Grand Jury Report on Walton Planning Department

Who said anything about Catalano being involved in the missing 800,000????? Put down the crack pipe and read.

You did, Patriot Games. Put your glasses on and read.

Let me break down what John G said about catalano......Grayton guy

Cecilia gets beat by meadows, catalano is jones aide

Catalano gets job in code enforcement- prior qualifications roofer and goes to C. Jones church
Catalano gets promoted to Sr. Code Enforcement officer when Jones gets reelected
Catalano just promoted to planner in the last two months

You do the math, County employee of the year or C Jones pet??

If meadows is crucified for helping somebody get a job(Who danny vouches was well qualified), the why not the same for Cecilia. No axe to grind here, those are either facts about catalano and jones or their not.

So Danny since you know her, do you think the jury got the whole story on cindy's employee or the story somebody wanted them to hear?

I would say that if the person in question is who I think it is I cannot imagine anyone thinking she was not qualified to do most jobs in county government with some on-the-job training. So I cannot imagine that all of her experience and qualifications were presented to the jurors for whatever reason. And if we are going to reprimand every commissioner or senior employee who has "put in a good word" to help someone get a position in county government, then we are going to burn through some paper because the guilty list will be long indeed.

graytonbeachguy wrote:

Misty: Catalano was the supervisor who "washed his hands of a hiring?" Man, I just don't get how you could logically arrive that that conclusion. I thought he was Comm. Jones' pet, according to you. How does that put him acting at the direction of Meadows? I think in your haste to advance your conspiracy theories that you have let your tinfoil hat fall off.

So, you're telling me that Catalano didn't go to C. Jones who got him a job in the planning department using her own influence and whine to her about someone being hired with little or no experience when he had none when he was hired either?

Mmm yeah, ok.

It's no damn secret C. Jones and Meadows are not on the best of terms as Meadows whooped C. Jones A$$ the first time she ran for County Commissioner.

And for whatever it's worth to you I have not accused anyone of any conspiracy theories but I have asked question about what was in the report you offered up.

I don't think the Grand Jury went far enough and that's probably because they didn't have or weren't asked to look at C. Jones involvement in doing the same thing Meadows was accused of doing!!

Thanks for calling it like it is danny, you would have made a good umpire.......... Time for YOU to run for commissioner.

graytonbeachguy also wrote:

This thread has devolved from a straight-forward posting of the grand jury's report to the ranting of three posters who lost their credibility many, many posts ago.

I didn't know credibility was a requirement to have an opinion either....but since you want to make mine an issue try disproving anything I've stated that I know for a fact.

Thanks for calling it like it is danny, you would have made a good umpire.......... Time for YOU to run for commissioner.

Opinions vary about me being a good umpire or referee, but I love doing it anyways. Doing football and middle school basketball right now. As for running, been there, done that and won north of the bay, unfortunately I couldn't draw flies south of the bay. Since my district does not come up this next time I will be an observer this go around.

You did, Patriot Games. Put your glasses on and read.

I did put them on and read, NOWHERE did I say catalano was responsible for the 800,000. Take your crayons and go home, you almost made me spill my John Daniels.

You did, Patriot Games. Put your glasses on and read.

WRONG!! Check your own facts before you start lambasting others,

Opinions vary about me being a good umpire or referee, but I love doing it anyways. Doing football and middle school basketball right now. As for running, been there, done that and won north of the bay, unfortunately I couldn't draw flies south of the bay. Since my district does not come up this next time I will be an observer this go around.

Or "rent a lot".

Or "rent a lot".

Too much trouble, I might forget where I live this week

graytonbeachguy...just to be clear about what I said in regard to Catalano, "he washed his hands of a hiring because of pressure from Meadows to hire and unqualified person"... no where did I say he wasn't C. Jones pet...anyone here with a lick of sense knows he sure the hell is. My comment meant that he couldn't stop/interfere with the hiring of Meadows choice (even though he was the "supervisor") and yes I did say he probably went whining to C. Jones about how Meadows was trying to hire or did hire someone with little or no experience even though he was hired in basically the same way because of his association with C. Jones. I never implied or inferred that he was acting at the direction of Meadows...in fact I implied just the opposite but rather than an implication I'll come right out and say it. C. Jones hates Meadows and vice versa. Meadows tried to (or did) hire someone and Catalano got his shorts twisted over it and I'll bet my last dollar he went to C. Jones. That hiring event which Meadows was a participant in, was part of the Grand Jury investigation according to the documents YOU posted here!!

I also said I had been told Catalano testified before the Grand Jury. I do in fact believe that. I also believe the fact that his own questionable "job" with the planning department was not an issue that the Grand Jury was tasked with looking into which is why I have repeatedly said throughout this thread that the Grand Jury investigation DID NOT GO FAR ENOUGH!! IMO IT DID NOT!!

