Mike Mason Exposes Questionable Hiring Practices in Lee County



Lee County Manager Karen Hawes

 A Four in your Corner investigation uncovers more questionable hiring practices at Lee County. The county manager has already ordered an audit into the Department of Transportation's hiring procedures after what we exposed. Now investigator Mike Mason finds Lee County *doesn't even have a policy* when it comes to advertising for job positions. Since we began our investigation, Lee County D.O.T. employees have complained about the county's hiring policies. For instance, late last year, brothers Shane and Jason Hinman were promoted as crew supervisors at the D.O.T. and both of their positions were only advertised for 3 days.


Many workers feel the positions should have been advertised longer. It’s one reason some D.O.T. workers feel supervisors are hiring their favorites and not giving other employees an equal opportunity. We confronted Shane Hinman about this last month and he said, “You'll have to take that up with Downtown man, I don't know, I couldn't tell you."

So we did take our questions Downtown. Lee County manager Karen Hawes told us Hinman's position should have been advertised longer saying, “It's not the norm.”

Lee H.R. Director Christine Brady

We then went to Lee County's Human Resource Director, Christine Brady, to find out what 'the norm' is. She told us the county's un-written policy is to advertise a position for about 3 days. We wanted to see the county's written policy but couldn't find it in the employee manual, or anywhere else.

Then Hawes sent us an email on July 15th stating the county's “Current policies do not require a minimum or maximum time for advertising a job position." So essentially the county can do whatever it wants to. Things are different in Collier County. Collier's policy requires jobs to be advertised on the county website, posted in all county facilities and available to the public on the county’s job hotline. The position must also be posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The City of Cape Coral also requires jobs to be posted no less than ten calendar days or two weeks.

Darryl Plym has a big problem with Lee County's hiring policies. He was fired from D.O.T. last year when the Director at the time sent him a letter stating "Your position as Senior Equipment Operator at D.O.T Operations is being eliminated due to a reduction in workforce”.
But a few months later Plym’s old position was re-instated and someone else was hired. Even though the county said the job was being eliminated, for some reason it suddenly reappeared. The job was only advertised for four days before another person was hired. Plym says he had no chance of getting his old job back, "That's the way the county works it, if they want to get rid of somebody they will come up with any reason possible to get rid of you."
The audit into D.O.T is set to look into issues including the county's hiring policies. No word on when that audit will be complete but we will let you know.
To view the Fox 4 report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/news/toprotator/126149338.html

D.O.T delivers dirt to restricted Wetlands

Berner Home in Buckingham

LEE COUNTY - New information tonight about an investigation into Lee County's troubled transportation department. The state says county workers committed a major violation on protected wetlands. Our investigation already showed you how D.O.T. supervisors ordered workers to deliver hundreds of truckloads of *free* dirt to the Berner family in Buckingham.


Many D.O.T. workers became suspicious because hardly anyone gets that much dirt delivered to their home. That's when we exposed how the Berners are actually related to a D.O.T. supervisor and workers claimed D.O.T. was doing them special favors. Because of what we found state officials launched an investigation, The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) took this aerial photo of the Berner home and found the Lee County D.O.T. delivered more than 12,000 square feet of fill material to a protected wetland.

Rae Anne Wessel has been an environmental expert for 27 years. She says wetlands affect the entire ecosystem; everything from endangered species to you and I, “ It’s a big deal and it affects everything going on up the food chain and it affects mammals not enough good quality water and the presence of water."

Rae Anne Wessel

The state determined the dirt delivered by D.O.T. is a *major* violation. Berner told them he added the fill he got from D.O.T. to the side of the pond so he could fish there. That area along the pond was historically open and feeding into a marsh system off the property into another wetland.

A photograph taken by D.E.P investigators shows the Eastern part of the pond in 2009 and compares it to how the pond looks after the Berners filled it in. Wessel says, "People feel like if they own property they should be able to do anything they want with it, the problem is this is a water supply we all share."

Documents show Berner filled approximately 12, 312 square feet of wetlands without authorization from the D.E.P. and the material all came from Lee County D.O.T. The Berners have been ordered to remove all of the dirt from the wetlands themselves and they can't count on D.O.T. digging them out of this one. Wessel says, "The fact of the matter is here's an individual for whatever reason didn't understand the importance of wetlands."

Florida's d-e-p is continuing to investigate. Code enforcement also launched an investigation into this and this issue will likely be reviewed as the clerk of court conducts his audit into D.O.T. Officials at D.O.T. say they are not liable for this and it's the homeowner's responsibility. D.O.T will continue delivering dirt to anyone who requests it whether they're in a restricted wetland or not. We will let you know how things turn out.
To view Fox 4 report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/news/125927308.html

DOT Whistleblower fears for job after coworker fired for talking to Fox 4

Steve Sherman - Fired DOT Whistleblower

I've spoken with dozens of disgruntled DOT workers, but Steve Sherman was the first one to go on-camera. He thinks the county is trying to send a strong message to whistleblowers.

