Wildlife institute employees accused of defrauding state
By STEPHEN THOMPSON
ST. PETERSBURG - A husband and wife working together at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg were at the helm of a years-long scheme that defrauded the state of Florida of more than $390,000, according to court documents made available this afternoon.
Allen Nelson, 58, the institute's former facilities management administrator, and Melody Oakleaf-Nelson, 45, an operations management consultant, were arrested today on racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering charges. Each was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $200,000 bail.
Neither is still with the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Nelson resigned in January 2009; Oakleaf-Nelson was terminated in March 2009. The couple live in Seminole, but also have a home in Las Vegas, which they helped furnish and finance with roughly $350,000 in state money, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Also arrested were administrative assistant Stacy Gilliam, 43, of St. Petersburg, and Luther Wilson, 60, of St. Petersburg, a facilities services manager at the institute. Investigators say both helped Nelsons with their various alleged schemes. Both were fired today, Wednesday, a spokeswoman at the institute said.
Another suspect is David Dauble, 50, of Dunedin, a contractor and longtime friend of the Nelsons who worked with the couple to defraud the state through various bogus contracts, authorities said.
Gilliam, Wilson and Dauble were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering.
The institute, located at 100 Eighth Ave. S.E. in St. Petersburg, is responsible for analyzing ecosystems, fisheries, aquatic wildlife and red tides, among other things.
The investigation began when the Office of Inspector General conducted a routine review of transactions made with employees' state-issued credit cards and found that Melody Oakleaf-Nelson had made fraudulent purchases totaling $20,594, the documents say.
"There are safeguards in place,'' said Henry Cabbage, spokesman for FWCC. "It was our internal audit that detected the wrongdoing.''
The probe mushroomed, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was called in, the documents say. In the end, investigators found the couple spent more than $200,000 in state funds for thousands of items.
The two are accused of trying to avoid detection by creating bogus invoices – and then destroying the receipts to the things they bought, which were legitimate. Among the merchandise they are accused of buying with state money are vinyl flooring, a compressor and two sheds for their Las Vegas home, along with furniture, roll-down shutters, an ice maker, pancake batter dispenser, and shelving, the documents say.
They are also accused of using state funds to buy a pet bed, cookware, a grill, cologne, weight-loss pills, a Batman pet costume, computer equipment, a gumball machine, fireplace rocks, along with an air circulator, blower, wheelbarrow, two oil-filled heaters, and at least two flat-screen TVs, the documents say.
The thefts started in 2005 and continued through 2009, the court documents say. Not all were used for furnishings, some were sold on eBay, the documents say.
The items were shipped to either the institute, or to a storage unit in Pinellas County, which was also paid for with state funds, or the couple's Seminole home at 11449 74th Ave. N., the documents say.
The Nelsons also personally transported some of the stole merchandise to their home in Las Vegas, the documents say.
Gilliam, the secretary, typically entered the purchases into a state data base even though she knew they were not legitimate, the court records say.
In a separate scheme, Melody Oakleaf-Nelson produced counterfeit invoices for a business known as F.D. Wintex, a move that caused the state to issue 22 checks to the then-defunct company totaling $128,512, the court documents say. A woman formerly associated with F.D. Wintex told investigators she gave 80 percent of the money back to Oakleaf-Nelson and kept the rest, without any services or goods being provided to the state, the documents say.
In another scheme, which Luther Wilson, the facilities service manager, was to oversee, a company called Carolco was awarded a $11,385 job to do some parking lot maintenance, but the materials were purchased using the state-issued credit cards and almost all the labor was performed by institute employees, the documents state.
Wilson is also accused of using his state-issued credit card for two bathroom mirrors and brown marble tile that never turned up at the institute, the documents.
In another scheme, Dauble arranged for another company to submit a bid for a lightning protection review, because he had already bid as much as he could under state guidelines, the documents say. But neither Dauble nor the other contractor was certified to perform such reviews. Besides, a lighting protection review had already been performed and it was still valid, the documents say.
Companies affiliated with Bauble continually won bids for electrical projects offered by the institute, the documents state.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which oversees the institute, investigated an incident involving Dauble and Wilson involving electrical work at an institute facility in Eustis in 2006. Dauble submitted several bids under different company names, and one he had his then-17-year-old son sign, the documents say. One of Dauble's companies won the project.
Since the investigation began, authorities have executed search warrants at the two homes owned by Oakleaf-Nelson and Nelson – the one in Las Vegas, the other in Seminole. Among the many things FDLE agents suspected the couple bought with state money was a book on how to better one's management skills.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/feb/03/wildlife-institute-employees-accused-defrauding-st/
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By STEPHEN THOMPSON
ST. PETERSBURG - A husband and wife working together at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg were at the helm of a years-long scheme that defrauded the state of Florida of more than $390,000, according to court documents made available this afternoon.
