Murder convict William Kelley is pictured above in a prison uniform.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

SEBRING, Jan. 22, 2009 – The man convicted of the 1966 slaying of Sebring citrus farmer Charles Voncannon Maxcy lost another appeal Thursday.

Florida’s supreme court rejected arguments that destroyed evidence and missing evidence forms prejudiced Kelley’s defense against a first-degree murder charge.

As a result, Kelley, 66, remains under a death sentence and in maximum security at Union Correctional Institution in North Florida.

Kelley was a young, strapping, 6-foot 5-inch Boston mobster when he ambushed Maxcy in the millionaire’s bedroom at an estate ranch home off Sparta Road in Sebring. He and a co-hitman used knives and guns to kill Maxcy as part of a sordid scheme by Maxcy’s ex-wife and her lover to collect his money and assets.

Despite the multiplicity of people involved, Kelley is the only person ever convicted in connection with the murder. Most of the people connected to the case are dead.

Kelley complained to the court that missing evidence forms could have shifted blame away from him or at least allowed him to confront adverse testimony. But the state’s highest court said the forms contained no information that could have possibly helped him.

“These forms memorialize the transfer of evidence from the Florida Sheriff’s Bureau to local officials after laboratory testing,” wrote justices Wells, Pariente, Lewis, Canady, and Polston. “They do not exculpate or exonerate Kelley; the forms do not mention Kelley or implicate someone else. Likewise, they do not offer any means of impeachment as the forms contain no information that would prove useful in attacking the prosecution’s witnesses.”

Kelley said he had a right to have DNA testing done on the evidence, but the high court reaffirmed that the evidence had been destroyed and was not available to test, and that no likelihood had been established that any of it would have been helpful.

Those claims were part of an appeal of a previous ruling, so Kelley tacked on a new habeas corpus petition, which questions the lawfulness of holding him in custody. Florida’s supreme court made short shrift of that, saying his petition was no more than a tool to make the same arguments he’s made before, all of which he has lost.

The problem in Kelley’s case has always been the character and credibility of the prosecution’s main witness, John Sweet, who was Irene Maxcy’s lover and a petty mobster and charlatan.

When Sweet’s life of fraud and deception began to fall apart in Massachusetts in the early 1980s, he drove a bargain to give up Kelley in exchange for immunity from prosecution. He claimed he had hired Kelley to kill Maxcy. Even authorities found Sweet to be an incorrigible liar, but they believed they pieced together enough evidence and testimony to accurately nail Kelley for the murder.

A 12-member jury believed Sweet and convicted Kelley of the killing in 1984.

Emotion written on his face, Clerk of Courts Bob Germaine takes the oath of office Tuesday morning at the Highlands County Courthouse as wife Monica looks on.

Chief Judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit J. David Langford shakes hands with newly sworn in Highlands County Clerk of Courts Bob Germaine at Tuesday’s ceremony.

Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton takes her oath of office as her granddaughters hold the Holy Bible she places her left hand on at Tuesday’s ceremony.

Transfer of Responsibility: Incoming Clerk of Courts Bob Germaine shakes hands with outgoing Clerk of Courts Luke Brooker prior to Tuesday’s swearing in at the Highlands County Courthouse. Germaine brings 37 ytears experience to bear as he begins his term.

Five Highlands County constitutional officers were sworn in Tuesday at the courthouse. They were, from left to right, Sheriff Susan Benton, Tax Appraiser Raymond McIntyre, Tax Collector Charles Bryan, Supervisor of Elections Joe Campbell, and Clerk of Courts Bob Germaine. Outgoing Clerk of Courts Luke Brooker stands at the far left.

It was Standing Room Only in the Judge Clifton Kelly Memorial Courtroom at the Highlands County Courthouse for Tuesday’s oaths of office. In the front row to the far right is the family of Tax Appraiser Ray McIntyre. Heather McIntyre, a standout cross country runner and softball player at Sebring High School, sits in the right-most seat.

PHOTOS BY THE INDEPENDENT PRESS SERVICE

SEBRING, January 6, 2009 – Five Highlands County constitutional officers took their oaths of office Tuesday in the Clifton Kelly Memorial Courtroom at the county courthouse amid popping camera flashes.

In front of family, friends, and fellow citizens, Clerk of Courts Robert Germaine, Sheriff Susan Benton, Tax Appraiser Raymond McIntyre, Tax Collector Charles Bryan, and Supervisor of Elections Joe Campbell placed their left hands on Holy Writ, held up their right hands, and pledged to uphold the constitutions and laws of the nation and of the state in the performance of their duties.

J. David Langford, the chief judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit, came down from Bartow to administer the oath of each officer. Former Chief Deputy Clerk “Buddy” McKenzie hosted the ceremony.