Minutes seemed like hours as DOT worker Steve Sherman waited to find out if he still had a job.
Finally, Sherman and 2 of his supervisors were met by Stephanie Figueroa with Lee County's Human Resources, and that's when he got the news.  "They terminated me and wrongfully I may add." Steve Sherman says. Sherman was officially fired. Officials claim it's because they just realized Sherman violated several county policies. One of the policies included having his driver's license suspended back in 2004 for a DUI arrest, when his position required him to have a valid driver's license.

But documents show supervisors accepted this and re-assigned Sherman to a position that didn't require him to drive. Fox 4 asked Sherman if he thought HR even gave him a chance? "No this is a total railroad whitewash in my opinion, personally. They didn't even want to discuss item by item the material that I supplied them with last week." Sherman says. County officials claim Sherman was fired now because they decided to change his job title, and while looking through his records they found some baggage that was overlooked in his past.

Sherman says he was really fired because he spoke with FOX 4 about problems at DOT. Our reports prompted the county manager to order an audit of DOT. Sherman then filed for whistleblower protection.

"I think they're trying to instill a fear that if you speak out and you're not a team player in line with HR or the county managers, you're going to be out of a job.” Sherman says.

That has another DOT worker very nervous. I’m sure I'm next on the hit list." Bob Maxey says.
Bob Maxey also spoke out about problems at DOT and feels Sherman's termination will have a chilling effect on all county workers. "It's gonna scare the hell out of them it scares people and it's a sure way to shut people up." Bob Maxey says.

Maxey now plans to file for whistleblower protection himself. Maxey hopes county workers will stand together and speak up despite what happened to Sherman.

I asked Maxey why’s he decided to talk to FOX 4.
"Because someone needed to light the fire, buddy. Someone needed to let people know what was going on." Maxey says.
Sherman plans to sue the county if his job is not reinstated.
An attorney tells us that Sherman has a good case because he filed for whistleblower protection and the county terminated him for issues that seem very suspicious.
To view the Fox 4 report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/news/toprotator/125860983.html

Worker Fired for Blowing the Whistle after speaking with Mike Mason Fights Back

Steve Sherman

A DOT Whistleblower fired after speaking with Four in your Corner is fighting to get his job back. Today he met with county officials to plead his case and says he will sue the county if he doesn't get re-hired.
County officials claim Steve Sherman was fired because they were changing his job title and happened to look through his records and found some baggage in his past but Sherman says it's only because he blew the whistle on D.O.T. problems and now he wants his old job back.

Today Sherman prepared for his hearing with Lee County's Human Resources Department. He was fired on Wednesday and given just two days to refute the county's claims against him. He's now fighting to get his job back and his ammunition is a stack of documents.

Four in you Corner’s investigator Mike Mason was not allowed to attend the hearing but Sherman feels he presented a good case. He says, “ They can fire me any time any day but over these charges, no."
On Wednesday, Sherman was handed a document notifying him he was being terminated.Officials claim he violated county policies such as: having his driver's license suspended back in 2004 for a DUI arrest. His position required him to have a valid driver's license at the time.
But documents Sherman presented today show how supervisors accepted the circumstances of his arrest and reassigned Sherman to a position that didn't require him to drive. Sherman states, "That indemnifies me as far as notifying H.R. and notifying the county attorney who agreed to maintain me on the payroll in a limited working capacity back then."

The county also claimed Sherman failed to notify management after being arrested for violating an injunction in 2008. Today his supervisors provided written statements saying he *did* notify them.

Sherman says, "I presented all of this to H.R. today and they said they'd get back to me some time next week.” Sherman was fired just one day after he met with the Clerk of Courts office and requested Whistle-blower protection for speaking with FOX 4 and voicing accusations that D.O.T. officials use harassment, intimidation and are wasting taxpayer money.
Attorney Jason Gunter represents other county employees who were fired after blowing the whistle and says Sherman meets that specific criteria. Sherman says if he doesn't get his job back he will sue the county. "I'll definitely sue them for defamation of character, slander, harassment."
Sherman should know by next week if he'll be fired or re-hired. We'll stay on top of this and let you know.
To view the Fox 4 Report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/news/125670958.html

D.O.T. denies Free Dirt to Lee County Resident

Tonight Four in your Corner digging up more dirt on Lee County's troubled transportation department.

One resident says the county refused to give him free dirt because his property is located in Cape Coral.. But the truth is, his property is *not* in Cape Coral. Apparently, D.O.T workers don’t even know who lives in Lee County and who doesn't.

