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Going after Valentino this time calling him as a witness in a criminal investigation. Pass the popcorn.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20130605/NEWS01/306050029/Commission-chairman-s-comments-prompt-criminal-investigation
The détente that recently emerged between Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan and the County Commission is over.
Taking earlier verbal sparring over ongoing budget negotiations to a new level Tuesday, Morgan opened a criminal investigation into his own detention deputies because Commission Chairman Gene Valentino told WEAR-TV last week that he heard they were “playing video games on laptop computers and ignoring prisoners.”
Morgan wrote that bringing video games into the jail could constitute a third-degree felony of bringing contraband into the facility.
He named Valentino a “material witness” and said he wants the commissioner questioned under oath by his investigators within the next few days.
He also wants Valentino — a frequent Morgan critic — to withdraw from further negotiations between the commission and Sheriff’s Office over how to respond to a Department of Justice investigation that identified myriad Constitutional violations and other deficiencies at the Escambia County Jail, some of which stem from a severe staffing shortage.
“Your recent public comments indicate you do not have an open mind regarding the issue of the jail, and that you lack the spirit of cooperation and collaboration required for this position,” Morgan said in a letter sent to Valentino on Tuesday.
Morgan also accused Valentino of enlisting “emissaries to propagate half-truths and innuendo” on social media sites.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20130605/NEWS01/306050029/Commission-chairman-s-comments-prompt-criminal-investigation
The détente that recently emerged between Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan and the County Commission is over.
Taking earlier verbal sparring over ongoing budget negotiations to a new level Tuesday, Morgan opened a criminal investigation into his own detention deputies because Commission Chairman Gene Valentino told WEAR-TV last week that he heard they were “playing video games on laptop computers and ignoring prisoners.”
Morgan wrote that bringing video games into the jail could constitute a third-degree felony of bringing contraband into the facility.
He named Valentino a “material witness” and said he wants the commissioner questioned under oath by his investigators within the next few days.
He also wants Valentino — a frequent Morgan critic — to withdraw from further negotiations between the commission and Sheriff’s Office over how to respond to a Department of Justice investigation that identified myriad Constitutional violations and other deficiencies at the Escambia County Jail, some of which stem from a severe staffing shortage.
“Your recent public comments indicate you do not have an open mind regarding the issue of the jail, and that you lack the spirit of cooperation and collaboration required for this position,” Morgan said in a letter sent to Valentino on Tuesday.
Morgan also accused Valentino of enlisting “emissaries to propagate half-truths and innuendo” on social media sites.
