What can I say, we all have feet of clay.

I guess once he goes to another department he becomes a new man? I hope the local departments don't take on the burden.

I'm sure he did his resignation so he could take his pension.

Oh, brother. This guy is allowed to resign, before any official investigation into the misconduct. Other members alleged to have committed some misconduct, like the 18 year veteran who said he did not like his job were investigated in a wonderfully witch hunt fashion.

Makes one wonder just what the sheriff is covering up and how embarassing the whole mess would have been to him, to his chosen heir to the throne Kevin Rambosk and to the agency.

This guy is just the tip of the iceberg. It's past time to get rid of this regime and Rambosk is part of that regime.

Ortino for sheriff.

Freeman should have been dismissed by the sheriffs department years ago. That Hunter promoted him to such a high level is among the greatest errors in judgement ever committed by him and his administration. With any luck this guy will not be the last -- the "tribe" as they are called all need to go.

From drunken tirades at local bars to drunken tirades on local golf courses to a dictatorial, hypocritical, law-defying, in-your-face, bullying style of management, Hunter was either woefully ignorant of Freeman's character or willingly declined to address the many problems in the agency that Freeman was responsible for creating. Its about time this happened, but an investigation should have been made, and Freeman should not have been permitted to leave, in good standing, taking all of his financial and career benefits with him. Even when finally confronted with the truth about this guy, Hunter caves in permits another personnel and agency travesty.

If you want some interesting reading about this guy and the sheriffs department go to leoaffairs.com. our sheriffs department is in a quagmire and Rambosk is NOT the man to save it.

I agree that Rambosk is not the best choice to lead the Sheriff's Office. The problem is that no one with his qualifications has stepped up to run.

Rambosk is a classic look good/feel good politician. He has all the right paper work to make himself look good on paper. He is not capable of running an agency as big and as complex as CCSO and is totally incapable of making hard decisions when needed.

This agency needs a good cleaning out of trouble children and has for a number of years. This is not ment to cast anything negative on the many good people who make up CCSO, but it's time to make some changes on how the agency is managed. Rambosk will not provide that needed change.

But it looks like Rambosk has been anointed as the "chosen one" by the power structure so I have no doubt that he will be in charge come November.

My choice for Sheriff as of right now is none of the above.

HOW MANY OF YOU WHO DON'T HAVE THE COURAGE TO SHOW YOUR REAL NAME CAN MEASURE UP TO MR.FREEMAN? HOW MANY TIMES DID HE RISK HIS LIFE WHEN HE PULLED OVER A CAR ON A DARK NIGHT NOT KNOWING WHO WAS BEHIND THE WHEEL? HOW MANY TIMES DID HE RESPOND TO REPORTS OF A BURGLARY AND ENTER A DARK ALLEY OR BUILDING NOT KNOWING WHO OR WHAT WAS WAITNG.
I DON'T KNOW IF HE DID WRONG; PERHAPS HE DID. BUT UNTIL I KNOW THE FACTS, I THINK HE, AND EVERY DEPUTY SHERIFF OR POLICE OFFICER, HAS EARNED THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT.
AND PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW THE FACTS BUT WRITE ANONYMOUSLY TRASHING OTHER PEOPLE DON'T DESERVE THE BENEFIT OF ANY DOUBT.
MY NAME IS WILLIAM L ROGERS; I GO BY LARRY BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHERS WITH THE SAME NAME; I GRADUATED FROM NAPLES HIGH IN 1969.

Rambosk has my vote...at least for now.

He has vision.

He has experience.

Maybe he works for an agency that is in trouble morally right now.

However, I feel that he is the best man for the job as compared to Ortino.

Check out the websites of both candidates.

The information is there. It speaks volumes.

Rambosk wants changes, he just can't do anything until he is voted in.

Plain and simple.

Sounds to me like Ortino just got a new prospect for employment at his agency. After all, his agency is made up of a lot of ex-ccso employees that were fired or resigned.

Guess all that 'we need to thank Capt. Freeman for all his years of service' line in Hunters email to the agency last week just backfired. Way to get the agency to congratulate someone you had major suspicions about...Nice Judgement Sheriff...NDN why don't you get a copy of that email, it should be public record...

And to think Hunter busted him from Sgt, all those years ago, what was it 97, 98, 99? for the bachelor party? Then all was forgiven.