Tim Simon raises goats, chickens and a few guinea hens at his property on Saddlewood Lane in Lee County. He says every time it rains his animals head for higher ground, "as soon as it starts raining a lot there's going to be flooding in here and my goats are going to be standing in water, if there's free dirt I sure would like to get it."
When Simon heard the county was giving away free dirt he called the Department of Transportation's Operations Center and said, "I saw your thing about you're going to give away dirt in an article from Fox News and it floods out here and I hear D.O.T wants to give away some dirt and I tried to get some and they claim I'm not in Lee County and I'm in the City of Cape Coral.
So now we know that D.O.T doesn't deliver dirt to Cape Coral but Four in your Corner found Simon's property is located in Unicorporated Lee County and not Cape Coral. That’s something D.O.T workers should know since Simon's property can be pulled up on the county's website showing he pays taxes to Lee County. Four in your Corner called D.O.T to find out what's going on but the operator couldn't give us a straight answer. We were then transferred to a D.O.T supervisor.
After speaking with us, the supervisor realized Simon's home *is* in Lee County but he then told us D.O.T only delivers dirt to properties located directly on county roads and Simons lives off a state road. Simon says that doesn't make sense, especially after watching our reports on how D.O.T delivered hundreds of truckloads of free dirt to a supervisor's family member. Drivers say they drove more than 7 miles each way from Fort Myers to Buckingham and the most direct routes would have drivers using state roads.

Simons says he would love any dirt he could get, "I could take hundreds but I would take one". If you live in Lee County and would like dirt delivered to your property you can call D.O.T’s Operations Center.

The number is 239-533-9400 and tell them you'd like a Dirt Request Form.
To view the story on Fox 4 click here: http://www.fox4now.com/news/toprotator/125460278.html

County worker blows whistle on unfair hiring practices

Tonight, more fallout from a Four in your Corner investigation into Lee County's troubled transportation department. For weeks, former Lee County Department of Transportation workers have told Fox 4 they were fired because they wouldn't do special favors for supervisors or they were fired because a supervisor wanted to hire one of their friends instead.  Now one former employee is finally blowing the whistle. Daryll Plym worked for Lee County's D.O.T. for more than 9 years. Driving dump trucks and using heavy equipment.  But Plym says supervisors also used heavy handed tactics such as firing employees they simply don’t like.

Plym says supervisors would often threaten, “And if you want to stay here you do it that way, if you throw a monkey wrench in any of our plans we will write you up we will find a way to get rid of you."
And D.O.T. did get rid of Plym. Today he's unemployed and mows lawns to make ends meet. His county job gave him a decent salary and good benefits but now they're all gone. Plym says, "It makes me very angry,”

One day last August Plym received a letter from D.O.T's former Deputy Director Paul Wingard stating: “Your position as Equipment Operator Senior within D.O.T. Operations is being eliminated due to a reduction in workforce." The county has been cutting jobs to make up for a budget deficit but many workers say D.O.T supervisors have been using this as a tactic to get rid of people they don't like so they can hire the ones they do. According to Plym this represents, "Too many favors going on behind closed doors."
This past January, less than 5 months after Plym's old position was eliminated by D.O.T that same position suddenly re-appeared again. The county placed an ad for Senior Equipment Operator and hired someone else just 4 days later. The position was posted on January 11th and closed on January 14th .
The position was not posted long enough according to county policy. Plym feels he wasn't fired because the county wanted to save money but because supervisors simply didn't like him, especially when he refused to do them special favors.
Plym recalls, "A supervisor wanted me to fix his lawn mower all up for him for free on my own time. If I needed to get the parts on county time I was to get the parts.” Plym says he refused to do that and that created animosity between him and his supervisors.
When Plym noticed his old job was posted again he says he re-applied but never heard back from county officials. Unfair hiring practices is one of the issues Lee County Manager Karen Hawes says she will address in her audit of D.O.T.

If you have any problems with the county and would like to speak with Four in your Corner’s Mike Mason you can call him on his personal cell phone. The number is 239-222-8274 and you will remain anonymous.

To view the Fox 4 report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/news/toprotator/125249164.html

D.O.T. audit questoned by workers - and now Florida's DEP is investigating

An audit into problems surrounding Lee County's Department of Transportation has just kicked off and workers are already questioning how fair it will be. The county manager ordered an independent audit after a Four in your Corner investigation exposed many issues including questionable hiring practices.


So far, a Four in your Corner investigation has uncovered the following: Workers accusing supervisors of harassment, intimidation, questionable hiring practices and doing favors for family members. Workers were hoping this audit would address those issues but now they have serious concerns. D.O.T worker Bob Maxey wonders if the county will expose the real problems. He says, "You can only hide so much dirt, you know that rug you can only sweep so much dirt under it."

