Fired deputy appalled by frame-job

http://www.news-press.com/article/20...d-by-frame-job

(Note: Les Partington was fired by Sheriff Mike Scott in 2006. Partington said his record was unblemished until a bogus allegation that he lied. A circuit judge upheld the firing.)

SAM: The deputies who serve Lee County citizens are among the finest in the state. (Lawyers outwit Lee County deputies this time, June 11). I know this to be true because I worked with many of them during my 20 years with the sheriff’s office. I am alarmed, however, that no outside investigation has been ordered into the arrests of two men for burglary and murder when the facts of the case in no way supported the charges. The sheriff has opened an internal investigation. However, this is not an internal matter. Two people were allegedly framed for felony murder. The culture of corruption that allowed these arrests to be made calls for scrutiny by an outside agency such as the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. An independent investigation by an agency other than the sheriff’s office is the only way to bring the truth to light. A homicide case such as this one, in which an innocent person dies during a vehicle pursuit, goes through a thorough review by the top ranks of the arresting agency before it is given to the state attorney. How could the LCSO legal staff and the sheriff sign off on this case? What happened in this case was criminal if in fact exculpatory evidence was purposely omitted and facts altered to make the charges fit.

Had the state not conducted its own investigation, a jury could easily have sent two men to prison for decades or life for something they didn’t do.

LES PARTINGTON
Estero

LES: You scooped me.

If enough people complain about the investigation, the Feds will take a look at the case! The indictments are coming and heads will roll! If not indictments, the Feds can place LCSO under federal review and monitor the agency. MS should get to know some of the agents while attending the FBI Academy because he will see them again when he gets back to Lee County! If I can pass one thing to the deputys in Lee County it would be this: If its illegal, immoral, and unethical, dont do it! Dont be sorry, be careful! :devil: :cop:

The easiest way for an outside investigation to happen is for the sheriff to request one. Why would a sheriff do this? In order to give the public confidence that the investigation is above-board. MS, of course, is not going to do this because it would threaten to expose the truth.

The only other way is for an ethics complaint to be filed. It's obvious to even my 83-year-old grandmother that this was a corrupt investigation.

Nothing will happen. Nobody will do anything. There has to be a groundswell of support and it's just not there. Nobody is mobilizing, nobody is forcing someone to take action. It's a column here, a story there, but none of that makes a difference. We are going to continue to live with corruption.

I'm glad Les took a stab at it. He's right. And he got royally screwed. But he's wasting his time.