If you were ever trying to confirm that rank has its privelege, then you just did it.

The Sheriff is a joke and hypocrite. He lets this clown run rampant for years, and eventually promotes him to command staff level. His behavior has persistently gotten worse since his promotion, and the Sheriff has turned a blind eye. Now that there are verifiable sexual harassment issues, fatal character flaws he lets him "resign" in good standing. There Sheriff needs to complete an investigation, and release the findings into public record. To do less than this is a disservice to the public he allegedly serves. The command staff is arrogant and elitist, and they believe they can make up the rules as they see fit. Nauseating!

Juice, you are right, Rambosk is the only viable candidate. It’s funny that the desperate Ortino people on this blog blame everything on Rambosk. Truth is that Hunter is the only one making decisions and Rambosk will make his changes when he has the office. They also claim the majority of the agency supports Ortino. Now that’s funny! There is a handful at best. Don’t breathe the smoke the VO’s are blowing.

Who's responsible for trying to hide the negative headlines of the County Gov't. & CCSO's misfits? NDN didn't report on the DUI a CCSO Deputy received from FWP early Monday morning. It also didn't report on the MedFlight helo pilot Mark Holmes who is to be terminated for allegedly flying the scenic route over the Naples Canoe Race on the way to pickup a patient at NCH!!!

Links below!

http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readcol...

http://www.nbc2investigators.com/arti...

My how this article has changed since first posted. Spun to make Hunter & Freeman look good. What a crock. High morals & standards at the CCSO now that's funny. All the tribe members cheat on their wives it's common knowlege. Hunter knows Freeman was a bad seed & couldn't have it come out before the election what he did. A big cover up I say so. Hunter your agency is a joke.

Typical that the sheriffs department was able to get the NDN to alter the story. This whole story stinks to high heaven. Another fine example of the solid fact that it is not necessarily what you do at the sheriff's office but who you are at the sheriffs department.

Hunter waived the 2 week notice requirement and said that any investigation would have been muted by the resignation. Bull. One cannot resign in good standing if under investigation. But wait... Hunter would have waived that requirement too.

It's time for change.
ORTINO FOR SHERIFF!!!!!!!

Other deputies in the past have attempted to resign when allegation arose, and Hunter refused to accept the resignation; furthermore, he sent his command staff to speak with the individual(s) to convince them to stay and wait out an investigation. The deputies were eventually terminated in bad standing. Now he pulls this. Hypocritical, unethical and unbelievable. Public, please don't trust this elitist administration.

I've met Rambosk and have been impressed with his vision and he desire to take the sheriff's department to a higher professional level in service to the community. Moreover, his spotless record is solid and shows much, much more experience than Ortino. I'm sure he will clean house and kept it clean by staying on top of things. Hunter was just one of the good old boys going along for the ride and raking the dough. He was a good PR person who could fake it well.

Who's responsible for trying to hide the negative headlines of the County Gov't. & CCSO's misfits? NDN didn't report on the DUI a CCSO Deputy received from FWP early Monday morning. It also didn't report on the MedFlight helo pilot Mark Holmes who is to be terminated for allegedly flying the scenic route over the Naples Canoe Race on the way to pickup a patient at NCH!!!

Links below!

http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readcol...

http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readcol...

Excellent comments about Rambosk ohgeorge. I would not fully agree with you about Hunter. I do think he made the right choice by not running.

Your right Coyote, it is time for a change and there will be one soon when Rambosk is elected Sheriff! (and we don't have to send Kevin to the police academy to become a real cop) RAMBOSK FOR SHERIFF!

Check out www.leoaffairs.com. Go to message boards, and click on Collier County. You will read what the agency thinks about this guy, Hunter, and the investigation that will never be public record. Sham!

"toesmom"

You said Hunter's agency is a joke.

To the men and women of Hunter's agency......

Thanks for:

Finding a lost pet.

Stopping and helping to fix a flat tire.

Providing directions when people are lost.

Helping students in the program "Do the right thing".

Community Service programs that help the elderly.

Arriving just in time to stop a fight or quell a disturbance.

To stop parents from fighting.

Find a lost child or elderly person.

Performing CPR.

Responding to burglaries, fights and robberies.