Lee County Manager Karen Hawes

Many county transportation workers question whether Lee County Manager, Karen Hawes, will really clean things up at D-O-T. Hawes promised she'd do a fair and unbiased review of the department saying, "The Clerk of Courts will do an independent audit."

That's why Maxey was surprised to see one of his own directors conducting Tuesday's meeting about the audit. Maxey says the supervisor, "just came in wanted to know what people's concerns were, how he could talk to people and find out what was going on and what was the safest way without retaliation. The vast majority spoke up and said it has to be a one-on-one, No one wants to do it in a crowd because of retaliation. It's not unbiased."

More than 100 employees attended the meeting and many now say they have concerns. Hawes called for the audit after a Four in your Corner investigation exposed questionable hiring practices at D-O-T and supervisors, such as Clay Simmons, are also accused of intimidating and harassing workers but he won't talk. Now all county officials have been ordered to keep quiet as well.

On Monday the County Manager issued a letter stating she has instructed her staff not to be interviewed further on D.O.T issues.
Maxey feels there's something wrong with that, "They want to shut you down ‘cause the last thing they want is this stuff to get out in the media. These problems can't be solved in-house, It has to be an independent audit." Maxey has faith that the County Clerk will do a fair audit as long as the media is keeping an eye on it. He says, "I believe that's going to happen with the help of Fox 4, I have no doubt this is going to happen."



Berner Home

 Meanwhile, there are even more problems for Lee County's Department of Transportation. State officials have opened up their own investigation into dirt that was delivered to the home of a D-O-T supervisor's family member.
This comes after Four in your Corner found D-O-T delivering tons of free dirt to the Berner family in Buckingham. The Berners happen to be related to two D-O-T supervisors; Shane and Jason Hinman. Workers say supervisors ordered them to deliver hundreds of truckloads of dirt and debris to the Berner's house but we found that property is located in a federally protected flood way. The Berners never pulled a permit and now Florida's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will conduct a site inspection to determine what needs to be done to correct the problem. County code enforcement has already said the Berners will either have to remove the dirt or hire an engineer to prove that the debris won't harm the environment. We'll stay on top of this and bring you the latest developments.

Lee County Manager shuts down media after Fox 4 investigation

****************   UPDATE  **************************

Lee County Manager Karen Hawes

Four In Your Corner gets shut down by Lee County Manager, Karen Hawes. All supervisors are now being told they can't talk to us about the county's department of transportation.

This comes after a Four In Your Corner investigation led to an audit of the department.
Since we began our investigation we've been flooded with calls from DOT workers. So far, FOX 4 has uncovered questionable hiring practices and DOT supervisors accused of harassing and intimidating employees. Workers accuse supervisors of hiring their friends instead of publicly posting the job position as is required by county policy.

D.O.T relative received tons of dirt

We even found supervisors delivering tons of free dirt to family members even though other county residents have to wait a year and a half if they want some. In one case, at least 130 truck loads of dirt was delivered to a supervisor's sister-in-law's private residence so she could build a slope around her pond, all on the taxpayers' dime. We found her home is in a federally restricted flood zone and since Fox 4 exposed this incident the county's code enforcement department is now investigating and will require the owner to pay to remove the dirt or hire an engineer to conform to the zoning requirements. Either way it will cost thousands of dollars.

There is much more to this story -- that's why we've been trying to speak with county officials but that apparently won't happen now. County Manager Karen Hawes says county staff will no longer comment on DOT issues until they complete their audit. Hawes says she may expand the scope of her audit to include other issues we exposed in our reports.
Here is a link to the Fox 4 report: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14986504/lee-co-manager-no-more-comments-from-dot?redirected=true

County Supervisors accused of doing Dirty Deals

Clay Simmons

Four in your Corner exposed D-O-T supervisors delivering free dirt to family members and the officials said they'd do the same thing for other Lee County taxpayers but we found that may not be the case. D-O-T Operations Director Clay Simmons claims he doesn't do favors when it comes to delivering free dirt saying, "Because if you happened to own a piece of property there I'd be happy to give you the material."

North Fort Myers Firefighter Commission

But Tom Mere requested dirt about a year ago and last month D-O-T workers finally dropped off four loads of dirt at Mere's mobile home park in North Fort Myers. Four loads is not enough and Mere says he still needs more. Mere is considered a prominent figure in Lee County since he's a Commissioner of the North Fort Myers Fire Department but despite that he still didn't get any special favors.

Berner home

The Berner family did, however, according to D-O-T workers who say Simmons had more than 130 loads of dirt and fill delivered to the Berner's Buckingham home last November. Mrs. Berner happens to be the sister-in-law of a D-O-T supervisor.

