Corrupt Cop wants back in...

[The Watcher]

G o b

How is it that they were able to pay an employee more than $89k in bonuses w/o worrying about anyone noticing? Where is the oversight for the budget?

Its known as the "Good 'Ole Boy" system. Individuals with no morals or ethics who do favors (sometimes Big Favors) for those who actively support (or have actively supported) "them" (the one without morals/ethics) in their quest for power, usually in the form of a position of authority, ie. Elected Position.

What you see in Okaloosa is the complete failure and colapse of G O B and the fun has only just begun. We DO NOT need this in Walton County.

w

 

[captskin]

Its known as the "Good 'Ole Boy" system. Individuals with no morals or ethics who do favors (sometimes Big Favors) for those who actively support (or have actively supported) "them" (the one without morals/ethics) in their quest for power, usually in the form of a position of authority, ie. Elected Position.

What you see in Okaloosa is the complete failure and colapse of G O B and the fun has only just begun. We DO NOT need this in Walton County.

w

Thank God!

 

[The Watcher]

Radio Interview

Check out this link to a radio interview with the candidates for City Marshal:

http://www.wzep1460.com/election_center.htm

The mp3 is on citymarshal.

Very telling piece on the candidates (Burgess included)

 

[Panama Pete]

Check out this link to a radio interview with the candidates for City Marshal:

http://www.wzep1460.com/election_center.htm

The mp3 is on citymarshal.

Very telling piece on the candidates (Burgess included)

Thanks for posting this, you beat me to it...

 

[The Watcher]

Article

I did read the Herald this week and there are several good articles, focusing on the DeFuniak Police Election, providing very specific reasons why quality, ethical law enforcement is necessary.

From the pieces I read, the candidate running against Burgess, the current head of the department, is extremely qualified and articulate. In addition, he has the support of the citizens and department as well. The letter to the editor by a DFS Citizen is fantistic and really sums everything up quite well, Kudos to you for expressing your opinion.

Based on the Articles, I believe the following holds true:

Clue: If you need the governor to pardon you or to reinstate your certification, you have no business even running for an elected position.

Clue 2: I you say "forget the past" and then go back and use it as an excuse, you have no ability to think and formulate thought without contradiction.
(Burgess wants people to forget the past, but he referrs to it and how his past boss wasn't certified, so it must be OK for him too. How long ago was that??? Times change and so do qualifications, needs, etc.)

Clue 3: When asked what your plans are for the department and you answer that you "don't know". You really have no clue what you are doing and have no business running for any elected position.

Clue 4: If you are in law enforcement and you feel that carrying a gun is antimidating to the public, check your thought process. A gun is a tool of the job, SERVE and PROTECT. Look at what happened yesterday (College shooting), bet the citizens were glad to see the DFSP show up with guns.

Clue 5: Core values of any good law enforcement officer are Integrity, Morals, Honesty and Commonsense. From reading the interview with Burgess, it is obvious he has none of these.

Thank you (Herald) for investigating the facts and reporting them. I just hope people have the time and take the effort to read and educate themselves.

w

PS Cool article on the Pot Bust Too....

 

[Oath]

Interesting...

I went out a got a copy of the paper. Apparently there is something to all of the talk about local corruption and this Burgess Character...

Is the Herald available Online?

 

[North Lake]

I went out a got a copy of the paper. Apparently there is something to all of the talk about local corruption and this Burgess Character...

Is the Herald available Online?

They have a website at www.defuniakherald.com, but not all the paper is posted as does The Walton Sun and Northwest Florida Daily News. Articles from the current paper, April 9, are already up.

 

[OlePiney]

After all the recent news on corruption taking place in various law enforcement agencies, someone actually thinks its OK... Why has no local (Sun or Herald) made mention of this news story?

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Ex-city marshal hopes to return (with DOCUMENT)

Comments 16 | Recommend 3
Ray Burgess, who left office in 2005, is 1 of 3 candidates in April 14 election


