City/Airport Faces Numerous Questions Involving Ethics As Well As A State Atty Investigation

None of this should surprise Aero-News readers, but it seems that the City of Lakeland (FL) has airport troubles... again.

Lakeland City officials, who have been accused of turning their backs on numerous ethical and safety concerns involving the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, now have their own problems to deal with. After years of providing cover for a questionable "Good Ol' Boy" relationship with the Fly-In, (who were recently found to have issued fraudulent attendance figures to numerous public officials/organizations -- as ANN has contended for years), city officials themselves, are now at the center of at least one criminal investigation and fielding countless other questions concerning the activities of the Airport's Manager and Assistant Manager (who have since resigned--at least one of them just before he was reportedly set to be given the boot).

For nearly a month, Lakeland has been without Senior Airport management in light of the September resignation of Manager Charles Gunter and Assistant Manager Lloyd Tillman, both in the same week -- for "unrelated reasons."

Tillman resigned after being called on the carpet by other city officials when it was discovered that he had spent a considerable amount of city dollars with a company that he owned jointly with his wife. Tillmann, 33, was reportedly in danger of losing his job when he met with city officials to explain the expenditures. Tillman bailed out, giving up his $58,926 a year job, reportedly in order to avoid the impending firing. Lakeland officials, as noted in a Lakeland Ledger story by Rick Rousos, reported that "Tillmann violated state conflict of interest laws, which forbid municipal employees from buying merchandise or services from themselves."

Tillman feigned innocence seemd to be trying to drag his boss into the mess... reporting that Airport Manager Gunter was fully aware of the expenditures and had "encouraged" him to make the city purchases from "Advertisingworks!" the firm owned by Tillman and his wife, Brenda.

Worse, the office of State Attorney Jerry Hill (pictured right) has confirmed that it was investigating some operations at the airport. They would not disclose the nature of those investigations.

Replying to the Ledger, Chip Thullbery, the administrative assistant state attorney stated that, "Our office is conducting an investigation related to construction at the airport." 

That investigation, as it turns out, may be related to the allegation that Airport Manager Gunter found himself the owner of a new fishing boat under what many see as questionable circumstances. State investigators are reportedly looking into a contract between an Altamonte Springs (FL) construction company and the airport. The company reportedly accomplished a number of tasks including some painting (and other tasks) on the hangar doors of LAL's Hangar No. 4. While the original contract was supposed to tally up to $128,308, two changes approved by Gunter added $27,592 to the total bill. Subsequently, the Ledger reported that the State is investigating (based on allegations) whether this company gave Gunter a fishing boat once the bills were paid.

Gunter's lawyer, Rusty Franklin, calls the accusation, "unproven."

If this weren't enough to induce serious concern, the Ledger also reported that after examining a number of city/airport contracts involving changes to the original contract, that they found city procedures to have been violated. The paper concluded that, "City procedures were ignored in all of them."

Some Pretty Sordid History

The City of Lakeland has figured directly in, or on the periphery of, a number of embarrassing aero-difficulties over the years. After accusations of playing "See/Hear No Evil" with anything that was remotely critical of Sun 'n Fun, ANN's own Jim Campbell was repeatedly turned away or ignored by City officials after he attempted to bring numerous safety/legal concerns to their attention. In SEVERAL cases, his PUBLISHED safety concerns were proven right on the mark when the actual issues later turned into the very accidents he predicted, resulting in a number of injuries and fatalities -- often in an uncanny mimicry of the incidents he predicted might come about if such concerns were ignored.

Campbell, as a result of his concerns over serious safety issues involving the Fly-In as well as their lack of concern for the well-being of vendors, attendees and what ANN sees as unethical business practices has banned Campbell from the (in part) publicly-funded event (and from adjacent Federal property) just hours after he was assaulted by a Fly-In Director. City officials have turned a blind eye and refused to get involved in what many legal experts consider to be an "open/shut" First Amendment issue. Lakeland Mayor Buddy Fletcher offered to see if he could lift the ban if Campbell promised to "only write nice things..." Campbell has refused this journalistically (and legally questionable) dictum, and the ban continues.

In the meantime, some pretty questionable interaction between the City and the Fly-In is becoming evident, and ANN has started an investigation into same... More info to follow.

FMI: www.lakelandgov.net/airport