St. Lucie County - Wednesday July 31, 2024: The Florida Commission on Ethics has issued a notice of public censure and reprimanded former St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara after he admitted to abusing the power of his office. Mascara has been ordered to pay a $5,000 civil penalty.
Mascara, a Democrat, was accused of promoting a ghost candidate in the 2020 GOP Primary election in an effort to defeat former Democrat turned Republican, Rich Williams. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigated the accusation and presented their findings to Chief Assistant State Attorney Stacy Salmons who declined to file criminal charges.
FDLE then referred their investigation to the Commission on Ethics which, on June 12th of this year, issued an order finding probable cause that the Sheriff had "violated Section 112.313(6), Florida Statutes, by using his position and/or public resources to secure a special privilege, benefit, and/or exemption for himself."
Heading off the possibility of a full public hearing on the allegations, Mascara chose instead to resolve the case by entering into a Joint Stipulated Order, a negotiated settlement, in which he would admit to some wrong-doing, and agree to certain penalties which have now been imposed.
The Stipulated Order includes an admission by Mascara that he "approached and encouraged an individual to seek the office of Sheriff in the 2020 election within the confines of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office which constitutes a violation of the Code of Ethics."
That Order, including the admission that he violated the ethics code, and that he agreed to the penalty, was unanimously approved by the Ethics Commission last Friday.
The Advocate for the Ethics Commission, Melody Hadley, reviewed the FDLE's complaint and submitted her recommendations to the Ethics Commission.
In her report to the Commission, Hadley notes that in the 2016 election then Sheriff Mascara, a Democrat, had a primary election opponent, democrat Rich Williams. Mascara "advised that it was a contentious campaign and that he was vilified by Williams." In addition Mascara said that Williams had accused him "of criminal activity and implicated his children as accomplices, which led to his daughter losing her job." Williams lost to Mascara in the 2016 Democratic Primary Election.
After going on to win the 2016 General Election, Mascara let it be known that he would retire in 2020. He actively sought to recruit a candidate from his command staff but none of them were interested in running for Sheriff. So he decided to run again.
In the 2020 election, Williams changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
According to the FDLE investigation, Democrat Mascara then allegedly sought to derail Williams' effort to win the Republican Primary by orchestrating a "straw campaign" for another Republican candidate in an effort to defeat Williams in the Primary.
The FDLE investigation notes that the St. Lucie County Sheriff's General Counsel, Adam Fetterman, advised Mascara not to recruit a straw candidate.
However, according to the FDLE investigation, Mascara "allegedly used his position as Sheriff by asking subordinates to be straw candidates, and after one was found, by directing several subordinates to manage the straw campaign."
Among the other allegations in the FDLE investigation, Mascara "allegedly provided a 'burner phone' to a subordinate for him to use in managing (the straw campaign) and later instructed him to drop the burner phone in the ocean or the river."
Read former Sheriff Ken Mascara's response to the Ethic's Commission's reprimand which he posted on his Facebook page
One thing I have learned in the last few months is sensationalism in the media sells.
With ongoing investigations of the 2020 election, I remained silent to prevent any influence on those investigations.
Four years ago I entered into the 2020 election cycle facing an unqualified opponent. For someone who dedicated twenty three years of my life working with the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office to make it one of the best in the country, I was saddened by the possibility that no qualified candidates had entered the race.
I asked many qualified retired law enforcement officers if they would consider seeking the office of Sheriff. None were to be considered “ghost” candidates as the media has portrayed, but real candidates who had a genuine interest in serving our community as Sheriff. One person I asked, I did so within the confines of the Sheriff’s Office, which precipitated a criminal investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and a parallel investigation by the 18th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Phil Archer.
After almost a three-year investigation, the State Attorney’s Office concluded there was no evidence to support my involvement in any ghost candidacy. In fact, the candidate garnered more votes against me than any other candidate in all of my elections, excluding my first. After being criminally cleared by the State Attorney’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement referred the investigation to the Commission on Ethics.
The Commission on Ethics investigator advised me that encouraging anyone to run for public office within the confines of the Sheriff’s Office or any government office was a violation of the Code of Ethics for public officials. I immediately admitted that is what I did and never could I imagine that encouraging people to enter the democratic process was unethical.
On June 20, 2024, I entered into an agreement with the Commission on Ethics that I did violate the Code of Ethics for elected officials.
For those friends and supporters who have reached out to me to offer your kind words of support, I greatly appreciate you.
There will always be those haters who will embellish the facts and twist the truth to fit their dialogue for their own personal gain. Sadly, many are in the media . . . others are currently seeking political office.