A.G. Gancarski
As we reported last month, $354,000 of salary increases and bonuses were given out by State Attorney Angela Corey to employees recently.
The justification laid out by Corey’s office was pretty linear: it was the culmination of a routine process.
“The retention raises fit squarely within the Legislature’s intent of how this salary money is to be used. As we have done in prior years, we wait until the end of the fiscal year in order to have an idea of how much money will be available for retention raises. We have been planning for and working towards a retention raise since January 2016 … The final amounts were given to our business office on May 4, 2016,” asserted Corey’s office.
However, as this is the political season, it’s hard not to notice overlap between valued employees and political contributions.
As we reported previously, 80 contributions made to Corey’s campaign account totaling $27,600 were made by assistant state attorneys or people associated with the office since the beginning of Corey’s re-election campaign. Many were for $1,000 — the maximum contribution allowed.
An important note: not all employees who got raises in the last six months contributed. And not all contributors got raises during the six-month period for which FloridaPolitics.com requested records, which were provided in a timely fashion by the State Attorney’s Office.
But there are meaningful examples of recent overlap between campaign contributions and pay bumps.
Below are some examples.
Rachel Algee, an assistant state attorney, gave $100 to the Corey campaign. Algee got a raise amounting to $166 a month.
Comms director Jackelyn Barnard got an $83.33 increase monthly. She gave $1,000 to the Corey campaign.
Same with Brian Barnhart. The law enforcement officer gave $1,000 and got an $83.33 monthly increase. As with ASA Andrew Kantor.
Same with Jacquelyn Bevel. $1,000 into the campaign, $83.33 extra salary a month for the office manager.
Assistant State Attorney Stephen Bledsoe has donated $800 so far, and got a $166.67 salary bump.
ASA Chris Bracken got the same salary raise as Bledsoe, and thus far has put $250 into the campaign.
ASAs Brian and Kristen Brady: getting an extra $725 a month between them, and both have maxed out.
ASA Cyrus Zomorodian and his wife both maxed out also; he will get an extra $83.33 a month.
An extra $166.66 a month for Mark Caliel. The ASA and his wife both maxed out at $1,000 each; those numbers balance.
ASA Coreylynn Crawford gave $250, and got an extra $166.67 a month.
ASA Sean Daly maxed out, and got an extra $166.67 a month.
Between a salary bump and a promotion, Ian Dankelman got an extra $333.33 a month; he donated $300.
ASA Patricia Dodson maxed out, and will make an extra $166.67 a month. ASA Matthew Polimeni maxed out and will make an extra $416.66 a month.
Investigators Alexandra Ellias, Robert Hinson, Christi Petrie, and Kerry Gilbreath got an extra $83.33 a month, and maxed out. And investigator James Eminisor got an extra $83.34 a month, and donated $500.
ASA Aaron Feuer got $750 extra a month, and gave $250.
Prosecution support specialist Sarah Forbess is getting an extra $62.50 a month; she and her family gave, in total, $1,600.
ASA Chase Harris: an extra $333.33 a month, with $500 contributed.
There are very good reasons to donate money to your boss. You could believe in the mission, or the person. You could be appreciative for the position.
But two former assistant state attorneys, running against Corey in the closed GOP primary, said last month they felt differently.
“After making campaign contributions to Ms. Corey, her employees are getting a cash infusion from state coffers — the latest version of the Dixie two-step.” claimed Corey’s opponent, Wes White.
Melissa Nelson, Corey’s other challenger, said “this move is so disrespectful of the hard work of taxpayers. I know well being a prosecutor is a tough job, but retaining talent is done by demonstrating to your team that you approach the job as a call to service and devotion to the ideals of our Constitution. It’s not about getting rich on taxpayer dollars.”
2 comments
Anon
June 17, 2016 at 1:46 pm
The article doesn’t say when the donations were made. If the donations predate May, this is a slanted, sham piece
Mark
June 18, 2016 at 10:44 am
Detective Gilbreath undoubtedly has a vested interest in seeing his boss reelected. Corey refused to investigate Gilbreath after receiving copies of civil litigation alleging criminal activity by Glbreath and his wife, former ASA Denise Watson.
Check out Duval County case 2014-CA-007716, Gilbreath (Kerry Dale) v. Teresa Watson.
Teresa Watson is Gilbreath’s sister-in-law.
The dispossessory case resulted from a situation where Watson refused to participate or condone the actions of Gilbreath’s wife, Denise Watson, (a former Assistant State’s Attorney and current family lawyer), when Denise attempted to bribe Teresa to not object when Denise took papers turning over their mothers significant property holdings in Georgia – to Denise – for their mother to sign while their mother was under heavy narcotics, in a nursing/physical rehabilitation facility.
When Teresa Watson attempted to stop Denise Watson, Denise Watson demanded verbally that Teresa vacate the apartment owned by Detective Gilbreath.
Days later, Detective Gilbreath texted Teresa Watson demanding the same, and then filed a law suit for eviction.
The November 12, 2014 Defendant’s Answer and Counterclaim – quoting the text communications between Teresa Watson and Gilbreath, and Teresa Watson and her sister – are locked to the public because of the illegal activity detailed by Defendant against Detective Gilbreath and his wife, Denise Watson.
However, Defendant’s 11-17-14 and 11-24-14 Affidavits in Support of are only secured such that a request must be submitted to obtain copies.
Teresa Watson even offered, then attempted to have the texts subpoenaed from APPLE in Cupertino, California, to validate the texts which trace the alleged criminal activity by Gilbreath and his wife, but Judge Virginia Norton refused to authorize.
However, Judge Virginia Norton copied the pleadings and orders to the State Attorney’s office, according to the Certificates of Service. Over and over again, through the months of hearings, Judge Norton chided Detective Gilbreath and his attorney, Michael Price, for their having brought the case to that level of court, instead of where evictions are generally filed.
Angela Corey should have recused her office, and the matter should have been referred to another jurisdiction.
It was not.
In closing, Teresa Watson stressed to me, in our conversation more than a week ago, that when she moved to Jacksonville in 2013, she had such respect for Corey and the courage Corey exhibited in prosecuting George Zimmerman. But after learning of Corey’s hiding exculpatory evidence in the case, combined with her own experience with the ease in which her brother-in-law and sister operated outside of the law, with impunity, she realized that this must come from a culture of corruption and cronyism at the State Attorney’s office.
Since leaving Jacksonville, she does not keep up with its politics. However, Teresa Watson has maintained her 904 area code phone number, in order to preserve the texts if any law enforcement entity or press entity desires to take a look.
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