Monroe County looks to consultants for full government review

Amid two ongoing government scandals, Monroe County commissioners have now said they’ll consider hiring a consulting firm to review all county departments and their processes.

Both a new whistleblower lawsuit and a grand jury report calling for action over several indictments of county employees in a narcotics-theft investigation are currently plaguing the county.

At a public meeting on Wednesday, commissioners announced that they may hire independent consultants to take a deep dive into all levels of the local government with a focus on workplace culture.

The move appears to have been prompted by the arrival of a $100,000 proposal from a consulting firm owned by Adam Hollingsworth, a former chief of staff to Rick Scott during his tenure as Florida governor. County Mayor Holly Raschein revealed she has a “longstanding relationship” with Hollingsworth.

The lawsuit filed this month alleges that an audit of the Florida Keys’ multi-million dollar tourism agency that found alleged financial mismanagement was part of a “campaign of retaliation” against the agency’s former marketing director.

READ MORE: Monroe County faces whistleblower lawsuit over tourist agency debacle

The narcotics-theft investigation

A grand jury indicted former County Administrator Roman Gastesi, Monroe County Fire Rescue and Trauma Star Medical Director Sandra Schwemmer and Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Star Division Chief Andrea Thompson in connection with a 2022 investigation into the theft of narcotics from the county’s emergency helicopter service called Trauma Star, which is a joint effort of the Fire Rescue department and the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office probe was prompted when it was discovered that Trauma Star drug logs had been altered. The investigation revealed that about 600 vials of controlled substances including fentanyl, morphine, dilaudid, and ketamine had been stolen from the emergency services program in a 13-month period. Eventually, Lynda Rusinowski, a flight nurse, admitted to being responsible for taking the drugs for personal use.

Gastesi was charged on one county with official misconduct, a third-degree felony.

“The charge stems from alleged actions that took place between August 11 and November 17, 2022, during which Mr. Gastesi is accused of knowingly and intentionally obstructing, delaying, or preventing the communication of information relating to the commission of a felony that directly affected the government entity he served,” according to a press release from the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office.

Schwemmer was charged with one count of official misconduct, one count of providing false information to law enforcement and one count of altering patient records. Thompson was charged on nine different counts including official misconduct, providing false information, tampering with physical evidence, tampering with witnesses and altering patient records.

The grand jury report that was released late last month made 14 recommendations for corrective measures they asked county commissioners to address. Recommendations ranged from calling for the firing of indicted individuals to implementing an internal affairs division for the Monroe County Fire Rescue department.

Commission discussion

After going through each individual recommendation and giving public updates as to whether or not the recommendations would be accepted, County Mayor Holly Raschein announced that she has received a proposal from a consulting firm that would review all county departments.

“This will not be our only conversation on this report,” said Bob Shillinger, the county attorney. “This is going to be an iterative process over the coming months.”

The firm, called Talk with Adam LLC, which is registered in Georgia, submitted a $100,000 proposal to conduct the external review, according to Shillinger.

“I thought it was just very timely to maybe go down parallel roads looking deeply into Monroe County Fire Rescue while at the same time looking into our other departments and seeking out areas where we need to improve our culture,” said Mayor Raschein.

The firm is owned by Adam Hollingsworth, who served as Chief of Staff to then Florida governor Rick Scott from 2012 to 2014. He also worked as chief of staff to Jacksonville city mayor John Payton and served in various communications roles before founding Talk with Adam.

“I have a longstanding relationship with Mr. Hollingsworth,” said Mayor Raschein. “But I also think that to be fair and open and accountable and transparent, if we need to consider other firms, we can do that.”

In 2013, the Miami Herald reported that Hollingsworth admitted to lying on his resume about his education background when applying for a job at CSX corporation, a rail-based transportation company headquartered out of Jacksonville, which he worked at from 2001 to 2004.

He reportedly included on his resume that he’d received a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Alabama in 1990. He did not actually complete his degree until 2009, however.

“I am not proud of this and I deeply apologize for this misrepresentation. I have learned from this failure in judgment and know that, over the last several years, my life and character have and will continue to grow from this,” Hollingsworth told the Herald at the time.

Christine Hurley, who was chosen to replace Roman Gastesi as permanent County Administrator, told WLRN via email that the county’s purchasing policy requires the local government to seek other quotes for the review work.

“We will have future discussions on this subject,” Hurley wrote.