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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FJB who wrote (754671)	11/25/2013 8:51:32 PM
From: TideGlider	1 Recommendation Recommended By FJB Respond to of 1578633

FDLE arrests Monticello mayor for grand theft Nov 20, 2013 MONTICELLO, Fla. – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Tallahassee Regional Operations Center today arrested the City of Monticello Mayor Idella Scott, 51, on charges of grand theft, forgery and uttering. FDLE began investigating Scott in August 2013 at the request of Jefferson County Sheriff David Hobbs. While employed as a deputy clerk at the Jefferson County Tax Collector’s Office, Scott allegedly deposited a check for $697.25 into her personal checking account that she received as payment for the renewal of a vehicle registration. Scott was booked into the Jefferson County Jail on $3,000 bond. This case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit. What makes this interesting is it appears she was fired before.... Tax Collector Prevails In Suit Involving Clerk’s Termination (Jury Finds Firing Was Lawful) Sep 11th, 2013 by [url=]admin[/url]. A 10-member jury in Tallahassee late last week found in favor of Tax Collector Lois Howell-Hunter in the civil lawsuit arising out of her termination of former deputy clerk Idella Scott. The jury issued its verdict on Friday afternoon, Sept. 6, following a trial that started on Tuesday, with Federal Judge Robert Lewis Hinkle presiding. The jury found that Scott’s termination was lawful, notwithstanding the latter’s allegation that her firing had resulted from her support of Howell-Hunter’s political opponent in the last election. Attorney Stephen Webster, one of two attorneys who represented Howell-Hunter, said Monday that his side had provided sufficient evidence to convince the jury that Scott’s termination had resulted from a poor work attitude, insubordination and what he termed improper conduct. “Our argument was that it was improper the way that Ms. Scott handled a taxpayer’s transaction,” Webster said. “The taxpayer called Lois and told her that he had gotten a call from a deputy clerk saying that she had made a check of his payable to herself instead of using the office stamp.” Webster said the citizen had testified to the fact in court. He said the citizen’s complaint alone constituted grounds for termination. “I feel it was a very clean trial,” Webster said. “Judge Hinkle is one of the finest jurists in the land. He’s about as acclaimed as any judge in the country. It was a very fair trial.” It was Webster’s representation that Scott had been seeking $250,000 for mental and emotional anguish stemming from the termination, in addition to seeking reinstatement to her former job, back pay and benefits for the period of her absence, and her attorney’s fees. “The jury didn’t buy it,” Webster said. “The jury rejected her claims.” Scott filed her lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee on Jan. 16, seeking a temporary injunction from the judge and reinstatement to her job, along with more than $75,000 in damages. Her complaint alleged that the firing had been motivated by Howell-Hunter’s belief that Scott had supported Paul Michael, the incumbent’s Republican opponent. The gist of Scott’s complaint was that the firing was retaliatory in nature and patently illegal because it violated Scott’s rights to free speech and association. “Public employees do not leave their federal constitutional rights at the door of their jobs,” is the way that Scott’s attorney, Sid Matthew, put it at the time. “As a public employee, you have the right of political freedom and association. That is clearly established law.” Howell-Hunter’s counter arguments were that Scott had been fired because of repeated instances of insubordination and mistakes in the handling of the office’s colleted fees, with particular emphasis on an alleged discrepancy in the books in early January, the incident that prompted the termination. Following a lengthy hearing in Tallahassee on Jan. 30 on the original complaint, Hinkle denied Scott’s request for the injunction and reinstatement, ruling instead that Scott would have to prove her case in trial. “This wasn’t a cause in need of a lawsuit,” said Webster, offering that Scott had earlier threatened to sue Howell-Hunter over the use of cameras in the office. “This was a lawsuit looking for a cause.”