D-O-T workers, such as Bob Maxey, say that's downright dirty, "We've never done that, I've never seen it in 9 years. I can't say it has never happened but I've never seen it or witnessed it and no one else has."
One family who lives at a home in Buckingham only 5 miles from the Berners say they called D.O.T yesterday to request some dirt. They say they were told they would be put on a waiting list and it could take up to one and a half years before they got any dirt.

Four in your Corner spoke to D-O-T truck drivers today who tell us they also made another huge delivery to the Berners this past April. According to them, they dumped more than 100 loads of fill material free at the Berner home free of charge and that job was done by county workers on the taxpayer's dime.

Four in your Corner began digging even further, finding the Berners have been receiving free dirt for their 10 acre property since 2008. Tom Mere feels the county should spread the wealth and the dirt to other people who need it and says, "as long as the county if being fair to everybody. The people are paying the taxes so if they're paying the taxes and people would like to have some dirt and the county has some dirt that they'd like to get rid of then it's a win-win for both situations."

If you live in Lee County and would like some free dirt you can call the D-O-T and ask for a ‘Dirt Request Form'. The number to call is 239-533-9400. If you have any problems getting the dirt please let us know.

To view the Fox 4 report click on this link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14974420/county-supervisors-accused-of-doing-dirty-deals?redirected=true

Fox 4's Mike Mason sparks another investigation into Lee County's troubled DOT




Clay Simmons

  Lee County officials opening a new investigation tonight and this comes after Four in your Corner's Mike Mason already found county employees doing work on family members' property.

The dirt keeps piling up around Lee County's Director of D-O-T operations, Clay Simmons who is already under fire for delivering dirt to the Berner family's home in Buckingham. Now it appears he also broke federal guidelines by doing it. D-O-T workers accuse Simmons of delivering the dirt as a personal favor for the Berners after we exposed that Mrs. Berner is the sister-in-law of a D-O-T supervisor.
After digging deeper, and reviewing the county's zoning rules Fox 4's investigation found that dirt was dumped in a federally restricted flood way. We went straight to Simmons for answers telling him, "it's in a flood way, you weren't supposed to have anything delivered there that's a pretty big deal." Simmons responded, "No, I don't agree that it is."

Simmons says he's not talking about the issue any further and Fox 4 will have to speak with someone in media relations department. We went to Joan LaGuardia, the manager at Lee County's Department of Community Development. She says she has serious concerns with what we showed her. Since the Berner's home is located in a restricted flood zone, the Berners would have needed to get a special certification approved by an engineer before getting the dirt delivered.

Berner Home

This is something workers say Simmons should have known since he's a professional engineer himself. The Berner family confirmed to Fox 4 that D.O.T. dropped off the dirt so they could build up the slope of their pond and it is clearly located in a restricted area.
LaGuardia says they Berners will either have to hire an engineer and obtain the proper certification or have all of that dirt removed.
Investigator Mike Mason asked LaGuardia, "So now Code Enforcement is going to have to do an investigation? LaGuardia responded, "Yes they will. Now that I'm aware of it I'll let them know tonight. I hadn't been aware that fill was put there."
We then confronted Simmons, telling him, "Joan LaGuardia just said she's opening an investigation and having code officers go out there". Simmons would only say, "You need to go through the process." Simmons told us we would have to take our questions to Patty DiPeiro who works with media relations.
DiPiero told us Simmons has been notified that he will have to cooperate with code enforcement's investigation. She promised to give us an update tomorrow
To view the Fox 4 report click on this link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14967964/fox-4-sparks-yet-another-investigation-into-countys-troubled-department-of-transportation?redirected=true

Lee County supervisors accused of doing expensive favors for friends

Using your tax dollars to do favors for relatives! Four in your corner has now confirmed claims that supervisors at Lee County's troubled transportation department are making some controversial decisions on your dime. Four in your Corner investigator Mike Mason has already prompted the county to order an audit of D-O-T. and now he's tracking down exactly who is getting dirt delivered to their homes thanks to Lee County taxpayers.

D.O.T worker Bob Maxey is fired up about his supervisor, Clay Simmons. He exclaims, "Mr. Simmons, I promise you and I promise the people of this county that man is lying." After two weeks Fox 4 finally caught up with Simmons at his office on Wednesday. Simmons stated that he's "not going to talk about personnel issues."

Karen Hawes

County Manager Karen Hawes ordered an audit into hiring practices at D.O.T. because of a Four in your Corner investigation this week. That doesn't prevent Simmons from speaking about other issues such as why he allegedly ordered his workers to deliver more than 130 truckloads of dirt to the Berner family last November. Workers say for three days they drove the dirt from Billy's Creek in Fort Myers to the Berner's private residence in Buckingham, seven and a half miles away.



Berner Residence

 The Berners used the dirt to build a slope around the pond on their 10 acre property. That project would have racked up nearly 2,000 miles on county trucks, required hundreds of man hours and it was paid for by Lee County taxpayers.