Stopping a car in the middle of the night and hoping it's not a person who wants to kill you.

I know people tell you that it's just your job.....but your family and freinds know it's more than that.

Toesmom, if or when you need help.... like it or not... CCSO will help you too, that is not debatable.

I dont see how some of you people can figure Rambosk can fix this, he's part of it. He's been the number two man for what four years now? The number two man is the one who usually doles out punishment and signs off on the internal investigations. when did this complaint come out about freeman? was it before Rambosk "stepped down"?, what does he know? did he know about this and let it go? yeah, right. Rambosk has been at the helm for four years and say what you want, we all know Hunter hasnt been here and rambosk has been running the show "in training" to be Hunters fresh picked boy. Is Hunter so intimidating that he shuts Rambosk down from doing the right thing in all these issues? Who else is he afraid of?

LOL!!!! Hunter actually endorses Freeman?

What does that say for his endorsement of Rambosk?

Vote for the newcomers. Break up the power play.

Sorry guys! The entire Hunter/Rambosk must go! You cannot possibly believe that someone like Rambosk, the number two man for years, is going to make any appreciable changes. He's as bad as Hunter. We need to clean house.

Just another "Friday night press-release"..

PS to Sheriff Hunter/Rambosk.....this only becomes a "moot point" when you summarily close (or did you ever open) an investigation and allow a potential rule breaker/law breaker to retire with full benefits and pay. What is his pension, probably a cool $100K per year of taxpayers money? I'd love to have someone in the CCSO calculate the amount.

I've always said it, and I'll say it again.....

Victor Ortino for SHERIFF!

There's no race in this contest for Sheriff.

Who are you all kidding?

Rambosk is an experienced, innovative driven, responsible law enforcement professional.

The other is a sloppy, dumb man who doesn't have an original thought or a clue on how to run a multi-million dollar law enforcement agency.

There is no contest. Everyone who wants professional law enforcement in Collier County knows that their vote will go to RAMBOSK.

Once again, congratulations, Sheriff Rambosk!

Ortino wants to take away your drivers licenses when you hit 65 years old. I'm more than decade away from that but this Ortino guy is SCARY.

He's very soft on traffic laws, too, since he owns a private car service. That's not what I want in a sheriff.

He's not sheriff material. At all. He wears shorts to debates and a tux shirt. Not a good look, Victor.

My vote, my family's vote and everyone I know at work are voting for Kevin Rambosk. Go to his web site and read about his accomplishments. We're lucky to have him in Naples.

Rambosk for Sheriff!!!

Why anyone would insult someone that they dont know based on a newspaper ad is beyond me. Chris Freeman is a great guy/boss/friend. Hopefully he gets to choose when and where he wants to work, as he should, after keeping the citizens of Collier County SAFE for 22 years. Good Luck

OK, boys and girls, there's one fact that says it all. This guy was paid over $120,000 per year. $120,000! $120,000?!?. There are hundreds of egg heads getting paid 6 figures all over this county, and they don't earn 1/2 of it.

This county is a bureaucracy that any communist would be proud to be part of.

No incumbent should be re-elected. None. The best reason to vote for a person is that he is not an incumbent. Hunter-Rambosk is out!

I don't know anything about the internal workings of this department, but I do know that this county has been an island of safety in South Florida under Hunter. There's a lot more crime and gang activity around us than there is here, and I think Hunter has to get the credit.

Nobody can make everybody happy, and anybody who has to do the tough job Don Hunter has done here is bound to make enemies.

Seems like all you complainers have an axe to grind.

Lynncon..... get your candidates straight. You're talking about Vinnie, not Victor.
I would truly like to support Kevin Rambosk and would in a heartbeat if he would only come forward and say he is going to sweep out much of Hunter's command staff. The Freeman incident is only the tip of the iceberg and Hunter's handling of it is atrocious. Hunter has always preached integrity and accountability, yet when it applies to his command staff, all that is out the window. There is no investigation nor holding one to account for actions. Lies and deception are told to agency members in an email (why don't you print it NDN?)about Freeman's leaving along with the Sheriff Hunter's glowing endorsement of Freeman. Yes, if he leaves in good standing, there are huge financial gains such as payment for unused sick time. Only the command staff would be allowed to leave in good standing while a dark cloud looms overhead. Plus, he is allowed to leave without the standard notice. This is not showing integrity, Sheriff Hunter. It is not exhibiting the ethical behavior that is demanded from the office you still hold. Captain Rambosk.... it is time for you to step forward and tell the public exactly what you know and what you intend to change. If it means you need to leave the Sheriff's Office for a few months until the election, then so be it... but be up front and let the public and the sheriff's office employees know there are problems at the top and that you will be making changes.