The administration of oath was especially meaningful for Germaine, 57, who was the one new face among the five officers. Germaine was visibly moved when he spoke after taking his oath. He told the audience of over 100 that he was “privileged” and “honored” to serve them, and that the citizens who elected him and his deputy clerks who worked with him were part of his family, too.

After 36 years of public service in the clerk’s office, Germaine emerged victorious as the elected Clerk in an emotional campaign against Mary Wilson, an accountant in the clerk’s financial section. Wilson had attempted to bruise the reputation of the clerk’s office with scandalous audits that proved largely unfounded but which spawned suspicion and excited a fringe element of disgruntled political activists.

Germaine’s plan for the Clerk’s office is simple: trim the budget, keep costs down for taxpayers, and provide the best customer service to court users.

Germaine began to implement his plan Tuesday morning when he did not re-appoint Wilson as a deputy clerk.

Another big paycheck was lopped off when former chief financial officer Bob Jameson retired Dec. 31. Some observers considered Jameson the instigator of Wilson’s campaign hopes.

Yet another survivor of a bruising campaign, Susan Benton, reveled as she took the oath of office as sheriff of Highlands County for the second time in four years. She beamed as she placed her left hand on a Bible held up by her two granddaughters.

As with Germaine, the crowd applauded Bemton warmly. As with Germaine, she overcame attacks that questioned her character and won re-election handily.

In a separate, quieter ceremony Tuesday morning, Circuit Judge Olin Shinholser swore in eight assistant state attorneys: Steve Houchin, Richard Castillo, Dave Ward, Gary Ellis, Christine Pletcher, Heather Beato, Bill Ouellette, and Courtney Lenhart.

They vowed to “support, protect, and defend” the U.S. and Florida constitutions.

Shinholser, the administrative judge for Highlands County, and Circuit Judge Pete Estrada also attended the ceremony for the constitutional officers.

The war veteran claimed more than 58 % of the popular vote here, outdistancing Barack Obama by 25,903 to 17,913.

The achievement was remarkable considering the mood of the country and the high Democratic turnout during early voting. Even though about 900 more Democrats turned out during early voting, however, McCain took the early vote, 10,552 to 9,811. That’s about a 1,600 vote turnaround for McCain.

McCain also took the absentee/provisional ballot vote by 5,188 to 2,439 and the election day vote by 10,162 to 5,661.

Highlands remained staunchly Republican, with every Republican candidate winning except in the sheriff’s race, where incumbent Susan Benton won re-election.

The likely explanation for the results: Highlands voters, even among Democrats, are conservative; many Dixiecrats remain within the Democratic Party. A Dixiecrat is a Southern Democrat, one without the left-wing leanings of the Northern end of the party.

Nonetheless, there is one race about which we must speak out to our fellow citizens. It is the race for Highlands County Clerk of the Courts. Unlike the other races, which feature candidates of equal or near equal qualifications, one of the candidates in this race stands head and shoulders above the other.

That candidate is Bob Germaine.

It is almost impossible to say too much about Germaine. His 37 years of experience as a public servant in the Clerk’s office alone make him shine like a diamond.

Here is a man whose time of service has allowed him to polish his customer service and co-worker skills even as it allowed him to accumulate the knowledge and wisdom of every phase of the Clerk’s administration: court operations oversight, protection of confidential records, jury management, judicial relations, budget preparation and management, cost reduction, quality control, technology, and training and cross-training.

As Senior Director for Court Services, Germaine has managed 42 people and created an effective, spirited team of customer-oriented clerks.

On a recent, unannounced visit, one of our insiders observed a clerk taking the time to carefully enumerate options to a distraught citizen who needed to understand filing procedures. The clerk was patient, explained the procedures, took time to describe and to offer packets of information, and went into another room to find extra information for the citizen.

The courthouse is not always the kind of place in which a citizen wants to find himself or herself. So it is exactly this kind of service – patient, considerate, nonjudgmental, and knowledgeable – that citizens appreciate. This kind of service has the stamp of current Clerk of Courts, Luke Brooker, and his senior director, Germaine, all over it.

Germaine has excelled as the senior director. The State of Florida has recognized his achievements and ranked the Highlands County jury system No. 1 out of 66 counties for five straight years. That’s effective leadership.

But then Germaine runs a tight ship all the way around. He helped to nix a technology acquisition that would have wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. His prudence means the taxpayers can now buy the same system for only $50,000.

Germaine’s opponent is Mary Wilson, an auditor in the same office who supervises one person. We commend her public spiritedness, but with only four years in the Clerk’s office and all of them confined to the narrow function of audits, we feel the Clerk of Courts is much too far a reach for her at this stage in her young career.

In the exuberance of her campaign, it appears that Ms. Wilson has given utterance to any number of inaccuracies.

