On May 21, an Escambia County grand jury issued a “No True Bill” in the investigation of Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh’s text messages that were stolen off the county’s server.
Despite allegations made in social media and in the county’s public forums that Bergosh violated Florida’s Sunshine Laws and should be removed from office, the grand jury found the evidence presented didn’t persuade them there was probable cause that Bergosh committed a crime.
Bergosh took a victory lap on WCOA and made it known that his political enemies would have to deal with him.
“They wanted to take a kill shot at me, Rick. They knew that. Had I even been indicted for this misdemeanor, the governor would have removed me from office, and I more than likely would’ve lost my day job. So they were taking a financial and political kill shot at me,” Bergosh said.
“When I say ‘they,’ Mike Kohler, Steve Stroberger, and Pam Childers, but they took a kill shot and they missed. Now they got to a deal with me, and it’s going to be a problem.”
Steve Stroberger is District 2 Commissioner Mike Kohler’s aide and has filed to run against Bergosh. Pam Childers is the county clerk and has made cutting remarks about the county commission when she addresses jury pools.
“Last election cycle, I had the District 2 commissioner (Doug Underhill) run his secretary (Jonathan Owens) against me. That was a belly flop from the high dive for those guys. They got smashed. They’re doing the same thing again,” Bergosh said.
“When you see these other districts and now other constitutional officers coming to destroy a different commissioner, you got to scratch your head. If you’re a District 1 constituent, you have to say, ‘Why does District 2 want to have so much influence over District 1?’ I think the voters are smarter than that. I don’t think they’re going to play along with that, especially now, given the facts that have come out.”
Picking Winners & Losers?
Bergosh questioned why State Attorney Ginger Madden hasn’t asked a grand jury to look at Owens for possessing stolen information, which included financial records and health information.
“I went through that crucible. I came out the other end. I was not guilty because I don’t break the law,” Bergosh said. “But how come we haven’t done that for Jonathan Owens that admits possessing this personal identification information? It’s more than 12 citizens, full color, pictures of passports, driver’s licenses, bank account information, access codes to houses, medical stuff on former county employees.”
He added, “They send me to the grand jury for a second-degree misdemeanor that I did not commit based on one commissioner (Kohler) and his secretary (Stroberger) trying to take me out politically. But meanwhile, this guy (Owens) admits it on the radio, and nothing happens.”
Madden also hasn’t convened a grand jury on Owens’ boss.
“The same thing with Doug Underhill, the federal judge said, ‘Yeah, these are public records. Hundreds of them. You didn’t turn them over for four years.’ I see no grand jury looking at that,” Bergosh said. “So, I tend to think, Rick, that rather than it being an impartial, unbiased process, people are picking winners and losers.”
Underhill is appealing an Ethics Commission fine, and Owens has an administrative hearing on a probable cause that he violated the state ethics law.
