05-26-2009, 04:33 PM
LEE COUNTY — A former Lee County Sheriff's Office captain is not allowed to appeal his resignation from the agency, a civil service panel decided in a unanimous vote.
Dominick Ferrante, the former commander of the Special Investigations Division, resigned on March 4, following allegations he threatened retaliation against another captain and then failed a polygraph test.
The decision means the 16-year officer will not be able to contest his treatment by calling witnesses and presenting evidence.
"You just saw justice in action," an angered Ferrante said after the vote. "I didn't even get what murderers and drug dealers get."
Today's vote held that the agency Civil Service Board did not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal, as Ferrante was not disciplined, but submitted a formal letter of resignation. Ferrante's request for appeal also fell outside the 15-day window mandated by Florida law. Ferrante held that because he was told to either resign or be fired, his resignation equated to termination.
The five-person board unanimously rejected that interpretation.
Also present at the meeting were Ferrante's wife; his brother, former Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante; and Lee Bushong, a former lieutenant who ran Dominick Ferrante's intelligence section. Bushong was terminated for sending a profane email to a subordinate and then confronting the deputy who complained about it. Bushong will have a full hearing next week.
Charles Ferrante announced his retirement almost immediately after his brother's resignation. In the days before he left, he came under scrutiny for several complaints against him, but no internal investigations were ever completed.
Sheriff Mike Scott has said Dominick Ferrante failed a polygraph test about an alleged threat he made to another captain. That captain, Gary Kamp, commander of the training division, had intercepted a gun purchase Ferrante intended for his men, claiming the order circumvented chain of command. In response, Kamp said, Dominick threatened to retaliate.
Scott said Kamp passed a polygraph test.
Much of the 30-minute meeting centered on the purpose of the meeting, which Ferrante once referred to as a "hearing to have a hearing." The merits of Ferrante's case were not for discussion, said Robert Shearman, a Fort Myers attorney and the non-voting chairman of the panel.
But Ferrante noted that panel members had not received the memorandum in which he states his case. He, in turn, had not received a copy of the Sheriff's Office memorandum to the board, stating its case, he said.
Ferrante's request for a continuance was denied.
"He had no idea what he was walking in on," Charles Ferrante said after the meeting.
Ferrante also wanted one of the panel members, Charles Bell, to recuse himself from the vote. Bell is the father of Detective Ryan Bell, who was scheduled to have a board hearing in early March after being disciplined by Ferrante's brother, then-Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante. Dominick Ferrante said he was named in that complaint, a fact that could prejudice Charles Bell against him in the vote.
Capt. Matt Powell, a panel member representing deputies of rank lieutenant and above, agreed that Bell should recuse himself. Bell refused to do so, calling it an individual decision that questioned his ability to be impartial.
"You've got to make decisions on what you believe is fair," he said.
Dominick Ferrante, the former commander of the Special Investigations Division, resigned on March 4, following allegations he threatened retaliation against another captain and then failed a polygraph test.
The decision means the 16-year officer will not be able to contest his treatment by calling witnesses and presenting evidence.
"You just saw justice in action," an angered Ferrante said after the vote. "I didn't even get what murderers and drug dealers get."
Today's vote held that the agency Civil Service Board did not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal, as Ferrante was not disciplined, but submitted a formal letter of resignation. Ferrante's request for appeal also fell outside the 15-day window mandated by Florida law. Ferrante held that because he was told to either resign or be fired, his resignation equated to termination.
The five-person board unanimously rejected that interpretation.
Also present at the meeting were Ferrante's wife; his brother, former Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante; and Lee Bushong, a former lieutenant who ran Dominick Ferrante's intelligence section. Bushong was terminated for sending a profane email to a subordinate and then confronting the deputy who complained about it. Bushong will have a full hearing next week.
Charles Ferrante announced his retirement almost immediately after his brother's resignation. In the days before he left, he came under scrutiny for several complaints against him, but no internal investigations were ever completed.
Sheriff Mike Scott has said Dominick Ferrante failed a polygraph test about an alleged threat he made to another captain. That captain, Gary Kamp, commander of the training division, had intercepted a gun purchase Ferrante intended for his men, claiming the order circumvented chain of command. In response, Kamp said, Dominick threatened to retaliate.
Scott said Kamp passed a polygraph test.
Much of the 30-minute meeting centered on the purpose of the meeting, which Ferrante once referred to as a "hearing to have a hearing." The merits of Ferrante's case were not for discussion, said Robert Shearman, a Fort Myers attorney and the non-voting chairman of the panel.
But Ferrante noted that panel members had not received the memorandum in which he states his case. He, in turn, had not received a copy of the Sheriff's Office memorandum to the board, stating its case, he said.
Ferrante's request for a continuance was denied.
"He had no idea what he was walking in on," Charles Ferrante said after the meeting.
Ferrante also wanted one of the panel members, Charles Bell, to recuse himself from the vote. Bell is the father of Detective Ryan Bell, who was scheduled to have a board hearing in early March after being disciplined by Ferrante's brother, then-Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante. Dominick Ferrante said he was named in that complaint, a fact that could prejudice Charles Bell against him in the vote.
Capt. Matt Powell, a panel member representing deputies of rank lieutenant and above, agreed that Bell should recuse himself. Bell refused to do so, calling it an individual decision that questioned his ability to be impartial.
"You've got to make decisions on what you believe is fair," he said.