Maxey is now outraged with Simmons saying, "You cost us money, you cost the tax payers money when you do that."


Clay Simmons

 Simmons claims he actually saved taxpayer money because the dirt delivered to the Berners was taken from ditches and canals nearby. When we asked him for documentation to prove where the dirt came from he said his office didn't keep track of it.
Maxey says Simmons is not telling the truth and the dirt was hauled out of Billy's Creek in Fort Myers and driven all the way to Buckingham, which is much further and more costly. Maxey claims, "The drivers, they won't come forward but they told me they were hauling it out of Billy's Creek Commerce Center."
Fox 4 also found the Berner family is actually related to D-O-T supervisor Shane Hinman. That huge amount of dirt was delivered to Shane Hinman's sister -in -law. Fox Four Investigator Mike Mason asked Clay Simmons if he did a favor for a supervisor's family member. Simmons responded, "No it is not because if you happened to own a piece of property there I'd be happy to give you the material."
Still, some workers say Simmons went out of his way to help the Berner family. On the day the Berners wanted to have dirt delivered to their home the county's heavy equipment that is used to screen the dirt was conveniently placed across the street from their house. Maxey says Simmons is using county equipment to turn favors, "He is cheating the employees, he's cheating the citizens of this county if that's good for the Berner family or whoever got this material then by God let's give it to everybody!."
Clay Simmons claims Lee County residents can always ask for free ditch material and dirt. All they have to do is call the D-O-T's operation's center at 239-533-9400 and fill out a dirt request form.
We've put that information on our website ‘fox4now.com'.. And while you're there you can click on the ‘Viewers' Voice' tab to let us know if you have problems getting dirt from the county.
To view the Fox 4 report click on this link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14960563/county-supervisors-accused-of-doing-expensive-favors-for-friends?redirected=true

Lee Commissioners sound off after Fox 4 investigation sparks audit

A Fox 4 investigation sparks an audit into Lee County's Department of Transportation and today county officials are reacting. For the past two weeks we've told you about the controversy surrounding the D-O-T with workers complaining about being harassed and intimidated by supervisors. They claim supervisors are doing favors for friends and wasting lots of taxpayer money.

Karen Hawes - Lee County Manager

Because of Fox 4's investigation, the County Manager, Karen Hawes, announced yesterday that she's requesting an independent audit into the allegations. At the County's commission meeting today she offered more details about that audit, "This will be a review of hiring practices in D.O.T which could expand into other areas, so the Clerk of Courts will do an independent objective audit."
You could say Lee County's Department of Transportation is currently under construction now that an official audit is set to investigate the way that department is doing business. D-O-T worker Bob Maxey reacted to the news, "It's time, it's time to look into the dealings at D.O.T, what's going on there with the management..I think it's time."

Frank Mann

At least two commissioners agree and they too support the audit. Lee County Commissioner Brian Bigelow says, "That's great, she's trying to seek facts and she's trying to advocate for transparency of government." Commissioner Frank Mann says he also supports the move, "I just think it's a good idea for her to bring somebody in from outside to take a look so it doesn't degenerate into a bunch of finger pointing and ‘he said' and ‘she said' and that sort of thing."
But some D-O-T workers remain skeptical. They claim supervisors are still harassing and intimidating employees and doing favors for friends on the taxpayers' dime.

Steve Sherman

Fox 4 Investigator Mike Mason asked D.O.T. worker Steve Sherman if he felt the audit would really create any positive changes. Sherman replied, "Possibly, with the help of the media. That's how it's been so far, without it we wouldn't have had a chance. I don't know we'll see."
Meanwhile, dozens of Lee County D-O-T workers attended the commission meeting to support, and say farewell to, their interim director, Paul Wingard. Wingard's last day is June 29th. He has worked for D-O-T for 18 years and said County officials led him to believe he would be hired as the full time Director. when he didn't get the job he decided to resign because he's says he was not happy with the current situation at work. At today's commission meeting, D.O.T. employee Steve Sherman approached the podium and accused Public Works Director, Doug Meurer, of lying to a large group of D-O-T workers.
Sherman says Meurer told them that Wingard would indeed be named the new Director of D-O-T and reported to commissioners, "In my presence and some 50 to 60 other supervisors and employers Mr. Meurer stated to us all that Mr. Paul Wingard was the panel's second choice."