I also said that I was shocked to learn learn that C. Jones and her husband are quite the bosom buddies with the State Attorney, Bill Eddins...and if you think for one minute that people in Walton County don''t see this as a witch hunt perpetrated (at least in part) by C. Jones to get at Meadows then you have either been in the sun too long, have drunk 1 too many margaritas at the Red Bar or at the very least, you should be adjusting the antenna on your own tin foil helmet.

I may not be as involved as I once was in the politics of this County but I can assure you of this...it has not changed much in the 30 years I've lived here. Some of the names have changed as have some job titles but we still have the same good ole boy network commandeering the dirty politics this County has long been accused of!

And that my dear is a fact you can bank on, not a conspiracy theory.

C. Jones = local developers/small business association
C. Meadows = out of town developers/golf carts

C. Jones = local developers/small business association
C. Meadows = out of town developers/golf carts

Neither of which means much in the over all scheme of things, unless your best friend is the State Attorney!!

Mr. Don Riley and Mr. Art Miller had a very well written letters to the editor in today's DFS Herald. I don't have them in digital format to publish here but I would encourage you to buy a paper and read them.

Mr. Don Riley and Mr. Art Miller had a very well written letters to the editor in today's DFS Herald. I don't have them in digital format to publish here but I would encourage you to buy a paper and read them.

Don't hold us in suspense. tell us what they said.

I really cannot do justice to their compositions but their premise was that the GJ was a political setup and Meadows and L. Jones did not deserve the treatment they received. They believe that far more could have been brought out had the desire been there.

I really cannot do justice to their compositions but their premise was that the GJ was a political setup and Meadows and L. Jones did not deserve the treatment they received. They believe that far more could have been brought out had the desire been there.

Isn't that what 3 or 4 of us have been saying since graytonbeachguy posted the GJ report here?

Say it ain't so Mr. Glidewell!! Most of us see this for what it really was....a witch hunt that didn't go far enough!

We've got to post those here. Way to go Dr. Riley and Mr. Miller, both have impeccable reputations and are knowledgeable about what's going on in Walton government.

By popular demand here are the letters from Mr. Miller and Dr. Riley:

Is that all there is?”

A Walton County Grand Jury recently issued a report that indicted former Walton County Planning Department head, Ms. Pat Blackshear, on two counts of perjury for lying to the Grand Jury. This was the result of a seven month investigation by the State's Attorney and the Walton County Sheriff's Office.

The Grand Jury report pointed out some abuses that have taken place over time in the Planning Department. Two such instances point to a failure to collect about $800,000 in recreational plat fees from developers. In the case of Lakeside in 2006, a 5% fee of $614,250 was billed as $614.50. Supposedly that error was discovered in 2008 by Ms. Melissa Ward and reported to the head of the Planning Department, Pat Blackshear, who has denied seeing the memo. How is it possible such an error, once reported, was overlooked by the County Attorney, the County Administrator, the County Financial Director, the County Clerk, the Property Appraiser, or the Board of County Commissioners? In the second instance, the plat fee for a project named Endless Summer was supposed to have been $205,560, but was billed as $20,560. Again, no one in the County picked up on it. If you believe these, and possibly other similar omissions, were clerical errors, there's a strong possibility you also believe in the Tooth Fairie.

There was a hit song in the sixties titled, "Is that all there is?" You have to wonder how a seven month investigation only yielded a felony charge for lying to a Grand Jury, and two reprimands. Hard to believe the investigation has not found more instances of wrong doing or feckless behavior.

The Grand Jury did make solid recommendations to improve procedures for monitoring the payment of plat fees and letters of credit, however, it is up to the Board of County Commissioners to ensure that happens. The BCC has made promises in the past, but has shown little inclination to tackle such changes.

The Grand Jury may have gotten lost in the woods when it turned to reprimanding County Administrator Larry Jones and Commissioner Cindy Meadows for allegedly interfering with the hiring of one employee and the firing of another. Even if they are guilty as charged, scolding a Commissioner and the County Administrator for overstepping their job responsibilities hardly rises to the same level of criminality or gross financial negligence. "Is that all there is?"

Art Miller
Miramar Beach

Here is Dr. Riley's letter:

Having read the Grand Jury report and the associated press conference, I’m astounded at the attention given to the alleged “meddling” into the day to day operations of County administrative matters by County Administrator Larry Jones and Commissioner Meadows. I’m even more astounded that the Grand Jury was involved in a matter tangential to its focus. I’m also aware of the fundamental unfairness of Grand Jury proceedings. The Grand Jury gets to hear just what the Prosecutor wants them to hear, and his targets are not afforded opportunity for rebuttal. The State Attorney’s office should reveal who actually wrote the report. One suspects it was no layman, and I smell an agenda.

To hear Mr. Eddins speak, one would think something truly sinister must be afoot with the one hiring and one firing mentioned that apparently constitute meddling “in day to day county operations” that seems so important to Mr. Eddins. There’s $800,000 missing, and neither Jones nor Meadows took it. Who did? Or as a prosecutor might say “Cui bono?”. Show me the money!

