A recent decision from the Florida Commission on Ethics has cleared former Holmes Beach Commissioner David Zaccagnino of alleged ethics violations.
The FCE decided in a closed session April 17, released to the public April 22, that there was no probable cause to believe Zaccagnino violated ethics laws on three separate allegations.
Complaints to the FCE remain private until a determination is made.
The complaint and an accompanying list of allegations were filed in early 2014 by former Mayor Carmel Monti, although no copy exists with the city clerk.
Monti claimed Zaccagnino used his position to:
• Persuade or attempt to persuade the city’s building inspector to overlook building regulations.
• Obtain or attempt to obtain preferential treatment from the mayor for a friend.
• Threaten a city vendor or its employee for failing to collect waste at Zaccagnino’s home.
Emails between city staff and Beau Jackson of the FCE include inquiries about a stop work order placed in 2013 on a project managed by Shawn Kaleta and the initial violations regarding the tree house owned by Richard Hazen and Kathy Tran.
One email referenced a letter written in April 2013 by former building official Tom O’Brien to city attorney Patricia Petruff.
“My great concern is that now Commissioner Zaccagnino has decided to intervene on behalf of the violators,” O’Brien wrote in the letter.
He added that Zaccagnino had made a comment to human resource analyst Mary Buonagura, saying if the city wouldn’t help Hazen and Tran, he would. O’Brien stated he felt Zaccagnino was interfering with his duties as building official.
Jackson requested contact information for Zaccagnino and Monti in April 2014 while both remained in office.
Records were requested in January 2015 regarding the stop work order and the initial tree house violations.
Also requested were the minutes of commission meetings at which commissioners discussed reimbursement or coverage of legal fees for commissioners facing ethics law allegations.
Zaccagnino could make a claim to the city to be reimbursed his legal fees, however, on May 24, he said he was not yet prepared to comment on the matter on the advice of his attorney.
The FCE is a nine-member commission that serves as the guardian of the standards of conduct for public officials. It investigates and issues public reports on complaints of breaches of the public trust.
It renders legally binding opinions based on interpretations of the states ethics and financial disclosure laws.
David is an ethical man whose only interest is Holmes Beach. These attacks are political. Personally, I have never worked with a better commisioner.