The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson over alleged election law violations.
You don't have to take my word on that. Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed FDLE is investigating Pearson in an executive order he issued June 4. You can read the executive order online.
The order is only a couple of pages long, but DeSantis broke the news about the FDLE investigation in his opening:
"WHEREAS, the Honorable THOMAS BAKKEDAHL, State Attorney for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, has advised Governor RON DESANTIS that Keith Pearson is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for election code violations," the order began.
The order says because Bakkedahl has endorsed Richard Del Toro, one of Pearson's opponents in the August Republican primary election, any charges would need to be handled by Phil Archer, state attorney for the 18th Judicial Circuit of Florida.
St. Lucie's top cop may have his own legal troubles
That only stands to reason. As state attorney for the 19th Judicial Circuit, Bakkedahl must work with whoever serves as St. Lucie County sheriff. For that reason, common sense would dictate he should recuse himself of any investigation involving the sheriff, regardless of whether he's made any political endorsem*nts.
In fact, Bakkedahl said Thursday he asked the governor to find a different prosecutor to handle the case when he learned FDLE was investigating and there appeared to be a chance some charges might be forthcoming.
That's kind of boilerplate legal stuff.
But let's not lose sight of the fact that St. Lucie County's top law enforcement officer is himself being investigated for possible criminal activity. Again.
Remember, Archer's office was assigned to oversee an investigation when Pearson and his predecessor, Democrat Ken Mascara, were accused of supporting a "ghost candidate" in the 2020 Republican primary. In that investigation, Mascara was accused of recruiting a Republican candidate to run against a primary opponent who allegedly Mascara didn't want to face in the general election.
Pearson was neck deep in that investigation, implicated as someone who made and placed campaign signs for Kevin Carter, a retired St. Lucie County deputy, who defeated former Highway Patrol Officer Richard Williams in the Republican primary. Mascara defeated Carter in the general election that year.
The FDLE report in that case made some pretty tough claims about Mascara and Pearson. The summary of the FDLE investigation noted, fairly conclusively, "Mascara and others devised a plan in May 2020, to install a straw candidate to run against Williams in the Republican primary in the hope that Williams would lose the Republican nomination and be eliminated from running against Mascara in the general election.”
About Pearson, the FDLE said he “knowingly conspired, confederated, abetted and aided Ken Mascara … to facilitate” an alleged ghost candidate.
Another election-related case involving Pearson
Archer's office concluded there wasn't sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Mascara, Pearson or others involved in the probe. However, many questions remain, in light of the evidence FDLE uncovered, about whether the decision not to prosecute was the right one.
The St. Lucie County Republican Party filed an ethics complaint against Pearson over the same allegations, although it was later dismissed by the state Ethics Commission.
Bakkedahl said he's not familiar with the details of FDLE's latest investigation of Pearson. However, he said it is separate from the investigation into the 2020 election.
"This is something new," Bakkedahl said. "This doesn't have anything to do with that (earlier investigation)."
The FDLE didn't respond to an inquiry about the latest investigation. That's not unusual, either. The state agency rarely, if ever, shares details about investigations until they have run their courses.
Neither the governor's office nor Pearson's office responded to a request for information Thursday afternoon.
Since this investigation has been going on for several months, Pearson probably has a pretty good idea of what the FDLE is looking into. He could reassure the public by telling us what he knows, particularly if he feels he hasn't done anything wrong and has nothing to hide.
After all, he told us at his very first news conference following his appointment last December that transparency is his "number one goal."
When are we going to start getting that transparency?
He hasn't been transparent about many things related to the six-plus months he's been in office.
He didn't share with us one of his political allies organized a big fundraiser for DeSantis' then-active presidential campaign and then that ally and several family members made six-figure contributions to the campaign. That happened just days before Mascara resigned under mysterious circ*mstances and DeSantis appointed Pearson to replace Mascara.
Pearson professed to have been surprised by the appointment, even though records provided by the governor's office clearly show preparations for the transition were being made days or even weeks in advance.
So it would be a shocker if Pearson decided to share what he knows about the latest FDLE investigation, but with every new day, there's fresh hope.
It would be great to find out more about this investigation, but I doubt FDLE will make any TikTok or other social media videos of Pearson, the way he does with suspects deputies have apprehended.
Pearson certainly treats those suspects he features on social media videos as if they are presumed guilty, even though that's not the way our justice system is set up.
I wonder if he will have a different view about the presumption of innocence now that he's being investigated. Again.
Maybe the FDLE will complete its investigation and Archer's office will again decide there's not enough evidence to merit charges. Still, it's not a great look for a sheriff to be under investigation himself.
Then again, the governor is the one who put Pearson in this position of public trust. Maybe this executive order was a step toward correcting a mistake maybe even he can see that he made.
This column reflects the opinion ofBlake Fontenay.Contact him via email atbfontenay@gannett.comor at 772-232-5424.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Sheriff Pearson (again) under FDLE for alleged election law violations
