filed criminal charges and a civil case within mere minutes of one another after hours.
Over the years, Scott “assumed” Matt’s position in grandma’s life. She even tells people Scott is her grandson. There are pictures in her home of her at his family events. Most people at the trailer park where Scott collected rent for grandma. When APS investigated this case, they truly believed Scott was her grandson. This farce has been going on since 2015. Scott got 2 parcels of grandma’s land worth a considerable amount of money for $10 each. These parcels are on the back side of her property and are at Whiting Field’s back gate and now across the street from the new Santa Rosa industrial complex.
A situation Santa Rosa County Commissioner has tried to purchase these lots for years. In a move very much like the Escambia Soccer Complex Scandal. This commissioner saw the value of this land and the potential value of the land to the county. Sound familiar??
Getting back to the story, grandma has been very generous to Scott “and his whole family” according to people close to him. This opens up the potential involvement of Eric Haines. They were seen on a cruise 4 years ago. Despite each of them telling people they dislike each other, they have been close for years.
Scott’s arrest is absolutely a good thing. No question. It is just a measure of justice. Nothing can be restored for the family. Grandma believes her children and grandchildren are trying to put her away. That is thanks to Scott. He’s isolated her from her family. She isn’t being cared for. She can’t take care of her personal needs without help. Scott didn’t help and the family were estranged due to him. For a supposed Christian man, Scott has done the most deplorable thing he could do in his actions. That brings me to all the people that facilitated him. How many people covered his crimes up? Chris Watson? Without question this guy claims Scott did nothing wrong. What about Bob Johnson? Indisputably, the buck stops with him. He allowed these cover ups. He lied to the press by saying there was nothing to see here. So many others perjured themselves, for what? Their careers are now going down the toliet.
Matt, the grandson, came to me because he had nowhere else to go. I brought in Philip Nix whom I work with on everything. Phil got him to Marie Mattox who has made all this possible. The FBI saw the criminality in this case. They are still pursuing people that aided Scott. That makes me smile because Eric will be a target of their investigation. That string may unravel all the corruption in both Santa Rosa & Escambia.
But this is all due to the diligence of small amount of people who were not afraid to speak out. We are family. While the 25th of January is a huge milestone for all the efforts, it comes with some melancholy. Phil’s dad passed the night Scott was arrested. This is personally devastating to all of us. Ultimately, grandma loses. She is completely isolated. Scott was ordered not to go back to the trailer he lives in and is to have no contact with grandma.
All of this is a lot to take in for a person who has tried numerous times to get FDLE and the FBI to look into the corruption in this case, I feel we are finally heard and validated. There is a continuing victimization of people who aren’t heard. This is why I do what I do.
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”- John Stuart Mill
Stay Tuned! When I know you will know. Also check out Coffeeordie.com.
In this post, I’m going to minimize my commentary. I want to put SRSO & Scott Haines’s lies on display.
Also, some of the excerpts in here are part of writ of mandamus filed by Marie Mattox’s firm on behalf of Matt Groelinger. This writ was filed in response to the games the public records folks played when records about Scott were requested. I have experienced mild games, such as constantly having my password rejected and having to request a reset. Literally the first handful of times I logged into the public records part of the SRSO site, I was told my password is incorrect. Then requested a reset delayed me getting into the website for hours. That eventually stopped. Cindy Myers, one of the attorneys representing Groelinger and his family, had the exact same password issues. However, they also, played games by closing requests prematurely, denying counsel access to records that they had a legitimate right to have. Another thing was redaction of information as to protect Scott.
The frustration in dealing with these petty games led the Mattox firm to file the writ outlining the fuckery of the SRSO, which violated FL Statute 119 (public records disclosure). Sadly, for the SRSO, these public records shenanigans are not unique; I personally dealt with these same antics with the ECSO. I educated myself on the Sunshine & public records laws. I have fought these sorts of fights already. Working in conjunction with Groelinger & his attorneys, I was able to point out issues that this was just an attempt to hinder transparency. People only hide things that need to be hidden. No one ever, innocently, covered up the truth with lies. It is that simple.
