INVESTIGATES: Hundreds of thousands of dollars in public money went to county employee, report says

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A Whistleblower Report and subsequent Office of Inspector General Report found Rick Nelson violated four ethics laws: abuse of power, preferential treatment through bid tampering, official misconduct, and falsifying records.

Nelson was a manger in the St. Johns County Utility Department, running a system called SCADA that monitors water and wastewater infrastructure.

STORY: 4 more bodies recovered after boat capsizes off Florida coast, 34 remain missing

The report shows Nelson is also a co-owner of a company, Technical Field Service Inc, that provides parts and works on the same systems he managed for the county.

The report found Nelson never disclosed ownership to the county and gave his company preferential treatment in bids and purchases. It also found he falsified records to cover his tracks and had other employees do the same.

Action News Jax went to Nelson’s home to ask about the report. “It’s a lie,” he told ANJ.

We asked the county and found between May of 2016 and August of 2021 it spent $396,355.50 of taxpayer money on products and services with Nelson’s own company.

We have not heard back from the county about how many bids his company was awarded or how much they were worth.

Nelson was put on leave as soon as the investigation began in July, though the county hasn’t said yet whether that leave was paid. He was terminated but not charged criminally in November when the investigation was completed.

Nelson refutes all of it saying it is, “very wrong.” When pressed further by Investigator Emily Turner he referred us to his attorney, saying, “The report, it’s a lie.”

STORY: Kimberly Kessler: Woman convicted of killing Nassau mom sentenced to life in prison without parole

We reached out to his attorney but have not heard back as of air time. When asked why he wasn’t charged criminally, the state attorney’s office said “Our investigation determined that there was a clear violation of the non-criminal Florida Statute 112.313. At the same time, our investigation revealed that the county suffered no financial harm from this violation.”

Following the OIG recommendations, St. Johns County says, “The Utilities Department has reviewed and modified its internal processes to ensure these incidents cannot go undetected. Additionally, last year the County began revising and rewriting its purchasing policy. Once completed, the new policy will go before the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners for approval.”

©2022 Cox Media Group