Paul Wingard

The panel of people in charge of hiring a new Director did offer to job to someone but that person later turned it down. County officials now claim that Wingard was never the runner up and they are currently advertising for the vacant position.
To view the Fox 4 investigation click here: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14951733/lee-commissioners-sound-off-after-fox-4-investigation-sparks-audit?redirected=true

Fox 4 Investigation sparks audit into Lee County D.O.T

Karen Hawes - Lee County Manager

A Four in your Corner investigation sparks an audit into the controversy surrounding the Department of Transportation. Lee County manager Karen Hawes has officially called for an independent audit of D-O-T's hiring practices. Hawes says, "We're going to be looking into the D.O.T. hiring practices and the independent audit division will also be interviewing employees and this way it can be kept confidential"

That's good news for some D.O.T employees who have already aired their concerns. Steven Sherman works in D.O.T's traffic sign division and supports the audit, "It's a good thing, from my experience over there it's long overdue."

Clay Simmons - D.OT. Supervisor

A Four in your Corner investigation recently exposed what employees are calling horrible working conditions at D-O-T such as harassment and intimidation by supervisors and Division Director Clay Simmons is now in the hot seat.

Simmons has been accused of wasting taxpayers' money. Workers say Simmons ordered them to deliver 130 truckloads of dirt from Buckingham to a private home on Orange River Boulevard in Fort Myers. The Berner family says they used the dirt to build a slope along the pond on their 10 acre property. We are told the entire job took 10 hours and 7 workers to complete. If that's true that means dump trucks made 130 trips, driving about 7 and a half miles each way racking up nearly two thousand miles on county time and funded by taxpayer dollars.

Steve Sherman - Lee County D.O.T.

Fox 4 investigator Mike Mason asked Sherman, "they guys who were driving the trucks delivering the dirt on that day, what did they have to say about it? Sherman replied, "They say there was some sort of shenanigans, that's an exceptional delivery."
Sherman is one of the workers who blew the whistle on his supervisors and after Four in your Corner began digging up the dirt, the County Manager took notice. Hawes admits she initiated the audit because, "I've had other employees mention some things to me, your reports and other information that's coming forward, this is the time to do it?"
Four in your Corner visited D.O.T's Operations Center for the third time to speak with Clay Simmons but were told he's off on Mondays. One question we wanted to ask him was about his hiring procedures. Many employees say he's giving out promotions to people who may not be best qualified for the job. One of those employees is Shane Hinman who is a crew supervisor. Today our cameras caught up with him. Fox 4 Investigator Mike Mason confronted Hinman saying, "Some other employees say you got a job after only being here for 2 years and they were here for 10 or 20 years and they haven't gotten that job". Hinman replied, "You'll have to take that up with Downtown, man, ‘cause I don't know and I couldn't tell you."
After digging deeper Fox 4 Investigates also discovered Hinman may have been a ‘shoo-in' for the crew supervisor job. County records show Clay Simmons only advertised Hinman's position for 2 days last year, from December 22nd until December 249th; Christmas Eve. Fox 4's Mike Mason asked the County Manager if 2 days was really enough time to allow other people to apply for the job. Hawes simply replied, "It's not the norm. It's not the norm."

County Manager Karen Hawes says the audit will begin by investigating D.O.T's hiring practices but may expand to cover other issues such as claims that supervisors are harassing employees and potentially wasting taxpayer dollars. Fox Four Investigates will stay on top of this story and bring you the latest.
To view Fox 4 report click on link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14945187/fox-4-investigation-sparks-audit-into-lee-county-dot?redirected=true

Lee County workers say officials are also wasting taxpayer dollars

Four days and there are still no answers from the Lee County Manager about major complaints within the Department of Transportation. But tonight, we're learning D-O-T officials could be abusing your tax dollars.

J.C. Rodriguez has worked for the Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) for eight years. He drove heavy equipment but claims Lee County's Operations Director, Clay Simmons drove him out of his job in 2009 . Rodriguez wasn't surprised to hear that Simmons hasn't wanted to speak to Four in your Corner about the issue, " he's running away from the truth, it's finally caught up with him he's done this to many people."
Lee County fired Rodriguez from his job citing, ‘poor attendance' and ‘excessive tardiness'. However, County records tell a different story. For example, on March 12th, 2009 Simmons cited Rodriguez for being tardy but when we reviewed the county timecards it indicated that Rodriguez did report to work right on time at 7am. He says his supervisors just made up the ‘tardy' excuse in order to get him fired, "I clocked in, I swiped in at 7 o'clock inside the building," says Rodriguez. He also states, "They lied, this is what they presented to Human Resources. HR goes by what they tell them and they did not investigate any of this stuff."