Now onto the facts of this case:
This really begins with the arrest of Matt Groelinger in December 7th, 2015:
On April 28. 2016, Scott Haines was deposed by Michael Griffith, Groelinger’s criminal attorney. When asked about the alleged theft and his role in the investigation, here is what Haines had to say:
Here is an unredacted view of the TAR requests done in reference to this case:
Screenshots of the FBI email to Shane Tucker that initiated the 2021 IA
The following is a chart showing the significant time frames that Scott ran Groelinger through NCIC/FCIC:
Excerpts taken from Writ of Mandamus filed against the SRSO by Cindy Myers, one of the counsels for Groelinger.
So, this is what Scott staying “above reproach” looks like? Various SRSO admin seem to be following this “professionalism” example., as they lie, minimize and seemingly remain blind to issues dealing with Haines.
Previously I posted the redacted IA from 2021, well now I have the UNREDACTED IA.
Here are some highlights:
Throwing Chris Watson under the bus by saying Scott points out that Watson conducted the complaint where this was alleged, and Watson found it unfounded. He continues to deny all the entries but it is to no avail as the FBI has authenticated the information.
Here is the IA for which termination was the judgment of his violations:
It is incomprehensible to me that this document, signed & dated on 8/24/2021, calls for termination. Yet on 8/31/2021, I know there are some officer’s rights issue following this decision but that should not be completely set aside allowing him to retire in lieu of termination. The havoc and detriment this one officer created over the years ought to factor into this decision. Not only that but the pressure of the FBI forcing Watson & Johnson to both do something about this situation, forcing their hands, compound to make a much bigger “fuck off” to the FBI.
I also believe that since Watson evidently stands behind his assessment that the use of NCIC/FCIC was used in the course of legitimate investigations, he should be investigated himself. The FBI knows this was not the case and there is no genuine agency related business going on. So why would Johnson reassign the case from Holcomb back to Watson who obviously did not properly conduct the 2015 complaint professionally or unbiasedly? Watson’s investigation is literally being called out as BS by the FBI. Why is he not under investigation now?
What really shocks me is the number of people being dragged into Scott’s exploitation of Dorothy Rogers. We have Watson, Johnson, Kilburn, Utsey, Tucker & Neff. How many other people are going to be involved in this cover up (which amounts to racketeering in furtherance of Scott’s crimes)?
I think the documents speak for themselves. It is for you to decide.
In 2013, I started blogging because I felt I had a civic duty to start a conversation about the stories & issues not being discussed in the media. No one was acknowledging the shameless abuses of power. Today, I still have that same fire and passion. I absolutely believe that people have an aversion to those who violate public integrity. Nevertheless, with the 24 hour news bombardment, we have been anesthetized to things that don’t affect us directly. We want to believe that people who are arrested are justifiably guilty or else they wouldn’t have been arrested. How could we live without certain axioms or presumptions about society? The trust in officials is ingrained into the consciousness, as it should be. In researching and investigating Escambia County justice, my understanding of crime and criminals changed. The good guys aren’t always the “good guys”; the bad guys don’t always get punished. While I knew sociopaths gravitate to positions of power to get the juice they need to indulge their every whim, I never conceptualized the extent of truth about that. Ultimately, respect is lost for the law and justice system, starting with the officers themselves in these cases. I was told once, “there is no justice to be had in Florida.” Indeed, the administration staff in the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office, as is the admin staff of Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, shows no semblance of integrity or duty of care to the public.
In this blog, I will be posting THE Internal Affairs Report that sent Scott Haines out of the agency, but I would like to first put a podcast clip up that seems more propaganda than fact, based on the documentation.
On September 6, 2021, Santa Rosa Sheriff Bob Johnson spoke on NewsRadio923. I clipped this portion of interest.
