04-22-2009, 10:36 PM
A day after former Sheriff's Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante spoke with local media for the first time since his retirement, Sheriff Mike Scott held a press conference to address the media.
He called the timing of Ferrante's retirement announcement — five days after his brother, former Capt. Dominick Ferrante, resigned — "curious."
Scott said a day after Charles Ferrante announced his retirement, he went on medical leave, ending any chance at concluding an internal investigation. Scott said an investigation was opened, but wasn't unable to be completed.
"If he was here, I'd get to the bottom of it," Scott said. "The agency is bigger than any one person — including myself."
Scott again denied Ferrante's assertion that Scott invited him to a meeting to discuss his brother's personnel file.
Dominick Ferrante, who oversaw the Special Operations division, resigned and an internal affairs investigation revealed he failed a polygraph after denying he made retaliatory threats to another captain who questioned him about a gun order.
On March 9, two days after Charles Ferrante announced his retirement, he was accused of using abusive language toward a subordinate and later attempting to pressure an attorney into altering the personnel file of his brother.
12:49 p.m. update
Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott sent a memo on Monday to Abbi Smith, an attorney for the sheriff’s office, about an encounter involving former Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante.
The memo was in response to the March 11 letter where Smith related an encounter with Ferrante, which took place March 5, when she alleged the chief attempted to intimidate her into purging documents from his brother, Dominick Ferrante’s file.
The memo serves “to punctuate the seriousness of that March 5 encounter, and document my inability to pursue formal resolve with Ferrante due to the circumstances of his departure,” Scott wrote.
“I intend this response to be closure absent the ability for further inquiry into Ferrante’s actions,” the memo said.
Ferrante’s brother, former captain Domenick Ferrante, resigned on February after failing a polygraph test after an alleged dispute with other officers.
Scott wrote he repeatedly ordered Ferrante to refrain from involvement into his brother’s professional troubles, the memo said.
“I was completely satisfied that Charles Ferrante was clear on my direction,” Scott wrote.
“Clearly, Charles Ferrante approaching you on March 5, 2009 and specifically confronting you in an ‘intimidating and inappropriate’ manner regarding his brother’s personnel file was unacceptable and improper,” the memo said.
“This response serves as a conclusion to a more thorough inquiry into Carles Ferrante that was inhibited by the circumstances following his sudden retirement,” Scott said.
He called the timing of Ferrante's retirement announcement — five days after his brother, former Capt. Dominick Ferrante, resigned — "curious."
Scott said a day after Charles Ferrante announced his retirement, he went on medical leave, ending any chance at concluding an internal investigation. Scott said an investigation was opened, but wasn't unable to be completed.
"If he was here, I'd get to the bottom of it," Scott said. "The agency is bigger than any one person — including myself."
Scott again denied Ferrante's assertion that Scott invited him to a meeting to discuss his brother's personnel file.
Dominick Ferrante, who oversaw the Special Operations division, resigned and an internal affairs investigation revealed he failed a polygraph after denying he made retaliatory threats to another captain who questioned him about a gun order.
On March 9, two days after Charles Ferrante announced his retirement, he was accused of using abusive language toward a subordinate and later attempting to pressure an attorney into altering the personnel file of his brother.
12:49 p.m. update
Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott sent a memo on Monday to Abbi Smith, an attorney for the sheriff’s office, about an encounter involving former Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante.
The memo was in response to the March 11 letter where Smith related an encounter with Ferrante, which took place March 5, when she alleged the chief attempted to intimidate her into purging documents from his brother, Dominick Ferrante’s file.
The memo serves “to punctuate the seriousness of that March 5 encounter, and document my inability to pursue formal resolve with Ferrante due to the circumstances of his departure,” Scott wrote.
“I intend this response to be closure absent the ability for further inquiry into Ferrante’s actions,” the memo said.
Ferrante’s brother, former captain Domenick Ferrante, resigned on February after failing a polygraph test after an alleged dispute with other officers.
Scott wrote he repeatedly ordered Ferrante to refrain from involvement into his brother’s professional troubles, the memo said.
“I was completely satisfied that Charles Ferrante was clear on my direction,” Scott wrote.
“Clearly, Charles Ferrante approaching you on March 5, 2009 and specifically confronting you in an ‘intimidating and inappropriate’ manner regarding his brother’s personnel file was unacceptable and improper,” the memo said.
“This response serves as a conclusion to a more thorough inquiry into Carles Ferrante that was inhibited by the circumstances following his sudden retirement,” Scott said.