Allen Nelson, 58, the institute's former facilities management administrator, and Melody Oakleaf-Nelson, 45, an operations management consultant, were arrested today on racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering charges. Each was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $200,000 bail.
Neither is still with the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Nelson resigned in January 2009; Oakleaf-Nelson was terminated in March 2009. The couple live in Seminole, but also have a home in Las Vegas, which they helped furnish and finance with roughly $350,000 in state money, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Also arrested were administrative assistant Stacy Gilliam, 43, of St. Petersburg, and Luther Wilson, 60, of St. Petersburg, a facilities services manager at the institute. Investigators say both helped Nelsons with their various alleged schemes. Both were fired today, Wednesday, a spokeswoman at the institute said.
Another suspect is David Dauble, 50, of Dunedin, a contractor and longtime friend of the Nelsons who worked with the couple to defraud the state through various bogus contracts, authorities said.
Gilliam, Wilson and Dauble were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering.
The institute, located at 100 Eighth Ave. S.E. in St. Petersburg, is responsible for analyzing ecosystems, fisheries, aquatic wildlife and red tides, among other things.
The investigation began when the Office of Inspector General conducted a routine review of transactions made with employees' state-issued credit cards and found that Melody Oakleaf-Nelson had made fraudulent purchases totaling $20,594, the documents say.
"There are safeguards in place,'' said Henry Cabbage, spokesman for FWCC. "It was our internal audit that detected the wrongdoing.''
The probe mushroomed, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was called in, the documents say. In the end, investigators found the couple spent more than $200,000 in state funds for thousands of items.
The two are accused of trying to avoid detection by creating bogus invoices – and then destroying the receipts to the things they bought, which were legitimate. Among the merchandise they are accused of buying with state money are vinyl flooring, a compressor and two sheds for their Las Vegas home, along with furniture, roll-down shutters, an ice maker, pancake batter dispenser, and shelving, the documents say.
They are also accused of using state funds to buy a pet bed, cookware, a grill, cologne, weight-loss pills, a Batman pet costume, computer equipment, a gumball machine, fireplace rocks, along with an air circulator, blower, wheelbarrow, two oil-filled heaters, and at least two flat-screen TVs, the documents say.
The thefts started in 2005 and continued through 2009, the court documents say. Not all were used for furnishings, some were sold on eBay, the documents say.
The items were shipped to either the institute, or to a storage unit in Pinellas County, which was also paid for with state funds, or the couple's Seminole home at 11449 74th Ave. N., the documents say.
The Nelsons also personally transported some of the stole merchandise to their home in Las Vegas, the documents say.
Gilliam, the secretary, typically entered the purchases into a state data base even though she knew they were not legitimate, the court records say.
In a separate scheme, Melody Oakleaf-Nelson produced counterfeit invoices for a business known as F.D. Wintex, a move that caused the state to issue 22 checks to the then-defunct company totaling $128,512, the court documents say. A woman formerly associated with F.D. Wintex told investigators she gave 80 percent of the money back to Oakleaf-Nelson and kept the rest, without any services or goods being provided to the state, the documents say.
In another scheme, which Luther Wilson, the facilities service manager, was to oversee, a company called Carolco was awarded a $11,385 job to do some parking lot maintenance, but the materials were purchased using the state-issued credit cards and almost all the labor was performed by institute employees, the documents state.
Wilson is also accused of using his state-issued credit card for two bathroom mirrors and brown marble tile that never turned up at the institute, the documents.
In another scheme, Dauble arranged for another company to submit a bid for a lightning protection review, because he had already bid as much as he could under state guidelines, the documents say. But neither Dauble nor the other contractor was certified to perform such reviews. Besides, a lighting protection review had already been performed and it was still valid, the documents say.
Companies affiliated with Bauble continually won bids for electrical projects offered by the institute, the documents state.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which oversees the institute, investigated an incident involving Dauble and Wilson involving electrical work at an institute facility in Eustis in 2006. Dauble submitted several bids under different company names, and one he had his then-17-year-old son sign, the documents say. One of Dauble's companies won the project.
Since the investigation began, authorities have executed search warrants at the two homes owned by Oakleaf-Nelson and Nelson – the one in Las Vegas, the other in Seminole. Among the many things FDLE agents suspected the couple bought with state money was a book on how to better one's management skills.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/feb/03/wildlife-institute-employees-accused-defrauding-st/
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