Here is a transcript of that clip:
Andrew …. But I did want to at least give you a chance to address the situation with Scott Haines, who had prior disciplinary issues within the Department. Whatever you can tell people, I’ll let you give you a chance to tell people.
Sheriff Bob Johnson Yeah. And unfortunately, there’s an ongoing investigation by another law enforcement entity, so I can’t really discuss it much. But I can just tell you if you looked at our agency over the past five years that I’ve been shared, we take care of discipline. So if one of our guys or gals acts out and does something, they get punished for it and you make bad choices, you get bad consequences. And that’s just basically what occurred here is that.
Andrew And I know it’s not that common, but having to discipline internally your officers, how frequent of a thing is that? And I don’t just mean they make some mistake. That’s a training issue where they’re really doing something that they definitely shouldn’t be doing where it’s a problem.
Sheriff Bob Johnson It’s not that common. We’re pretty blessed. We have probably 400 sworn counting the deputies that work in the jail. And it’s not very common. It’s like you hear in the national news when my officer does something stupid on camera and we all get blamed for it. Less than 1% of the officers in this country tarnish the badge less than 1%. That’s better than doctors and lawyers. So we take care of our own in that aspect of if you’re a bad cop, we don’t want you there. It makes us all look bad.
Sheriff Bob Johnson And sooner or later, a bad cop is going to do something to where we can get rid of them. And unfortunately, we have to do that not on a regular basis. But since I’ve been shared, probably in five years, fire and law enforcement officers and Correctional officers, probably in five years, maybe 15 times at the most. Maybe I’d say closer to ten, probably. Yeah, it’s not very common.
Andrew And it’s, as you say, it’s the very few that make for the vivid news story. Just like when you watch fictional accounts of police, it’s the corrupt one to the vigilante style or the incompetent one that creates an expectation which just isn’t borne out by the reality. And it’s hard to tell the good story when things go right. Because when things go right, that typically doesn’t. We try to focus on the good as much as we can. But that’s not really going to grab the headlines most of the time
So what Bob is insinuating is recently committed violations of policy or law, committed by Scott which required discipline. But is that true? NO! The 9 Supervisory Inquiries that repetitively involved sexual misconduct or harassment, surfing porn, etc. Let’s not forget the 2020 shitshow in Escambia County, where Scott feigned suicidal ideations to get access to a co-worker. There is dispatcher to dispatcher reporting of this to Sheriff Johnson. Yet not only is it never cited within his disciplinary history, never psychologically evaluated. This is Baker Act material—no question. Yet it was swept under the rug and never gets even an “honorable mention” in his moral integrity evaluation. C’mon Bob. This guy did more than any one officer should be
It is clear Bob Johnson has been aware of Scotts hijinks for years. He oversaw many disciplinary concerns prior to being elected as Sheriff. Prior to Jan 2017, there were 5 Supervisory Inquiries & 3 full on IA’s. “Porngate” & “Repo Nights” are among the highlights.
Now we see what the straw was that broke the camel’s back. The IA (that was not disclosed even after I balked at the number of IA’s. Even on 9/14/2021, when Adam Riddle informed me the 3 were all there was but there was 10 Supervisory Inquiries) that caused Scott to be terminated is revealed.
There are so many things that need to be pointed out and discussed. There are numerous highlighted areas that I will be delving into but for today, notice the dates and the one glaring issue is the unanimous vote to terminate Scott, yet he “retired”. Once everyone agrees there is a violation and agreed on the punishment, he should be terminated. Allowing him to resign only works prior to that board vote. They voted. He is fired before he “retired”. Don’t know how that works.
I am going to put this out there for everyone to draw their own conclusions. Without further adieu:
I wanted to apologize for the sparse posts. I have been overwhelmed with information that just keeps on coming. That’s a good thing. I just have to get the info out. Bear with me.
