In 2015, "the FBI raided the district’s technology office and seized its email backup server. A federal magistrate judge signed off on the search and seizure warrant after finding probable cause the items seized would contain evidence of a crime. A copy of the warrant indicated the FBI and the grand jury were conducting a broad investigation involving not only construction projects but also campaign contributions, land purchases, personnel matters, state audits and responses, charity donations, tax deductions and the district’s use of federal funds."
Jeff Burlew, Democrat senior writer It’s unclear exactly where the FBI investigation into Leon County Schools stands.
But the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed Thursday its investigation into the district is ongoing.
“It is active,” said Gretl Plessinger, an FDLE spokeswoman, who declined to discuss any other details.
Last June, outside attorneys hired by the district, acknowledged FDLE was assisting the FBI in its criminal investigation into the school system. Jacksonville attorney Hank Coxe said at the time FDLE “may have additional interests” as well.
And in his June 23 report to the School Board, Coxe wrote, “The law enforcement investigation remains ongoing. We have been advised it will not be completed in the near future.”
FBI Special Agent Zachary Coates, believed to be heading up the investigation, referred a phone call from the Tallahassee Democrat to the agency’s public affairs office in Jacksonville. An FBI spokeswoman said she was unable to provide comment.
On Tuesday, Jeff Whalen, attorney for the district, said it was unclear whether the investigations were continuing.
“The district does not know whether the FDLE and FBI have completed their investigations or not,” he said in an email. “Our outside counsel have advised that neither entity is obliged to announce that it has opened an investigation or that it has completed one. That being said, the district has not received any grand jury subpoenas or search warrants since well before the Coxe report was issued.”
No charges have been filed in direct connection with the investigations. Superintendent Jackie Pons has denied any wrongdoing.
The first public hint of an FBI investigation involving the district came in April 2014, when school officials said the agency asked to search former Assistant Superintendent Paul Byrd’s school issued truck following his arrest Feb. 28, 2014, on charges including trafficking in cocaine. Coxe, in his report, said Byrd's arrest triggered "increased scrutiny by law enforcement of Pons and his administration."
Byrd, who worked nearly three decades at the district, oversaw construction projects and was "a prominent force" in raising campaign donations for Pons, the Coxe report says. At some point, he voluntarily spoke to the FBI, his attorney has said.
In October, the Democrat broke the news that the FBI, working with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Tallahassee and a federal grand jury, was investigating the district. A grand jury subpoena asked the district to supply thousands of records involving construction projects at 17 schools from 2007 through 2013.
District officials acknowledged it had split bids for construction projects so they would come in under a $2 million threshold in Florida statutes requiring a competitive process. In one case, a contract came in exactly one penny below $2 million.
Coxe, however, later informed the district that the $2 million threshold applies only to continuing contracts, which the district didn’t have in place at the time. The district, he said, should have been competitively selecting projects with price tags over $325,000.
Last March, the FBI raided the district’s technology office and seized its email backup server. A federal magistrate judge signed off on the search and seizure warrant after finding probable cause the items seized would contain evidence of a crime.
A copy of the warrant indicated the FBI and the grand jury were conducting a broad investigation involving not only construction projects but also campaign contributions, land purchases, personnel matters, state audits and responses, charity donations, tax deductions and the district’s use of federal funds.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.
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