13800 Orange River Blvd. Fort Myers, FL

Many D.O.T. workers we spoke with today claim county officials should be investigating how supervisors there are wasting taxpayers' money. Late last year D.O.T workers say Simmons ordered them to deliver 130 truckloads of dirt from Buckingham to a private residence on Orange River Boulevard in Fort Myers. The single family home is situated on a 10 acre lot and belongs to Warren, Emily, Russell and Darlene Berner.
The Berner family who lives there tells Four in your Corner that they used the dirt to build a slope along their pond. D.O.T workers say the job took 10 hours and 7 workers to complete. That would mean dump trucks made 130 trips, driving about 7 and a half miles each way racking up nearly 200-thousand miles on county time, in county vehicles and funded by taxpayer dollars. Rodriguez says, "You're looking at $300 to $400 dollars easy a load, a truckload."

Four in your Corner went to D.O.T's operations center in an attempt to speak with Clay Simmons at his office yesterday. Instead, supervisor Chuck Speake told us, "I didn't get a hold of Clay but if you guys want to make an appointment and come back he should be here tomorrow and I'm sure, he's not going to 'not' to talk to you."

Once again, Four in your Corner visited the operations center the next day and found the front gates locked shut. One D.O.T. worker angrily confronted our cameras, "I don't care if this is public property Clay Simmons is sick today and that's it. He's not at work."


Clay Simmons, Lee D.O.T Division Director


Even though Simmons was out sick he managed to write a two page letter to County Commissioners in response to Fox Four's reports. In part, Simmons writes , 'We have always had an open door policy. Employees are welcomed to approach any of the supervisors, including myself."
But workers say that's not true. Rodriguez reported the poor work environment in his grievance letter to the county and says, "I've been complaining about that and not just myself, a lot of other people and Human Resources knows about it but they ain't doing anything about it."
In Clay Simmons' letter he also claims that D-O-T has conducted numerous surveys, encouraging workers to voice their concerns anonymously. He says he hasn't heard of any negative complaints. Of course, Four in your Corner will continue this investigation and call the county manager, Karen Hawes, to get to the bottom of this.

To view the video for this Fox 4 Investigation click on this link:
http://www.fox4now.com/story/14932811/disgruntled-lee-county-workers-claim-officials-are-also-wasting-taxpayer-dollars?redirected=true

Disgruntled County workers threaten mass exodus

Lee County D-O-T workers threaten to call it quits if work conditions don't improve. They say they're being harassed and intimidated by their supervisors and they've had enough. Since Fox 4 Investigator Mike Mason began this investigation, he's spoken with dozens of workers but the problem is that most of those workers won't go on-camera because they're afraid of losing their jobs.


Bob Maxey is an equipment operator at Lee County D.O.T. and has been with the county for 9 years. He has a clean record but says supervisors are getting downright dirty, "Workers do have rights, we're being told to shut up."

On Wednesday, D.O.T worker Steve Sherman also spoke out, saying county supervisors are using sleazy tactics to run employees out of their jobs, "It's counterproductive to be chastised and be heavy handed in certain areas of departments with the employees."
Maxey says supervisors hold monthly meetings with employees but it's just a waste of time, "You won't hear anything out of most of the workers here because they're afraid for their jobs." Maxey says supervisors are required to conduct meetings but discourage input from employees, "they'll tell you how it's going to be and if you raise your hand in opposition against whatever their plan may be at the time you're kind of singled out you know it's like 'what is your problem? Do you have a question?' And the guy he'll generally shut up and melt back into the crowd because he doesn't want to be singled out like that in a group there."
Maxey and Sherman both agree upon which supervisor is using intimidation tactics at their particular D.O.T. office on Zip Drive in Fort Myers. Maxey says, "The Director right now is Clay Simmons. He makes you understand verbally that it's his way or no way."

Clay Simmons - Director D.O.T. Operations

Four in your Corner's Mike Mason went out to the D.O.T. Operations Center on Zip Drive to speak with Division Director Clay Simmons but was told Simmons was out for the day. While there Mason spoke with some of the employees in the office who said they'd like to talk to us about problems at the workplace but they're afraid for their jobs .
The maintenance supervisor in charge, Chuck Speake, called Simmons on his cell phone but claimed, "I didn't get a hold of Clay but if you guys want to make an appointment and come back he should be here tomorrow and I'm sure, he's not going to ‘not' to talk to you.
Workers feel this is really a countywide problem which needs to be handled from the top down. Maxey says, "I think the County Manager should be looking into it, talk to the working people here at D.O.T. off to the side and ask them what's going on."

Karen Hawes is the Lee County manager and Fox 4 left Hawes on her cell phone but received no response. We are told she's out of town. One thing is certainly clear; if County officials don't do something quick many workers say they're hitting the road. Maxey warns, "Other people have told me as soon as they can find another job they're gone. They want out of here they're done with this."

If you are a public employee and are having problems at work Fox 4 would like to hear from you. Head to Fox4now.com and click on the ‘Viewers' Voice' tab or call or text us at 239-206-Fox 4

To view the Fox 4 TV report click on this link: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14926395/disgruntled-county-workers-threaten-mass-exodus?redirected=true