Supervisor Desmond Barrett is under investigation by the Florida Elections Commission & Florida Commission on Ethics

- A probe into whether or not East County Water Control District Supervisor Desmond Barrett used a fax machine illegally in his home will show that investigators will tell the Florida Commission on Ethics that there is no probable cause to believe that Barrett violated Florida statues. But Mr. Barrett did take an oath of office to uphold the laws of Florida. Mr. Linzie Bogan, an advocate for the Florida commission on Ethics, will state that after an investigation, the evidence is insufficient to establish that Barrett used a fax machine in his home in an unlawful man­ner. A complaint was brought against Barrett by Robert Anderson of Lehigh Acres during the last election. He contended that Barrett, who was a candidate for reelection to the ECWCD Board of Supervisors at the time, was using a fax machine at his home for personal and political reasons. Barrett was also chairman of the Citizens Against Increased Taxes (CAIT) at the time, a group that was fighting incorporation. Barrett went on to win reelection. He had also been elected to the board of the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corporation. Later he resigned from being president of CAIT and over the holidays, he resigned as a member of the CAIT group. Members of the Ethics Commission will be told by the investigator that facts show that Barrett did have a fax machine and dedicated fax phone line placed in his home by the water district. This was done by the water district so that the staff could more easily communicate with Barrett, the investigation revealed. Barrett did relieve to the investigators that he did you the fax for personal use. Despite the fact that the fax machine was placed in his home, the probe revealed that the water district never implemented a poli­cy where members of the board of the ECWCD were advised as to the proper use and limitations asso­ciated with the operation of the fax machine. The issue now is Mr. Barrett did take an oath of office to uphold the laws of Florida – didn’t he break the law? Bogan will tell the Ethics Commission that Barrett may have benefited personally by having a fax machine in his home but the evidence is insufficient to establish that he used it in a corrupt manner. According to the Ethics Commission, "corrupt" means done with a wrongful intent and for the purpose of obtaining, or compensating or receiving compensation for, any benefit resulting from some act or omission of a public servant which is incon­sistent with the proper performance of his or her public duties. For Barrett to have been found guilty of violating Florida statues, he would have acted corruptly which the Commission says would be wrongful intent and for the pur­pose of benefiting him or another person from some act or omission which was inconsistent with the proper performance of public duties. It was relieved on the 27th at the Ethics hearing that he did fax out a political fax to attend the candidate’s forum last November and faxed out confidential employee bargaining information for the ECWCD but this seamed not to matter to the ethics board. We at the Lehigh Acres Watchdog believe that Desmond Barrett should have been found guilty since he taken an oath of office to uphold the laws of Florida. Why should the ECWCD have redundant policies for use of governmental property if there are already laws on the books?