WPB Mayor Keith James Ethics Probe
June 29, 2023
“Three veterans of the Palm Beach Post are joining forces to venture into a new dimension of news delivery: the email newsletter.
The Stet Media Group got its name from an old copy-editing term meaning “let it stand” — back when editors wielded red-ink pens — and former Palm Beach Post News colleagues Pat Beall, Carolyn DiPaolo and Joel Engelhardt are taking a stand for journalism with some new bells and whistles.
The trio are putting their collective 75 years of Palm Beach County reporting experience to use dishing up public-interest stories unavailable anywhere else,
Financing is uncertain for Stet Media Group, but a trio of journalists are betting it will catch on.”
There aren’t to many things in life that frighten me but the thought of losing a trio that is courageous enough to shine a light on politics that few others are willing to do. I support them with a monthly contribution and if honest news is important to you, please consider donating. We need Stet.
What you have read so far I included the link below along with Joel Engelhardt story on Mayor Keith James ethics case. Below are excerpts from the story which Stet tells us is part 1 of a 3 part series
“Exclusive: Documents shed new light on 3-year ethics probe into WPB Mayor Keith James
Former city administrator says in deposition he took the fall to ensure mayor’s benefactor kept no-bid security contract.
A state ethics probe dating to one of West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James’ first acts in office in 2019 remains active even though an investigator has twice urged it be dismissed.
Investigative reports submitted to the Florida Commission on Ethics contain no references to the 2021 deposition of former City Administrator Jeff Green. In it, Green describes his own removal from office by James as a political calculation to keep a benefactor happy.
That benefactor, Willie Perez, is the local head of the security company that received the contract.
A Stet review of those 2020 interviews also reveals that while James said he didn’t know what Green was doing to assure Perez got the contract; Green said the mayor was involved every step of the way.
The still-active investigation could force the mayor to appear at a hearing before an administrative law judge, ushering in a new round of embarrassing disclosures that could prove harmful to his political legacy.
Or it could end in a fine or the most serious action available to the Ethics Commission: removal from office.”
There is so much more to the story, and I encourage you to read and absorb it. I finally have hope for WPB.
Stet Media Group Pat Beall, Carolyn DiPaolo and Joel Engelhardt
The end