Category: SRSO

A Small Measure of Justice

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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.

Attachment(s): 

Download press_release_-_haines.pdf

Topic(s): 

Elder Justice

Financial Fraud

Component(s): 

USAO – Florida, Northern

Contact: 

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.

SRSO Scandal: Part 5-Sheriff Bob Johnson

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**Addition to Part 4- Eric Haines. There are sources that confirm Eric & Scott (and all the families, including mom and dad with Eric’s daughter as well) were on a cruise the first week of March 2020. The cruise left out of New Orleans, with the ports of call included Cozumel, Mexico, Roatan, Bay Islands, Harvest Key, Belize & Costa Maya, Mexico.

Getting to Sheriff Bob Johnson, although he only enters the story a bit later, his involvement is imperative for Scott to fleece Ms. Dot. Unequivocally, without the consent of Sheriff Bob, there would be no way Scott would have been able to do as much as he has. If there was an unbiased Sheriff elected in 2016, we would not be here today. Sheriff Bob could and should have disciplined Scott for all his indiscretions. By not doing that Bob has violated the public’s trust. According to the DOJ,

“ Public corruption is a breach of the public’s trust by government officials who use their public office to obtain personal gain.  It is a violation of federal law for any federal, state, or local government official to ask for or receive anything of value in exchange for, or because of, any official act.  Under federal law, any person who offers or pays a bribe is also guilty. 

It is not readily clear as to what Scott gave to Sheriff Bob in return for his crimes to continue. Although I have to say his financials sure beg a lot of questions. Most of the time Bob has been in office he has a fairly steady net worth, roughly around $405K .

2016 financials courtesy of the Florida Ethics Commission
2016 financials cont’d

. 

Most all the years look similar, except the 2021 disclosure of assets from Jan. 1, 2020 – Dec. 31, 2020.

2020 financials courtesy of the Florida Ethics Commission.

To me, this is unexplainable, considering his income and source of income don’t reflect how the hell that kind of jump could be legitimate.

Clearly, Sheriff Bob is prospering somehow. It seems his business is corruption, and business is booming.

The red flags Sheriff Bob ignored:

  • The 2020 stalking of Marivel Meister which is not documented in by the SRSO despite the fact ECSO did contact them.
  • Open, blatant sexual harassment (dildo panties)
  • Pattern of behavior in abusing law enforcement resources for personal gain
  • Perjury –Scott lied about everything.
  • Abuse of power, also a pattern of behavior
  • Documented interference in Ms. Dot’s affairs

I’m sure there are more but these incidences should have resulted in termination. The question is why? Why would Sheriff Bob taint his legacy/career?

To be continued: next Brian Hoffman

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SRSO Scandal: Part 4-Eric Haines

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:

Scott-Haines---MNI-Transaction-Log-Redacted-unlocked cropped

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

To Serve, Protect & ….Target

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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.

The entirety of this document can be found here

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.

Santa Rosa Fiasco

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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?