Mon, Oct 20, 2003
Airport Manager Arrested, City Atty Caught in "Ethics
Lapse"
The melodrama
surrounding the Lakeland Florida airport seems to be cranking into
high gear with the Thursday arrest of the recently resigned Airport
manager, Charles Gunter. Gunter resigned his job as Airport Manager
last month, within days of losing his second-in-command (who was
about to be fired for OTHER ethical breaches). This occurred as the
FL State Attorney's Office began an investigation into (then)
undisclosed issues at the airport.
Gunter was charged Thursday with four counts, the worst of them
'grand theft,' for modifying and increasing the cost of contract(s)
with an contractor who was doing maintenance on the hangar
doors of LAL's Hangar 4. The contractor has also been charged with
four felonies. According to the charges against both, Gunter
allegedly received a 27-foot fishing boat as a result of the shady
deal with the aforementioned contractor. Gunter continues to deny
any criminal behavior and has claimed that the boat was actually
purchased by his son.
In the meantime; other info continues to be received by ANN
about all sorts of interesting arrangements at Lakeland Linder
Regional Airport, and the blind eye that the city has utilized for
years to see little of what was going on. A member of a local
citizen's organization claims to have headed off the taking of what
might charitably be called untoward "freebies" by city commission
members from Sun 'n Fun, some time ago. He states that City
Commission members were all set to take up SnF on the offer of free
B-17 rides (which are normally sold to the public for several
hundred dollars) until he objected and informed them of possible
ethical and legal restrictions on the acceptance of such
"gratuities." It is interesting to note that a number of city
officials, including a former City Manager and active members of
the Lakeland PD have also been appointed to the SnF board and may
have received special treatment as a result (and in one case we
know of, appear to have engaged in some questionable actions that
seem to smack of conflict of interest). Other concerns center
around the land deals made between the city and SnF... more info to
follow.
City Atty, Tim McCausland, Tipped Gunter About
Investigation
In the interim; one
particularly egregious ethical lapse centers around the Lakeland
City Atty, Timothy McCausland, well-known to some ANN readers for
his having disseminated admittedly false and prejudicial
information (given him by Sun n Fun) to them in regards to the SnF
ban on ANN Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell--who has been banned (in
violation of law, according to a number of legal experts) from the
event and the Federally funded airport property after writing a
number of pieces citing concerns over critical safety issues. In
McCausland's latest escapade, it was revealed that he actually
informed Gunter of the investigation being conducted about him
after receiving some "anonymous" information alleging improper
conduct. State Atty Jerry Hill, in a Lakeland Ledger story by Rick
Rousos (who's doing some pretty darned good work on these issues),
noted that the city attorney should not have discussed an ongoing
police investigation with Gunter. "It should not have been done --
it was a criminal investigation," Hill said. "And nobody knew
better than McCausland that it was a criminal investigation."
We'll keep you apprised on the latest in the saga of the 'Gang
That Couldn't Shoot Straight," as we have a feeling that this stuff
is but the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned.
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