For instance, listeners at a public speaking engagement at Reflections on Silver Lake in Avon Park Oct. 22 report that she said the only reason Germaine was able to create a surplus was because he raised fees at the courthouse. Of course, this is not true. The State of Florida sets the fees. Clerks of court around the state charge what they are told to charge.

Similarly, at a public gathering at the Sun ‘N’ Lake Community Center Oct. 27, Wilson declared that the monies in the Clerk’s trust funds come from the State. That is not correct. The monies are generated locally by the various recording and document fees.

Ms. Wilson simply does not know enough about the office she wants to run.

Finally, Ms. Wilson has made much ado about Germaine’s retirement benefits and the collection of his salary as Clerk of Courts, if he is elected. The real questions are: What is the significance of her claim to the taxpayer? Will the taxpayer pay more if Germaine is elected instead of Wilson?

The answer, of course, is, “No.” Germaine is going to collect his hard-earned retirement benefits whether he is elected or not. In fact, with the state of the economy being what it is, we urge him to get his retirement benefits out of the hands of state government management and into his own as soon as possible.

And citizens will pay the same salary for Clerk of Courts whether they elect Germaine or his opponent.

There is much more we could say about Germaine’s qualifications, but the bottom line is that he is a man of integrity who knows how to treat people with respect and who knows what it takes to run the Clerk’s office on a tight budget during tough times for taxpayers.

The Independent Press Service heartily endorses Bob Germaine for Highlands County Clerk of Courts.

]]> http://independentpressservice.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/editorial-germaine-the-best-choice-for-clerk-of-courts/feed/ 0 etymos http://independentpressservice.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/florida-amendment-recommendations/ http://independentpressservice.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/florida-amendment-recommendations/#comments Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:10:07 +0000 etymos http://independentpressservice.wordpress.com/?p=12 ]]> SEBRING, November 4, 2008 – The Independent Press recommends that voters reject all the proposed Constitutional Amendments on today’s ballot that deal with taxation.

Several proposals have been spawned by Florida’s Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, a many-tentacled group of persons with too much time on their oily hands.

Here’s a news flash: we don’t need you to burden us with frivolous proposals.

Stop making legislative issues matters of Constitutional purview. A constitution is a charter not to be taken lightly, and not to be subjected to every political breeze that comes along. A constitution is meant to be rock solid and difficult to change so that its fundaments – the protections of civil liberties and the enrichment of the common welfare – may not be tampered with by those with agendas.

The proffer of diverse taxing schemes as constitutional amendments falls into this miasma. We urge the public to reject them utterly.

We would welcome, however, an amendment to stop frivolous constitutional amendments.

That brings us to the most interesting amendments on the ballot, Nos. 1 and 2. No. 1 deals with the denial of property ownership to those person who are ineligible for citizenship. What’s wrong with that? Leave it on the books. It may serve the state’s citizens in their fight against illegal immigration and illegal aliens.

No. 2 is about marriage. So many in our citizenry, dumbed down by Oprah and anime, Hollywoodism and errant, fallacy-filled thinking, have come to believe the most ridiculous notions. That compels those who do think clearly to fashion amendments like No. 2, to state the obvious: that marriage is between one man and one woman or, rather, that it ought to be between one man and one woman.

The problem is the wording of the amendment. If marriage is between one man and one woman, what happens when one man discards one woman and marries woman No. 2? Clearly that marriage, while numerically between one man and one woman, would actually be between one man and a second woman.

It is almost funny that, statistically at least, some of the proponents of the marriage law are themselves probably working on their second or third marriages.

The intent of the amendment is to prevent homosexual persons from marriage. spiritually and philosophically that makes sense. To legalize such a union would be to formally sanction it and to place it as an equal to heterosexual unions, and our citizenry is not willing to do that. The state must follow suit.

On the other hand, we do not want the state peeping into our bedrooms and telling us what to do in our privacy. There is, however,  no need for government sanction.

Ultimately, we cannot tell you what to think. If you believe that the practice of homosexuality is wrong, than promoting it to a legal union of any kind would be something contrary to your civic duty. Ergo, you would vote for Amendment No. 2.

If you believe the practice of homosexuality is natural, then you should vote against Amendment No. 2.

Let every man – and woman- be convinced in his own mind.

Federal, state, and local races are on the lengthy ballot, as are proposed amendments to Florida’s Constitution. For links to sample ballots, please click on the link below:

http://www.heartlineweb.org/elections/SOE%20TOC.html

Remember to bring a PHOTO ID WITH SIGNATURE!!! You will need to produce one to vote.

Already Highlands County residents have smashed their early voting record by some 9,000 votes. The new record for early voter turnout is 20, 806.

More importantly for analysts, Democrats held off a late Republican rally to dominate early voting. They sent 9,486 voters to the poll. Republicans drummed up 8,520 voters while 2,800 Others – citizens registered as Independents or with minor party affiliations – cast ballots.