March 15, 2009 - 10:03 PM
Andrew Gant
Daily News
DeFUNIAK SPRINGS - Ray "Buddy" Burgess, a former city marshal who retired under ethics complaints and criminal charges for falsifying documents, is trying to reclaim the office that has been vacant since Mike Adkinson became Walton County sheriff in January.
If he wins the April 14 marshal's election, Burgess would return to law enforcement more than three years after he lost his police certification, paid thousands of dollars in fines and faced censure and reprimand from the state Commission on Ethics.
"People are going to make their choices," he said Saturday. "Most people know me ... The circumstances, they're not just plain black and white."
Burgess faces two opponents: Police Capt. Mark A. Weeks, the acting supervisor at the DeFuniak Springs Police Department, and Walton County Sheriff's Deputy Jimmy Macon, who ran for sheriff last year.
Burgess pleaded no contest in 2005 to charges that, as city marshal, he falsified documents to help a Walton sheriff's deputy avoid re-certification testing. One of Burgess' employees quit under pressure to help him.
He retired after the first-degree misdemeanor plea. Gov. Charlie Crist last year ordered Burgess to pay $3,500 in civil penalties.
The ethics commission also found probable cause to believe Burgess enlisted a police officer to report fraudulent overtime hours so the officer could receive more pay and kick back the money to Burgess.
Burgess still denies those allegations. They were dropped from his civil punishment, according to ethics commission spokeswoman Kerrie Stillman.
On Saturday, Burgess said he invites residents to call him if they have questions about his past.
"I'll give them my side of the story and they can make their own conclusions," he said, adding that he's taken responsibility for the falsifications "to help a fellow law officer."
Weeks and Macon did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

"As a recent visitor to your area, I could not believe what was and is going on in your law enforcement agencies, and apparently with your approval! According to what I read and heard while I was there in your area, the former number two from a previous Sheriff?s Office administration, (Bill Chapman), approached the Town Marshal (Burgess) and after a transfer of an unknown amount of cash, the marshal agreed to falsify legal documents to allow Bill Chapman to remain in law enforcement, without having to be recertified, as required by law. This is now a conspiracy, which is a crime, along with fraud, also a crime. Now, one or both made contact with a ?yahoo? from FDLE and made him part of this conspiracy and crime.
All this corruption is now in place to deceive the public by these ?trusted? lawmen. What they did not expect, was an office worker, (the wife of a well respected supervisor in the Walton Co. Sheriff?s Office), would not allow this crime to go any further and reported this crime. The office worker lost her job, the Town Marshal lost his job along with his law enforcement certificate, and the yahoo from FDLE lost his job! Now the only winner in this conspiracy was the architect of this crime, the former #2 man, Bill Chapman, who was never investigated for this crime! He simply walked away unscathed.
An opening for Town Marshal became available, and the city attorney recommended his nephew for the position of Town Marshal. So, the relative is appointed Town Marshal, and who do you think was one of his first hires? Bill Chapman! Even after knowing his background for criminal conspiracy and fraud! Later the people elected the city attorney?s nephew as their Town Marshal. Bill Chapman remained in the Town Marshal?s Office. Next, the Town Marshal ran for sheriff, and in his campaign he stated he had a number of years in law enforcement, which included parole and probation and corrections. This is fraud, as neither are law enforcement. The Town Marshal was elected sheriff, and had his hand- picked team, which included Bill Chapman, to check out the Sheriff?s Office, before his term of office took place. The people of Defuniak Springs were paying the teams salary all this time. Fraud comes to mind. The citizens were paying for law enforcement protection from these individuals in the Police Department, and they were working for the sheriff elect, in unrelated Police Dept. matters.
The newly elected sheriff took office, and who do you think he appointed as his #2 man?? Bill Chapman. Remember the wife of the supervisor who reported the conspiracy that Bill Chapman was involved in? Her husband, who was a Road Patrol Lieutenant now became a Road Patrol Deputy! Seems the way honesty is handled in Walton Co. Law Enforcement is by firing and demotions! To top this off, the disgraced Town Marshal ran for his old job back, and almost made it, after the majority of the citizens knew the details of the corruption being committed.
I can proudly say I am not among the Walton Co. residents that continually approve of corrupt law enforcement. If I were a resident, I would demand an investigation by the FBI of all employees of the law enforcement agencies in Walton County.

 

[ShallowsNole]

Nice first post, and a whole lot of information and, more importantly, misinformation by someone who only "visits" our area.

Your initials wouldn't be RJ, would they?

 

[OlePiney]

Visitor

Nice first post, and a whole lot of information and, more importantly, misinformation by someone who only "visits" our area.

Your initials wouldn't be RJ, would they?

Answer, Nope I'm not. My info is verified. Be nice to the outsider who "ain't from around here". They bring money and gainful employment, during these trying times, to locals would be sitting around whittling a stick, and have no food on the table for their kids. I see the same thing here in my hometown. Where the established families who have lived their all their lives are way to insulated to see the forest for the pines. And...most importantly....GO Gators!!!!!!!!