Manatee County Commission Chair Vanessa Baugh won’t face criminal charges for a vaccines-for-VIPs controversy.
But a complaint remains before the Florida Commission on Ethics.
The Manatee County sheriff’s special investigations division released a report June 22 detailing an investigation into criminal charges Baugh allegedly committed when organizing a COVID-19 pop-up vaccine clinic in Lakewood Ranch.
“After nearly four months, numerous interviews and a review of hundreds of documents, investigators concluded that none of Baugh’s actions rose to the level of a crime,” MCSO public information officer Randy Warren wrote June 28 in a news release.
County commissioners established a lottery system in January to distribute vaccines to eligible people via random selection from a pool of registered applicants.
However, Baugh organized a pop-up clinic at Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch — in her county district — that failed to adhere to the system and narrowed the lottery pool to registrants residing in 34202 and 34211 ZIP codes.
Baugh also emailed public safety director Jacob Saur a list of five names, including those of four political allies and donors — Robert Keehn, Marie Keehn, Rex Jensen and Lawrence Jenson — as well as her own to ensure they received vaccines at the clinic.
Her actions drew the ire of many, resulting in a protest outside the county administration building and a failed motion by some of her peers to unseat her as commission chair, as well as criminal and ethical complaints.
Sarasota paralegal Michael Barfield filed a criminal complaint Feb. 23 alleging Baugh committed three violations of her position as a county official, including:
- Misuse of public position;
- Official misconduct;
- Misuse of confidential information.
The sheriff’s special investigations division’s report dismissed the first charge as an ethical violation instead of a criminal act “and therefore not enforceable under the scope of this investigation nor the purview of the (MCSO).”
Regarding the second charge, the report states that “evidence obtained during the course of this investigation clearly indicates (Baugh) … knowingly and intentionally attempted to obtain a benefit for herself and others.”
However, it also states that she did not destroy or falsify records involved in the incident nor alter the original pool as the limited pool for the clinic was based off of the existing county-wide pool. Thus, the report found “no underlying felony exists to substantiate the indictment of official misconduct.”
The report’s dismissal of the third charge is largely based on the lack of valuables changing hands.
“This investigation has uncovered no evidence demonstrative of Baugh receiving any tangible benefit, pecuniary or otherwise, for either restricting the registrant pool for the PSC vaccination event to the two zip codes within her district or for the creation of the ‘VIP List,’” it states.
Whereas the report notes that Baugh’s actions may have been an attempt to “curry political favor” with Jensen, Gov. Ron DeSantis and her constituents, it states the practice “may present certain ethical issues” but does not warrant criminal indictment.
The report concludes, “Since statutory ethics violations do not fall within the purview of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, this investigative report will be promptly forwarded to the Florida Commission on Ethics per their request.”
Palmetto attorney Jennifer Hamey filed an ethics complaint Feb. 23 — the same day as Barfield’s criminal complaint — but the ethics commission had not addressed the complaint as of July 2.
Barfield told The Islander July 1 that he disagreed with the dismissal of the criminal charges but said the ethics commission would begin reviewing the case since the criminal investigation had ended.
“I think the report clearly indicates that Commissioner Baugh has very difficult troubles ahead with the ethics commission,” Barfield said. “I look forward to seeing the outcome of that inquiry.”
“The conclusions reached by the sheriff’s department are far from vindication for Commissioner Baugh’s actions and, in my view, are more of an indictment on her credibility,” he added.
Baugh did not respond to a June 30 email from The Islander.