Originally Posted - September 9, 2006

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Had George W. Greer been defeated in August, 2004 in his bid for reelection to a judgeship in the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Pinellas County, Terri Schindler Schiavo might be alive today.

State and local employees and officials are prohibited from using their official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or a nomination for office.

Greer's long-time friend Everett Rice, who was Pinellas County Sheriff at the time of Greer's bid for reelection, knowingly and apparently intentionally allowed and perhaps directed William Cunningham, a uniformed officer to appear in Greer's political commercial during the Primary campaign, paying him with taxpayer monies, and allowing the use of a government-owned patrol car, using the influence of the agency and position, to attempt to influence the outcome of the election and ultimately the Schiavo case.

Whether or not the officer was directed to appear in the commercial which appears to have been filmed in a courtroom at the Pinellas County Courthouse, he may have violated the Hatch Act. Engaging in political activity on government property or using government resources for political purposes is prohibited.

A year previous, Rice had allegedly engaged in an ex parte communication with Greer about the Schiavo case at a baseball game and then denied it. Greer refused to disqualify himself from the case even when a formal motion requesting his recusal was brought in September, 2003. Rice consistently refused to investigate allegations of abuse, neglect and other criminal wrongdoing in the Schiavo case.

Often times, his excuse was that the statute of limitations had expired.

There is no statute of limitations for violations of the federal Hatch Act.

It could not be ascertained if Cunningham is still employed with the sheriff's office.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, its basic authorities coming from three federal statutes, the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act and the Hatch Act.

The Hatch Act Unit of OSC enforces compliance with the Act. Depending on the severity of the violation, OSC will either issue a warning letter to the employee, or prosecute a violation before the Merit Systems Protection Board.

If the MSPB finds that the violation warrants dismissal from employment, the employing agency must either remove the employee of forfeit a portion of the federal assistance equal to two years salary of the employee.

In the case of Rice, he is no longer Pinellas County Sheriff, having left in the fall of 2004, after hiring Michael Schiavo for the Inmate Division of the sheriff's department, and becoming the representative for District 54 in the state's House. Rice had aspirations for the office of attorney general but recently withdrew from the race. He also unsuccessfully sought the office of commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Prior to the hotly contested Aug. 31, 2004 Primary for the Pinellas County judgeship between Greer and attorney Jan Govan, Greer conducted an intensive campaign of political advertising, including a commercial for television aired at least 1,782 times between Aug. 9, 2004 and Aug. 30, 2004 according to BrightHouse Communications which handled the placement of the advertising for Greer.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/090506PoliticalProbe.html

The Florida Elections Commission and Marianne Pasha, public information officer for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department, concur that the television commercial was filmed on July 2, 2004.

Appearing in the commercial was Deputy Cunningham, a uniformed deputy of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department, along with a government-owned patrol car, using taxpayer funds from an agency heavily supported by federal funding to attempt to influence a judicial race and essentially the outcome of the landmark Schiavo case.

While the appearances exist that Rice, Cunningham, Greer and other Pinellas County employees indirectly used federal funds to promote Greer's reelection, ironically, Greer eventually defied Congressional subpoenas and the attempts made by federal legislators and President George Bush to save the life of Terri Schiavo.

Others appearing in the political commercial were James Hellickson, an assistant prosecutor under state attorney Bernie McCabe (left); and Paula Shea, an assistant public defender in the office of Bob Dillinger (right), Pinellas-Pasco Counties public defender. Both offices receive federal funding.

Under the Hatch Act, state and local employees are prohibited from being candidates for public office in a partisan election, using official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the results of an election or nomination; or directly or indirectly coercing contributions from subordinates in support of a political party or candidate.

Although the judicial race was supposed to be non-partisan, Greer had held elected public office as a county commissioner as a Republican and is a registered Republican as is Rice, McCabe and Dillinger.

It is unknown if Rice directed Cunningham to lend the influence of the sheriff's office in Greer's campaign commercial but according to payroll records obtained from the sheriff's office, Cunningham was allegedly paid for his appearance. The records indicate that he was paid $176.31 for seven hours "regular salary" on July 2, 2004 at an hourly rate of $25.1874 and $25.19 for one hour of "comp" time. There is no authority in state statutes that would allow the use of the county owned patrol car in Greer's commercial nor allow Cunningham to wear his uniform during off-duty hours for non-department business. Even if he appeared in the commercial during the one hour he was paid by "comp time", nevertheless he was paid by taxpayer funds and received employee benefits paid for by Pinellas County taxpayers and voters.

The appearance of the deputy and the patrol car, the prosecutor and assistant defender clearly conveyed the message that the employees and the agencies they represented were endorsing Greer's reelection and lending the influence of their offices and titles for political purposes---prohibited under the Hatch Act.

McCabe's and his office had also repeatedly refused to open a criminal investigation into the Schiavo case while advocating the reelection of Judge Greer who had in essence signed the disabled woman's death warrant.

Following Greer's reelection in 2004, he reinforced the death order for Terri Schindler-Schiavo, refusing to allow any new medical testing, rebuffing federal subpoenas and attempts by Gov. Jeb Bush and the Department of Children and Families to save the woman's life. She died on March 31, 2005, 13 days after Greer's unlawful order, issued in February, withheld all food and water from her, natural as well as artificial.

Had George Greer been defeated in the key election on Aug. 31, 2004, it is likely that Govan would have vacated the death order of Terri Schiavo.

Pasha has acknowledged that Everett Rice knowingly and intentionally allowed the use of his title and office to attempt to influence the outcome of the Schiavo case and reelection of Greer, stating in writing that "Sheriff Everett Rice was aware of the deputy's appearance in the ad".

The sheriff is elected countywide. He oversees a budget of about $225 million and 2,800 employees, including 893 sworn law enforcement officers and 826 detention deputies. The sheriff serves a four-year term and is paid a salary of $145,187. The budget includes millions in federal funding, much from grants steered to the agency by Congressman C.W. Bill Young of Largo who serves Florida's 10 District and is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The Hatch Act restricts the political activity of individuals principally employed by state, county or municipal executive agencies in connection with programs financed in whole or in part by loans or grants made by the U.S. or a federal agency.

An employee's conduct is also subject to the laws of the state and the regulations of the employing agency. Prohibitions of the Hatch Act or not affected by state or local laws. It has long been established that an officer or employee of a state or local agency is subject to the Hatch Act if, as a normal and foreseeable incident or his principal position or job, he performs duties in connection with an activity financed in whole or in part by federal funds.

State and local employees may run for public office in non-partisan elections, campaign for and hold office in political clubs and organizations, actively campaign for candidates for public office in partisan and nonpartisan elections, on their own time and not in a governmental building, in uniform and while paid by tax dollars, and contribute money to political organizations and attend political fundraising functions.

The Office of Special Counsel is currently reviewing the Pinellas County matter.  9-09-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette