Evidence of Waldo ticket quota is 'overwhelming'

WALDO – “No charges will be filed at this time,” says State Attorney Bill Cervone, in response to three recent Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigations of the Waldo Police Department. In a Dec. 11 letter to FDLE Resident Agent in Charge, Yolanda Carbia, Cervone explained his reasoning and praised the investigative team.

“The professionalism and quality of the investigation in this matter [by FDLE] was exemplary,” said Cervone.

Although several areas for improvement of the department's handling of evidence were noted by FDLE, Cervone's letter pointed out that the investigation did not reveal any missing item of evidence and no indication of evidence tampering or theft had occurred.

“Your report does not identify any person to charge with any crime, nor does your report request that this office file a criminal charge against any person, and, as such, no charges will be filed based on this report,” said Cervone.

Regarding FDLE's investigation into ticket quotas, Cervone said that after interviews with present and past officers the evidence is “overwhelming” that the “City of Waldo Police Department had and enforced a ticket quota.”

“...The motoring public believes, wrongly, that a ticket quota is a criminal offense. It is not,” said Cervone. Although Florida Statute 316.640(1) provides that “'[a]n agency of the state... is prohibited from establishing a traffic citation quota,'” it “'is not subject to the penalties provided in Chapter 318.'”

“There is no criminal penalty associated with this statute; therefore any violation of this statute may not be prosecuted in criminal court,” he said. “More importantly, from the way the entirety of Section 316.640 is written it likely does not apply to municipalities.” “As such, there is no charge available for criminal prosecution as a result of the City of Waldo ticket quota,” said Cervone.

Allegations that former Chief Mike Szabo unlawfully recorded his in-person and telephone communication with Officer Roy Steadman in violation of Florida Statutes required more deliberation on Cervone's part, but resulted in the same outcome.

Cervone noted that Szabo admitted recording conversations with Officer Steadman on six different occasions without making Steadman aware of the fact that he was being recorded. While Florida Statutes generally prohibit the intentional and unknown interception of any wire, oral or electronic communication, as occurred in this case, he said, “several other factors must be considered in determining whether criminal charges are appropriate.”

In order for the State to prove their case, they must prove that the individual being recorded had a reasonable expectation of privacy in that communication. When Szabo and Steadman were on the phone, Steadman was aware he was on speakerphone and that the entire department, other than the Chief's office, was under audio and video surveillance.

On one occasion, Steadman admitted he saw an active recorder being used in the office. “His [Steadman's] admitted knowledge that he was being recorded on at least one occasion defeats prosecution for that incident and also suggests that he knew or should have known of that on other occasions as well,” said Cervone.

In addition, an affirmative defense could be made by Szabo that he subjectively believed that he was authorized by law to make the recordings. Cervone listed several factors that Szabo could use as a defense against prosecution that would impact the ability of the State to get a conviction on charges related to his recording of Steadman's conversations.

Among those factors was Szabo's statement that his intended use of the recordings was for agency business and to “protect the agency from a lawsuit from Officer Steadman.” As there are other “law enforcement” exceptions in Chapter 934, the Chapter in question, Szabo's confusion about fine legal issues could be seen as legally credible.

“While these factors are present, this is an affirmative defense and the burden of bringing forth that defense is on the defendant and, as such, does not preclude the filing of criminal charges. They do, however, impact the viability of a prosecution,” said Cervone.

Long-time Waldo Mayor Louie Davis remarked after reading the disposition letter, “I appreciate the thorough investigation done by FDLE and the resulting letter from Bill Cervone's office. We believed all along that there was no criminal wrongdoing on the part of our police department. We believed all along that any mistakes that were made by our police department were unintentional. Former Chief Szabo always looked out for the best interests of the city,” said Davis. “We appreciate the efforts made on behalf of our citizens by the entire Waldo Police Department and wish our former officers the best.”

The Waldo Police Department was disbanded earlier in the year and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office has taken over law enforcement responsibilities on a permanent basis for the municipality.

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