Controversial two-term ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH CITY COMMISSIONER ANDREA SAMUELS violated state ethics laws when she voted to appoint her husband, ROBERT SAMUELS, to the St. Augustine Beach Planning and Zoning Board as a junior alternate member.
The Florida Ethics Commission found in response to a complaint by Barry Tuttle that SAMUELS broke the law. As explained by Ethics omission lawyer Caroline Klancke, the Commission found that "a violation of the Code of Ethics had occurred but declining to prosecute further as it was predicated upon the erroneous advice of counsel."
Commission ANDREA SAMUELS was not fined, however, and the complaint was dismissed May 9, 2012 because she relied upon erroneous "legal advice" from DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT, them City Attorney.
No press release was issued.
No news article was ever published.
Citizens were kept in the dark.
SAMUELS was re-elected in 2012, her only opponent, a Realtor®, having qualified and then withdrawn.
With information on his erroneous ethics advice not shared with the public or Commissioners, estimable St. Augustine Beach City Attorney DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT, a dodgy developer lawyer, was repeatedly retained and rehired by the City of St. Augustine Beach, as recently as in 2015. DOUGLAS BURNETT is the son of former Florida National Guard Adjutant General DOUGLAS BURNETT, an appointee of Governor RICHARD LYNN SCOTT to the board of the St. Johns River Management District and onetime Governor CHARLES CRIST appointee to Florida college boards.
Under fire, St. Augustine Beach City Attorney DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT has since resigned and has since been replaced by JAMES PATRICK WILSON.
Commissioner Andrea SAMUELS was represented before the Florida Ethics Commission by former Florida Ethics Commission Chair MARK HERRON, high-priced Tallahassee elections and ethics lawyer, lawyer for the Florida Democratic Party and other politicians.
MARK HERRON also represented RANDY BRUNSON in his defense of 2008 ethics charges and was one of the lawyers representing VP Al Gore in the 2000 Florida presidential election recounts. (Fired by AKERMAN SENTERFITT for representing Gore, HERRON challenged the soldier vote, a non-starter and a public relations disaster for VP Gore).
The investigation of SAMUELS' NEPOTISTIC violations of ethics laws continues:
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: comasamuels
Sent: Mon, Jun 27, 2016 12:54 pm
Subject: Request No. 206-268: Florida Ethics Commission complaint 11-03 re: ANDREA SAMUELS
Good afternoon:
1. Please send all documents re: Florida Ethics Commission complaint 11-03 re: St. Augustine Beach City Commissioner, ANDREA SAMUELS (2008-2016).
2. Please include any disclosures to Commissioners or the public of the finding of violation and dismissal.
3. Please include any remedial actions taken as a result of City Attorney DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT'S alleged erroneous legal advice.
4. Please include any factual proof of City Attorney DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT'S alleged erroneous legal advice.
5. Please include any legal bills for City Attorney DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT'S alleged erroneous legal advice., and any refunds or credits for it.
6. Please include any Bar complaints or referrals for City Attorney DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT'S alleged erroneous legal advice.
7. Please include any performance reviews mentioning City Attorney DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT'S alleged erroneous legal advice.
8. Please include any Ethics Commission precedents, briefs or memos ever identifying "advice of counsel" as a defense to an ethics complaint.
9. Please provide any statistics on the number of Ethics Commission complaints ever resolved by reference to "advice of counsel" as a defense to an ethics complaint.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
www.edslavin.com
From: Ed Slavin
To: comasamuels
Cc: thomasfreynolds
Sent: Mon, Jun 27, 2016 2:40 pm
Subject: Re: Request No. 206-268: Florida Ethics Commission complaint 11-03 re: ANDREA SAMUELS
Dear Commissioner Samuels:
Please direct that your former defense lawyer, Mr. Mark Herron, kindly release your entire file, including bills and payments, and the source of those payments. If you assert any privilege against self-incrimination, or any work product doctrine protection or attorney-client privilege, please bear in mind the adverse inferences to be drawn by a public official engaging in nepotistic appointments and concealing the sequelae.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
 | ||||
Left to right: Three First Amendment violators: St. Augustine Beach Civic Association (SABCA) President WILLIAM JONES, Commissioner ANDREA SAMUELS, et ux, SABCA VP ROBERT SAMUELS.
Mark Herron
Member in Good StandingEligible to Practice Law in Florida
Bar Number:
199737
Mail Address:
Messer Caparello P.A.
Messer Caparello P.A
2618 Centennial Pl
Tallahassee, FL 32308-0572
United States
Office: 850-222-0720
Fax: 850-558-0659
Email:
mherron@lawfla.com
Personal Bar URL:
www.floridabar.org/mybarprofile/199737
Douglas Nelson Burnett
Member in Good Standing
Eligible to Practice Law in Florida
Douglas Nelson Burnett
Bar Number:
146234
Mail Address:
St. Johns Law Group, P.A.
104 Sea Grove Main St
Saint Augustine Beach, FL 32080-6308
United States
Office: 904-495-0400
Fax: 904-495-0506
Cell: 904-687-9126
Email:
dburnett@sjlawgroup.com
Personal Bar URL:
www.floridabar.org/mybarprofile/146234
Douglas Burnett
St. Augustine
St. Augustine
Mr. Burnett is president of Doug Burnett and Associates, a consulting firm for major defense contractors. He was appointed to a four-year term to an at-large seat on the Governing Board on May 21, 2013. Mr. Burnett is a retired major general with the Florida National Guard, having served during his 47-year tenure as a tactical fighter and airline pilot, technical and personnel program manager, and a commanding officer. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Mr. Burnett held several key positions with the Florida National Guard, including Chief of Safety, Group Operations Officer, Director of Operations, Chief of Staff, Assistant Adjutant/Air and Adjutant General. As Adjutant General, he had responsibility for more than 12,000 soldiers and airmen who were engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, as well as responding to hurricanes, wildfires and other major natural disasters. Mr. Burnett served on the Reserve Forces Policy Board, an advisory board to the Secretary of Defense, and was Chairman of the National Guard Domestic Operations Advisory Committee. In addition to his military career, Mr. Burnett was a commercial pilot for Pan American World Airways and National Airlines. He earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is a graduate of the USAF Command and General Staff College and the USAF Air War College. Mr. Burnett is past president of the National Guard Officers Association of Florida and has served two terms as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Guard Association of the United States. Mr. Burnett currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Air National Guard, U.S.
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