FLORIDA - Orange County Sheriff's Office used secret files to lobby against gun bill

OFF THE WIRE
Records show Sheriff Jerry Demings' lobbyist handed out restricted photos of bikers with concealed weapon permitsFlorida law-enforcement officials dipped into secret intelligence files to lobby against legislation that would have allowed holders of concealed-weapons permits to carry their guns openly, newly released documents show.

Leading the effort last spring was one of Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings' staff lobbyists, who gave lawmakers surveillance and state drivers license photos of eight concealed-weapons permit holders, despite a state law that makes the identities of the 800,000 permit holders confidential.

The idea was to distribute photographs of motorcycle gxxg members with valid gun permits to show legislators the sort of people who might scare away tourists if they displayed their pistols, according to an investigation by the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office.

The information given to lawmakers came from the secret files of the Orange sheriff's Intelligence Squad, an undercover unit that investigates "motorcycle gxxgs, white supremacy groups … organized crime and other non-traditional cases," the state attorney found.

"I actually stopped by everyone of you guy's office this morning and dropped off … photographs of some biker outlaw gxxg guys that have concealed firearm permits. Those are the ones we're worried about carrying," sheriff's Capt. Mike Fewless told the state Senate Judiciary Committee on April 12. "Please defeat this terrible bill."

In an email to the Orlando Sentinel, Demings wrote that he did not know beforehand about Fewless' plans to release photographs of motorcyclists with concealed-weapon permits.

The captain remains the subject of a sheriff's investigation to determine if he violated agency policy.

The state Senate voted against the bill, prompting accusations of fear-mongering by law-enforcement officials and raising concerns about police misuse of confidential files for political goals.

The State Attorney's Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement cleared Fewless of violating state law, but the lawyer for the gxxg members and others say there's no question that something improper occurred.

Seven of the eight photos of members of the Mongols, Outcasts, Outlaws, Pagans and Warlocks motorcycle clubs came originally from the state Driver and Vehicle Identification (DAVID) system, state attorney's records show. Federal law classifies drivers' photographs as "highly restricted personal information."

"It's certainly clear that highly confidential personal information was distributed and that is exactly what the DPPA [federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act] was intended to stop," said Derek Newton, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. "We are always concerned when the government is collecting information and keeping information on people who have not been convicted."

Spokeswoman Ann Howard of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said law-enforcement officials are never allowed to publicly release drivers license photographs — "not even if someone is missing and it could save their life."

When Fewless' actions were described, Howard responded, "That is incredibly illegal. That's not allowed to be done."

Marion Hammer, former national president of the NRA, executive director of the Unified Sportsmen of Florida and longtime influential lobbyist, said the investigation revealed misuse of both the drivers license and weapons-permit records.

"The concealed weapon holder database is restricted for legitimate purposes that does not include lobbying to achieve a political purpose," she said Friday. "Using that information to besmirch the reputations of citizens who have no felony records and imply they are bad people is wrong."

Among those portrayed in the photos was Tracy Gil Osteen, a 49-year-old Orlando construction worker with one misdemeanor battery conviction. Sheriff's records identified him as president of the Florida chapter of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

Neither he nor the other seven motorcyclists had felony records and were eligible for concealed-weapon permits recognized by Florida and 34 other states.

The motorcyclists are now represented by Tarpon Springs lawyer Jerry Theophilopoulos of Bikerlaw.com.

"The only way to police the police when they break the law is to file a lawsuit, and we are prepared to get justice for all concealed weapon permit holders in this state," Theophilopoulos wrote in an email.

All together, Fewless obtained photographs and other information for 17 "outlaw bikers" from the Intelligence Squad. He specifically asked for pictures of "One Percenters," a term for bikers linked to organized crime, to try to sway senators, state attorney's records show.

A member of the squad, Agent John McMahon, told he provided the information without asking about the photos intended use.

"Mike is above me in the food chain," McMahon explained. "Never said what he was going to do with the information."

In an email sent the night before the gun hearing to Fewless and another sheriff's lobbyists, McMahon wrote, "While I am a complete supporter of gun rights for competent and law abiding citizens, I would be aghast at the thought of people like these, even though they are not (all) convicted felons, openly carrying a handgun on their belts … Good luck and keep up the good fight."

During the state attorney's investigation, which ended in May, Fewless said he didn't know state law protected concealed-weapon permit holders' identities or that most of the photos came from the state drivers-license database.

Investigators cleared Fewless of breaking the law, reasoning that state law does not define "personal identifying information" and he didn't release the motorcyclists' names when he handed out their photographs.

Asked about the federal restriction on publicly releasing drivers license photographs, Chief Investigator Randy Means said "that's not an issue" and that the investigation was closed.

The report concluded it was "a reasonable belief that Captain Fewless used confidential criminal justice information to persuade the Judicial Committee, comprised of elected officials, to strike [State Bill] 234 which allows individuals to carry firearms openly."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-sheriff-political-lobbying-secret-files-20110829-1,0,3426675.story