Absent that, show me how a Commissioner making inquiries in the best interests of a constituent is meddling. That is what politicians do every day, aka constituent service. Reprimand them all, I say! How dare they!

Absent that, show me that Commissioner Meadows interviewed, hired, or set the salary for the Planning employee whose hiring was allegedly related to her supposedly reprehensible "meddling". She did not interview, hire or set the salary of that employee. Who did? Why is that ignored in the report and the press conference? Surely there are records of those facts. A public call for a reprimand without full disclosure is indefensible political character assassination.

The report and press conference did mention that over $800,000 in taxpayer money went missing years ago. Perhaps I missed the part where that was considered a big deal. Perhaps I also missed the part that mentioned how this could have occurred and how nobody knew nuttin’ about nuttin'. Now that sounds like Grand Jury material that should have been headlined by both the report and public pronouncements. Instead, we have the sound of silence. Why?

Numerous references to improper and vague procedures and rules and regs were made. Similarly with respect to the improper access and influence developers have to Planning employees, with obvious large financial implications. Some good suggestions came forth about county policy, but short shrift was given to the rich and powerful using undue access and influence. Somehow less important than Cindy’s alleged misdeeds? Hmmm!

It was stated that the County lost no money from its sloppy failures in tracking letters of credit. That flies in the face of what has been stated by county employees in public meetings. Perhaps those instances occurred after the time the prosecutor elected to present to the Grand Jury. Strange that such time limitations might apply there and not to the incidents occasioning the suggested reprimands. Life is just full of little inconsistencies, isn’t it.

And yet the emphasis is on Mr. Jones and Commissioner Meadows with only unsubstantiated allegations of a peripheral nature to what should have been the focus of the investigation? Something stinks badly. Could it be that politics has reared its ugly head in this report? Surely not. After all, the State Attorney’s office is apolitical. And I’m Santa Claus.

Don Riley, M.D.

Its great to see other community members realizing that this process was all a fraud.

A fraud perpetrated on the community by two fraudsters - Mike Adkinson and Bill Eddins.

Perhaps its time to "investigate" them...

You have to wonder how a seven-month investigation yielded only a felony charge for lying to a grand jury and a recommendation for two reprimands. It’s hard to believe the investigation didn’t find more instances of wrongdoing or feckless behavior.

You can't find what you aren't actively looking for! The fact that almost a MILLION DOLLARS was NEVER COLLECTED from a developer and was NEVER LOOKED AT AS A CRIME by the STATE ATTORNEY speaks VOLUMES!!

It matters little that the developer may now be bankrupt as someone suggested. The BCC has an obligation to the taxpayers of this County to (at the very least) slap a few liens on anything (cars, houses or real property ) the developer may own. The developer wasn't bankrupt when he walked away from the planning department knowing that someone had just made an almost million dollar mistake in his favor! In fact, at that point, he had riches beyond his wildest dreams and some UNBELIEVABLE LUCK!

If feckless behavior is the indicator of a lack of character and irresponsible behavior, the citizens of Walton County have received a double whammy thanks to Mr. Eddins, Mike Adkinson, C. Jones & company including, developers and power-brokers known to associate, one of whom has already done federal jail time and still others who have falsely reported campaign contributions in the not so distant past.

Should this go further and higher in law enforcement circles, and it should, on wonders if this might become a federal criminal case. to wit,

"Misprision of felony" is still an offense under United States federal law after being codified in 1909 under 18 U.S.C. § 4

Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

This offense, however, requires active concealment of a known felony rather than merely failing to report it.[7]

If one knows that one is a target of an Federal investigation, it is illegal under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to erase one's browser history intentionally. Khairullozhan Matanov was prosecuted for erasing computer records about his friends, Dhzokar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev; he pleaded guilty to a lesser included offense in 2015.[8][9]

The Federal misprision of felony statute is usually only used in prosecutions against defendants who have a special duty to report a crime, such as a government official.[10]

Misfeasance or malfeasance are considerations in the alternative at the state level, I believe. Justice was not served well by the Grand Jury report as released. My criticism is reserved for the State Attorney's Office if this is indeed all there is to come from the public time and money invested in this so-called investigation. The Grand Jury itself is not the subject of my doubts as I know it can only consider that presented to them by the State Attorney, and it is entirely his captive creature, producing just the results he may want. That the State Attorney explicitly did not ever look at this as a criminal matter defies credulity. The amounts in question are much too large to just write off as simple clerical errors. Too many checks and balances should have one into play, This reeks of cover-up and misdirection. One might wonder about the other cases apparently dismissed by the State Attorney as part of his "investigation".

We can only hope that higher authorities, including some with FBI attached to their paychecks, will be going where the State Attorney did not tread in this report. Justice has not been served yet. To date, it appears to have been mocked as part of a political agenda. Whose remains to be seen.