letterhead?

has anyone read sunday's st pete slimes?

doesn't anyone have anything to say about that?

no thoughts at all?

How about....if it were any of us we'd be sitting in IA right this minute... perhaps we should have chosen Bubba ?

Sheriff rethinks letter for friend
[STATE Edition]



St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, Fla.
Author: JACOB H. FRIES
Date: Oct 8, 2006
Start Page: 1
Text Word Count: 827



Document Text



Copyright Times Publishing Co. Oct 8, 2006
Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats offered and wrote a letter of support to help a close friend and political supporter who is seeking to have his probation from a felony traffic charge cut in half.

Asked last week about the letter, which he wrote on Sheriff's Office stationery, Coats first defended his decision to write it for Robert D. McIntyre, founder of Ditek, a multimillion-dollar Largo company that makes electronic surge protectors.

But about 15 minutes later, Coats called back and said he had changed his mind.

"I would probably be hesitant to do that again," he told the Times. "The fact that he has contributed to my campaign, I can appreciate the misperception the public might have as a result of my involvement in the process."

Because the letter appeared on official stationery and was written on behalf of someone who has given money to the sheriff, the episode raises questions about politics and justice, power and influence.

"To send it on office letterhead is putting it in the realm of official communication, rather than a personal one," said Mike Worley, a former police chief and now a consultant at Kentucky- based Police Practices Consulting. "That's the factor that makes it an eyebrow-raiser."

Coats, who was elected in 2004, said the letter for McIntyre is the only such correspondence he has written since taking office. It was his idea to write, not McIntyre's or his attorney's. Coats has known McIntyre for about 12 years - serving with him on the boards of several organizations - and had his campaign headquarters at Ditek, where he rented space.

"I just felt it was important for the judge to know that at least from my observation and perspective, Mr. McIntyre has been a model citizen since this incident occurred and he contributes to a number of charity programs in the community," Coats said.

McIntyre's legal troubles date back to 2004, when he was arrested on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident in Clearwater.

According to a Clearwater police arrest report, McIntyre was driving a Jeep on Island Way on Aug. 16, 2004, when he ran a red light and hit a Chrysler van broadside at Windward Passage. The driver of the van, John A. Carey, then 84, was transported to Morton Plant Hospital, where he was treated for a hematoma on his spleen, reports state.

McIntyre did not stop after the crash, but a cab driver who saw the crash followed his car. The cab driver called police. Pinellas sheriff's deputies pulled the Jeep over in Indian Rocks Beach, about 7 miles from the crash.

Though the crash caused major damage to both vehicles, McIntyre told police he had been in a "fender-bender" and the other driver had left the scene, arrest reports state. Once in custody, he complained of being ill and was hospitalized.

McIntyre said in an interview this week that he doesn't recall much of the accident and that he suffered an "impact seizure." He said he pleaded no contest because he did what he was accused of - leaving the scene - and didn't want to go through a trial. He was sentenced to three years' probation.

He then accepted Coats' offer to write a letter because he hoped to put the accident behind him, finish his probation early and move on, he said. He didn't think it presented a conflict of interest because, from his perspective, Coats was just a friend.

"I didn't look at it as a letter from the sheriff, but as a letter from my friend Jimmy," McIntyre said. "(But) if I had to do it again, I wouldn't even take it. ... I'm sorry my friend is under this thing. I think he did for a friend what anyone else would have done."

The letter was presented to Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Linda Allan on Sept. 29 during a hearing on whether McIntrye should be permitted to end his probation early. (Such motions are common among people on probation.)

Allan postponed a decision so she could review the case file. A hearing has been scheduled for Friday.

Carey, the man involved in the crash with McIntyre, attended the hearing on Sept. 29. He said he has been skeptical from the beginning whether McIntyre would be treated like everyone else, considering his connection to powerful people.

"It's most inappropriate in view of the fact he is a close friend of Coats" and of former Sheriff Everett Rice, Carey said. "The whole case shows improprieties for different law enforcement agencies in the old Pinellas County."

Prosecutors, however, said McIntyre was treated like everyone, not better or worse. His connections to Coats did not play a role, said Bill Loughery, of the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office.

Nor did the letter, he said.

"I don't really see an obvious conflict considering this is for an early termination of probation," and it was not presented at sentencing, Loughery said.

[Illustration]
Photo: PHOTOS (3)


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Abstract (Document Summary)



[Jim Coats], who was elected in 2004, said the letter for [Robert D. McIntyre] is the only such correspondence he has written since taking office. It was his idea to write, not McIntyre's or his attorney's. Coats has known McIntyre for about 12 years - serving with him on the boards of several organizations - and had his campaign headquarters at Ditek, where he rented space.

[John A. Carey], the man involved in the crash with McIntyre, attended the hearing on Sept. 29. He said

Do we not have a General Order outlining associating with felons? Also would the morality police (I.A.) punish anybody else with less rank. I'm willing to bet my paycheck they would................