Former Flagler elections supervisor arrested on charges of illegally recording officials
saw them going over ballots!...
By Tony Holt & Matt Bruce
tony.holt@news-jrnl.com matt.bruce@news-jrnl.com
Published: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 10:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 9:46 a.m.
Former Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks was arrested and booked into the county jail Wednesday on 12 felony counts alleging she illegally recorded conversations of Florida's secretary of state, a county judge, a city clerk, the county attorney and others.
A 12-count indictment accuses former Flagler County elections supervisor Kimberle Weeks of illegally recording private conversations between April 3 to Sept. 19, 2014.
Weeks is accused of recording conversations of at least 12 people without their knowledge or consent.
Recordings involved city, county and state officials, including Florida Secretary of State Kenneth Detzner, Flagler County Judge Melissa Moore Stens and Palm Coast City Clerk Virginia Smith.
Each charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
Weeks turned herself in at 8:05 a.m. Wednesday and was released after posting $12,000 bail.
Weeks turned herself in and was processed at the county jail just before 9:15 a.m., according to a report from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. She was released a short time later after posting $12,000 bail.
The charges are the result of a months-long investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. A grand jury indictment lists seven counts based on the illegal recording of communications involving at least 12 individuals — including Palm Coast City Clerk Virginia Smith, Flagler County Judge Melissa Moore Stens, Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed and Florida Secretary of State Kenneth Detzner — who didn't know they were being recorded. The remaining five counts of disclosure of oral communication do not name any individuals.
Each charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Multiple attempts to contact Weeks on Wednesday were unsuccessful. Two cars were parked in the driveway beside her rural west Flagler County home, enclosed behind a chain-link fence bearing “Private Property” and “No Trespassing” signs, but no one responded when a News-Journal reporter visited in the afternoon.
The FDLE investigation began soon after Weeks played a recording during a September canvassing board meeting that involved a conversation between Hadeed and County Commissioner Charlie Ericksen.
In the recording, Hadeed can be heard telling Ericksen about an earlier incident involving another commissioner who may have been illegally reading ballots. That commissioner was not identified in the recording.
Weeks contended Hadeed violated Florida Bar ethics and state law by not coming forward with that information, but it was Weeks' recording of the conversation between Hadeed and Ericksen that has been deemed illegal by state investigators.
Shannon Peters, a spokeswoman with the State Attorney's Office, wouldn't comment Wednesday beyond what was outlined in the indictment and arrest report. She did refer to a section in Florida law pertaining to illegal recordings.
In Florida, both sides in a two-party conversation must have knowledge and consent to a recording of that conversation in order for that recording to be legal. The only exception, Peters said, is if one of the parties records it in conjunction with law enforcement.
The current charges stem from incidents that occurred between April 3 and Sept. 20, 2014, according to the arrest report.
County Administrator Craig Coffey, in an email Wednesday, called Weeks' arrest an “unfortunate situation.” He also said county officials were unaware that other officials — in addition to Hadeed and Ericksen — had apparently been unknowingly recorded.
Weeks, a 54-year-old Detroit native, resigned from her post as the county's elections chief on Jan. 6, citing a list of reasons for her departure. In an email she sent to multiple media outlets at the time, Weeks said she was stepping down after being forced to deal with “(six) years of obstruction and manipulation that I perceive as voter fraud.”
She also accused county commissioners of “attacking” her office and trying to find ways to “conquer” it and take over its operations.
Weeks was initially elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. Her departure came amid a whirlwind of allegations and counter-allegations and not long after FDLE agents raided the Flagler elections offices in October.
During the months leading up to her resignation, Weeks had filed a series of complaints with the state against all five members of the Flagler County Commission. The Florida Elections Commission notified Flagler County two weeks ago that it had dismissed all of the charges, calling them “legally insufficient.” The commission's executive director also sent a letter April 22 to Weeks stating a second wave of allegations she made was almost identical to the first. Those complaints also were dismissed.
County Commissioner Barbara Revels declined to comment specifically on the former elections chief's arrest, saying she had not yet read the details of the investigation.
“It's a sad day in Flagler County,” Revels said. “I'm just sorry that we've had that happen in our government. I think the elected officials in Flagler County, in general, are upstanding and they are all committed to doing a good job.”
Commissioner George Hanns said he takes “no joy in any of it.”
“I wish her well. We all have different jobs to do, and unfortunately she was indicted,” he said by phone. “But I have nothing further to say, other than I wish her well.”
Moore Stens, through a court spokeswoman, also declined to comment on Weeks or the FDLE investigation.
Hadeed and Ericksen also declined to comment.
Palm Coast spokeswoman Cindi Lane said in a written statement Wednesday that the city's conflicts with Weeks leading up to last year's elections “have been well-documented in the media and public arena.”
“As the City Clerk, Virginia Smith was assigned to take the lead for the City in all elections-related issues and, through it all, Virginia maintained the utmost professionalism representing the City,” Lane wrote in an email.
“Virginia cooperated fully with the FDLE investigation, just as any City employee would in a matter of this type. The City administration backed her fully and will continue to do so as the proceedings continue. The City feels it would be inappropriate to comment further regarding the legal matter involving Ms. Weeks because it's now a pending case for the Courts to handle.”
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