Blame JP

From Tallahassee.com written by Jeff Burlew:

A captain for the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco has been fired for repeatedly making racially and sexually charged comments to subordinates and other workers at the Orlando field office he helped manage.

Capt. Rodney Tilley was terminated Monday after the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's Office of Inspector General sustained allegations he “created a hostile work environment for the Orlando office, in addition to an identifiable pattern of harassment and discrimination based on race and sex.”

The OIG, in a June 24 report, also says employees were afraid to speak up during an initial inquiry out of fear of retaliation by both Tilley and higher-ups. And it concluded that DBPR Deputy Secretary Michael Walker made "inappropriate and unprofessional" comments during a staff meeting in Orlando.

Investigators found that Tilley used state and national crime databases to run checks on customers for noncriminal matters and released confidential information to people outside the agency, according to the report.

During the staff meeting in Orlando with Walker, an agent complained that an ABT secretary had been threatened with termination for reporting Tilley’s misuse of the databases to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

An ABT agent told investigators that Walker, responding to the threat, told a group of employees that, “If you're given an illegal, unethical (or) immoral order, you got two choices: follow it or find another job,” the OIG report says. Five former and current ABT employees at the meeting backed up the agent’s account.

“Deputy Secretary Walker's statement during the group discussion was unanimously perceived by all six witnesses as a command to follow supervisors' orders regardless of legality or ethics,” the OIG said in its 36-page report. “The statement, which was made in the presence of agents and supervisors, appeared to have created a chilling effect where future complaints were suppressed by fear of employment security.”

When asked about the findings, DBPR Secretary Ken Lawson issued a statement Monday saying, “We take these allegations very seriously. We will not tolerate improper behavior in the workplace. The investigation is currently under review for action.”

The OIG’s findings against Tilley include the following:

- He repeatedly called an ABT agent “special Asian” and suggested an African-American employee would get a promotion to major because of her race.

- He referred to one ABT agent as “a looker” and a “hot blond” and said a decision made by one ABT employee was caused by her menstrual cycle.

- He openly criticized ABT lieutenants in Orlando to staff and at one point said he was taking time off before he shot someone.

The investigation began after DBPR received an anonymous complaint in December about Tilley, who began working as a law-enforcement captain for ABT in May 2010. The OIG forwarded the complaint to DBPR’s human-relations office, which in January conducted a random survey of ABT employees in the Orlando office.

The survey found “no clear evidence that sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior currently exists in Orlando, and therefore no action was warranted or taken,” the OIG report says. “Employees that overheard/witnessed racial or sexual comments in the past acknowledged that management had satisfactorily addressed their concerns.”

But in February, another anonymous complaint surfaced, followed by an official complaint in March filed by an ABT inspector alleging Tilley was making sexual remarks.

Link to IG Report:

http://www.tallahassee.com/assets/pdf/CD20780271.PDF

Link to termination Letter:

http://www.tallahassee.com/assets/pdf/CD20779871.PDF

O M G !!! YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!!!

Yes... we have some of the most UNPROFESSIONAL, UNETHICAL, and UNQUALIFIED leaders here at DBPR.

Yes... we have some of the most UNPROFESSIONAL, UNETHICAL, and UNQUALIFIED leaders here at DBPR.

You also left out agents and inspectors----just sayin.

I wonder if OIG interviewed Tilley?

Seriously??? You don't need to bash the Major like that... looks like she has her own problems right now.

Please people! Let TCO gather their wounded and clear the crime scene before you start on the others. Maybe the survivors will learn something here. I would also ask you show some appreciation for the fortitude of the IG Office and Secretary Lawson because they had the courage to face the truth. If I was the Director, I would use this opportunity to get the house in order. Bringing in an outsider is not the answer now.

Peace Out

Yes... this all started when JP started hiring all of his buddys, and buddys of buddys. Back in the day Chiefs and TCO hired in friends as Lt's and Capts, but they kept them in TCO where for the most part they had little contact with people other than their BS policies and procedure. At the end of the day they had less control than they thought in their little minds.

JP f'd up when he started hiring people directly as Captains and LT's and sticking them in district offices. BAD IDEA. It was never going to work. That morphed into nobody with institutional knowledge wanting to promote, so now we have a bunch of people with less than 5 years experience in LT and Capt positions. Not to say these aren't quality people, but I guarantee the respect isn't there. Most of us could care less how many drug pops you made at <<<INSERT AGENCY>>>. Coupled with the fact that there is a dividing line between people who think we are the CIA/FBI/DEA all rolled into one versus those who just want to be a beverage agent.... it's a recipe for disaster.

Even some of the supervisors we have that have come up through the ranks are not worth a damn. Maxed out keeps bouncing around the state infecting the offices she touches, she tells you one thing and does another. The powers that be need to address this problem too. Maybe this is why she has become so
"friendly" with certain high ranking people.