Fort Pierce - Wednesday December 6, 2023: Questions are being raised about the sudden retirement of former St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara and the unexpected appointment of Keith Pearson to replace him.
Pearson was a Lieutenant last Friday afternoon when he says he first heard he had been appointed, above other senior offices, to become Sheriff.
“I was driving down Midway Road about 30 minutes before the Governor’s press release came out," said Pearson during a Monday afternoon news conference. "It was the Governor’s Office. They said ‘Congratulations, you were just appointed to Sheriff of St. Lucie County’ and that a press release would be coming out in appoint 30-minutes. I’m still in shock.”
The news release from the Governor's Office indicated that the Governor had only been informed that day of Sheriff Mascara's decision to retire, just over a year before his term in office would have expired.
Within hours, the Governor by-passed senior commanders and appointed Pearson as Mascara’s replacement. By Monday morning, Pearson had already prepared and filed the paperwork for election to that office next year, as a Republican.
“I filed this morning, I did," said Sheriff Pearson, "but I don’t want to make it about any election. It’s not about me, it’s about the community, it’s about the deputies that work here.”
Reporters then asked about a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation which found that in the 2020 St. Lucie County sheriff’s election, Pearson help Mascara win re-election by cooperating an alleged scheme to promote a ghost candidate.
Sheriff Pearson: “The report speaks for itself.
Reporter: Do you think you did anything wrong?
Sheriff Pearson: “The findings and the report are out and you have all the information on that.”
Reporter: The report said that you abetted in a ghost campaign.”
Sheriff Pearson: “I have no comment on any of that.”
Reporter: “So you don’t think you did anything incorrect?”
Sheriff Pearson: “No I don’t.”