That means Democrats made up 45.6 % of early voters, Republicans 40.9 % and Others 13.5 %.

Here is what we can say based on the statistics:

1. By the close of early voting Saturday, 31.5 % of all registered voters in Highlands County had voted.

2. Democrats made up a  greater proportion of the early vote than their proportion of registered voters in Highlands County, 45.6 % to 39.9 % (26,383).

3. Republicans made up a lesser proportion of the early vote than their proportion of registered voters in Highlands County, 40.9 % to 43.4 % (28,671).

4. Others made up a lesser proportion of the early vote than their proportion of registered voters in Highlands County, 13.5 % to 16.7 % (11,038).

GET OUT AND VOTE!

For the first time since early voting began Oct. 20, Republicans trickled past Democrats on Wednesday and Thursday, 768 to 737 and 853 to 822. The victories still left Republicans trailing 7,914 to 7,054.

Others, a category that includes independents and citizens with minor party affiliations, such as with the Constitution Party, tallied 2,258.

The votes bode well for a resurgent Democratic Party once mired in what critics labeled left-wing lunacy. Inspired by their presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, they are out-voting a Republican Party membership that owns the majority of registrations in this conservative, largely rural county.

But that membership is disenchanted by the party’s abandonment of conservative values within the Bush administration and once-Republican Congress, where deficit spending,  immigration policy failure, and economic crash-and-burn have seemingly all but ruined maverick John McCain’s chances.

McCain himself is not wholly popular to the Republican electorate, and his choice of Sarah Palin as vice-president has further divided the membership, though for some she is the only desirable candidate on either ticket.

How the numbers would impact local races, such as the heated sheriff’s contest, remained to be seen. Much depends on whether those who came out to vote in this historic presidential race continued to cast votes on the ballot for state and local officials – they do not have to.

Party affiliation means less in local races, and in 2004 women dominated the voting and made sure Susan Benton won her historic race for sheriff after they viewed interference with her position at the sheriff’s office as foul play and an act of male chauvinism.

At least some of that female support remains, especially among younger female voters who, rightly or wrongly, view Ron Grimming’s campaign as an assault on a woman’s ability to do the job and as a restoration of “the good ole boys.”

But not all women do, and Benton appears to have lost a number of voters, male and female, who previously supported her. The strength of the Democratic turnout, however, could be her salvation, especially among voters inclined to cast a straight party ticket.

Germaine, 57, has 37 years experience in the Clerk’s office, where he has handled courthouse operations, budgets, confidential documents, and technological acquisitions. He supervises 42 people.

Mary Wilson, his opponent, is 36, has worked for four years in the Clerk’s office, and has helped with audits of county departments. She supervises one person.

Interviewed registered voters say Germaine’s surplus of experience and customer service skills have earned him his high standing with them.

Here is a sample of what they said:

HOZ COMPTON, 64, president of H. L. Compton Construction Co., Republican: “I’ve known Bob for a long time. He’s a very responsive person – always returns phone calls. He’s very well respected in Highlands County. Does his 37 years experience mean a lot? Sure it does!”

LUKE GRESOCK, 30, auto parts salesman, Democrat: “I’m voting for Bob, mainly because of his experience. I just like his policies over Wilson’s. I saw her at a forum. She just wasn’t memorable to me. I’m a salesman, and there wasn’t any ‘wow’ factor with Wilson.”

RUTH HANDLEY, 80, former school board superintendent, Republican: “I believe he has the best experience and the best qualifications. I have looked at him, and he is very eager to improve the coordination between the clerk’s office and the county commission.

“I feel strongly about the false charge of double dipping. That’s a very unfair charge that I’ve heard from his opponent. His retirement is his reward for diligent service. And he’ll be paid for the work he’s going to do when he’s elected.”

LESTER ROBERTS, 72, past president of the Highlands County NAACP, Independent:”The problems I’ve had through court proceedings or as a bail bondsman, anytime I have a problem, I can talk to Bob, and Bob will have the answer and smooth things out in a timely manner.  I’ve always been able to get resolutions to my satisfaction.”

DORIS GENTRY, 70, former Chairwoman of the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners, former Mayor of Avon Park, Democrat: “You know, I’ve known Bob a long time. He’s a very nice guy. He’s worked for Earl Rich as well as Lukie. He’s been involved in keeping those people going in the right direction.

“I think he has a broader and a deeper range of experience in working with the operations of the courthouse.”

JAN RIPLEY, 57, Hospice counselor, Republican: “He seems to be for the people of the county. I saw him at a forum and noticed his attitude, the way he talks with people. I give him high marks.”

CLIFFORD RHOADES, 54, attorney, Republican: “We’re talking 37 years as a county employee and, in my opinion, he has grown tremendously in the job. His service is perfect. There is a public service attitude about him that is exemplary.”