I started blogging to expose the corruption in NW Florida. Honestly, I didn’t think it would be so pervasive or cancerous as it is. Allowing predators with badges to continue to terrorize a community is unacceptable and irredeemable. My intent is not to go after Bob Johnson or David Morgan but when all roads of corruption lead back to the people who enable them, ie the Sheriffs in this case. Being the head of an agency empowers the person in that seat. They can make or break lives depending on how they wield their influence and authority. In the cases I’ve been researching, the cases I have, I have found both Johnson & Morgan act as co-conspirators with the deviants they allow to be employed. Scott Haines and Eric Haines are predators who feed on those below them. Johnson & Morgan both know that and feel it business as usual to cover up these brothers’ crimes against their respective communities.
II have been shocked by the openly corrupt practices in Santa Rosa. I thought nothing could be Morgan’s predatory tenure, but I was wrong. Scott Haines beguiling Dorothy Rogers was so heinous I had to look into it. Once I started pulling that thread, so much more came to light. The funny part is that the day I got the call from Dorothy Rogers grandson, I had just had a conversation with a former ECSO deputy. We were talking about all the stuff Eric had done and this former deputy said Scott was obviously the “good” brother. He told me that he didn’t understand how the brothers could be so different. That night the curtain was pulled back showing Scott was just as much of a parasite as Eric. Many others have said similar things because no one was talking about all the shit Scott was doing. I didn’t have an contacts/sources in Santa Rosa. But once I started writing about this, quite a few people have contacted me. I have been told no one has ever brought criticism on the deeds of SRSO. There are various comments of interest on LeoAffairs.com, but without corroboration it is just talk. Now though, things are being dragged out into the light. Most all of it comes back to Scott and Bob Johnson. Now on with the info I have uncovered.
So one of the “Supervisory Inquiries” (that did not rise to the level of an IA, according to Sheriff Bob Johnson) is extremely bold and unbelievably, ruled “unfounded”. It is the encounter in which Scott feared for Brandy Wallace’s safety after her husband, Chris Wallace found out about an affair she had with Scott. So let me see if I understand this: Scott is screwing this guy’s wife and tells his superiors that he fears for Brandy’s safety, prompting all this attention to focus on the husband rather than on him. WTF?
If he feared for her safety at any point prior to “getting caught”, he had a duty to report it. But he waited until he was confronted by superiors to divulge this. That dog don’t hunt. Here is the “unfounded” supervisory inquiry:
I just don’t understand how Haines’s role in the disintegration of this marriage wasn’t an issue. Now let’s juxtapose this incidence in 2017 with the incident in 2020 in Escambia, where Haines tried to force his way into another subordinate’s home–another woman with whom he had a sexual relationship.
There are histrionics with that encounter. I got further insight into that night:
Both of these situations are DV issues, yet there is no fallout for Scott for the second one. Why? If this man, was suicidal, should he be an SRSO active officer?
I thought this little clip was interesting. It is from the “dildo panty” case. It seems if Scott sent pictures to a subordinate of someone else’s penis, it would be ok…..wtf?
I have been blogging about the organized fleecing of Dorothy Rogers for years. Scott Haines is at the helm but others allowed him to stay employed–namely Sheriff Bob Johnson. To say that Haines is anything less than a sexually deviant cancer within the SRSO, would understate the situation. I recently requested all the IA’s for Haines. I was provided 3. In further prodding, it has come to light that there are 10 Supervisory Inquiries (SI’s), which is a way to sidestep official investigations.
Supervisory inquiries, according to Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s General Order J-003 Disciplinary Guidelines and Standards, are done when a complaint on an officer comes in and a supervisor does a mini-investigation to determine the validity of the complaint. I am told by other officers, that it also can be used to dispense discipline in the case of a minor infraction, like in the case of a written coaching or written warning. The offense and the discipline tend to be lesser and does not rise to the level to open an Internal Affairs case. If the complaint alleges criminal activity, an IA must be opened, but not in Santa Rosa.
Now at least 2 of these SI’s are serious allegations that should have triggered IA’s but Sheriffs Hall & Johnson decided to basically dismiss the complaints without real investigations, despite the severity of the claims. The first of the ones I knew about, was in 2012. William Sumner, a former cop, submitted a complaint, commonly referred to as “repo nights”. Sumner claimed Haines used NCIC/FCIC to repossess cars and used the SRSO impound lot to store cars. He would cannibalize cars held there to put on other vehicles. Sumner claimed Haines used other officers log in info to avoid detection. The complaint was dropped and found to be “unfounded” after Sumner avoided speaking to those investigating his complaint. It is my understanding he was aware of or participated in other illegal activities that an interview would uncover. That is the speculative understanding of his reluctance to talk to colleagues of Haines.
This is a typical deflection used to bypass investigating crimes reported. For instance, let’s go back to Naomi Jones’s mother going to ECSO to report her daughter missing and being arrested for a warrant for welfare fraud without the ECSO immediately looking into the missing child. I would have been suspicious of this myself, had I been Sumner. When these agencies, specifically ECSO & SRSO, do not want to give credence to a report given to them, they turn on the messenger who comes to them in good faith. It is common practice. People wonder why there is no relationship between law enforcement and many communities in the Panhandle.
The second SI complaint was filed in 2015 regarding the exploitation of Dorothy Rogers. Matt Groelinger submitted the complaint to Chris Watson regarding the pilfering by Haines of the irrevocable trust, Haines convinced Rogers to revoke in order to make him executer.
An investigator working for Marie Mattox, the attorney representing Groelinger, documented the following:
“It should be noted that Watson made no documented effort to interview any other family members or independent witnesses.
Watson ignored Groelingers request to have Haines cease any business relationship with Eastgate Mobile Home Park even though Groelinger provided documents proving his authority in Skirpan Properties LLC…..Watson documents his recommendation as, This case is to be closed and classified as UNFOUNDED. There is no credible evidence or information of any kind proving that any unethical or illegal acts or policy violations have been committed by Lt. Haines.
Again this isn’t surprising. If you don’t do an investigation or talk to people, then you reserve plausible deniability. It is better to be seen as incompetent than to open Pandora’s box.
Here is a list of the SI’s provided:
I have requested the documents associated with these SI’s. But doesn’t that look like a lot of issues? 9 since 2012 & 2 formal IA’s (2011 & 2019). Why was this cop kept around? I am reminded of an article in the Santa Rosa Gazette on 2018. The following quote by Bob Johnson was made, in reference to Rich Aloy’s assertion that “There is nothing more damaging than a bad cop”:
“So if somebody wants to complain on an officer and I’m out of town, the chief deputy, the major over law enforcement, the captain over law enforcement, can take that complaint,” Johnson said. “You don’t have to give your name but we do need enough information so we can contact you back and let you know the status of your complaint against the officer.….Whatever punishment is due we deal it out all the way up to termination,” Johnson said. “We take it seriously, and if they’re not performing their job as they’re supposed to, that’s a bad reflection on law enforcement (and) the sheriff’s office in general, and we’re not going to tolerate that.”
Everything having to do with Scott Haines is completely contrary to this statement. I would have to say, besides a bad cop, the more damaging thing is to have admin cover up for that bad cop. Those are the people who should know better and bear the burden on insuring the safety of the public. Since this cover-up is not a duty of any officer or elected official, those actions occur outside their official roles, thereby taking on professional liability and personal liability. This is the one exception to the immunity provided to protect such officials in the course of their duties within their positioning. Once they step outside the scope of that duty and act upon that, the immunity is waived.
It seems Bob has joined the ranks of some of his Escambia County counterparts. What a shame! He was thought to be a more honest Sheriff. It appears those do not exist after all.
Conjuring Justice 