It seems to me that Freeman must have some dirt on Hunter. Wasn't Freeman a witness for Hunter in the FDLE investigation into a domestic violence accusation. Makes sense to me. It's disgusting that this married man used his position to sleep with his subordinates, one of whom is a Commander and is married to another CCSO deputy.

Rambosk is Hunter's "Love Child" same old crap that Hunter has been feeding the public. Tax and Spend. It seems there are a lot of Bubbas in this kingdom and it is time for true change.
My vote is for Ortino.

why are the taxes so high? who in the heck are setting these pensions for these bottom feeders anyway? Over 100,000 a year for a caption?
multiply this by all the dounut eaters Hunter has out there and one can see why Hunter and his cronies are a joke.
And people in here think ramsstunk is gonna change things, heck lets hire the illegals atleast they'll work for lower wages and do a better job

This guy is with Ortino at every event. He enjoys child porn, according to the paper.
He is one of Ortino's closest confidantes. Would you want this guy to be part of your staff? Would you want your Sheriff to consider this man for a job?

David Rich, 38, was fired after (a CCSO) internal investigation revealed the Web site contained... nude women and women performing oral sex. Also, during a separate investigation stemming from a failed polygraph test, Rich admitted to having witnessed online pornography involving minors, authorities said.

Rich, who is now employed with the private investigation firm Ortino Investigations, described the Web site as a “hobby-type fun thing,”

The investigation into Rich’s Web site began in July when the Sheriff’s Office received an e-mail from someone identified only as “Deputy Dan” who directed authorities to Rich’s site.

“When investigators opened the site they saw a photograph of a Florida motorcycle license plate licensed to Rich. Several of the photographs depicted nudity and oral sex. Others showed Rich with women in various stages of dress, from exposing their breasts to nude, the report said.

“I think it’s OK,” he said.

Rich told investigators that he would go online looking for movies and clips he could watch with his wife.

“There’s a lot of things I’ll download, just doesn’t do anything for me, so I trash it, you know. Put it in the delete file and erase,” Rich said during an interview.

At one point Rich told investigators that he clicked on a video called “My Teenie Wife,” that may have indicated it contained images of a 15-year-old, according to the investigation.

“I was downloading ‘My Teen Wife.’ I think I trashed it. I think I trashed the whole thing,” Rich said during his first examination.

Rich also told investigators he viewed an online movie called “My Girlfriend and I,” featuring two “high school”-age girls engaged in a pillow fight and kissing each other, and a video titled “Teen Prostitute Video,” where the girls appeared to be at least 18, the investigation revealed.

When asked again if he’d ever seen any pornography depicting people under 18, Rich said. “I’m sure I have. I’ll say yes.”

On December 26, Rich, who earned $49,169 a year at the jail, had his appointment withdrawn based on the totality of the two investigations, for “immoral, unlawful or improper conduct,” the Sheriff’s Office reported.

In an e-mail to the Daily News on Wednesday, Rich said he did not want to be interviewed because he feared being misquoted or having his statements taken out of context.
Rich started working with Ortino Investigations around the time of his appeal, said Victor Ortino, who owns and manages the firm. Ortino said Rich is a “good guy.”

To quote ohgeorge, I must agree (except the Hunter digs:
"I've met Rambosk and have been impressed with his vision and he desire to take the sheriff's department to a higher professional level in service to the community. Moreover, his spotless record is solid and shows much, much more experience than Ortino. I'm sure he will clean house and kept it clean by staying on top of things. Hunter was just one of the good old boys going along for the ride and raking the dough. He was a good PR person who could fake it well."

I know the homegrown stock that Kevin Rambosk comes from in NJ - I have had the pleasure to know his boys who studied Karate with my son - and I've met his wife Pat many times over the last 10 years. This article has nothing to do with the coming election, and any lambasting of Kevin Rambosk is in poor taste, bitter taste - I'm ashamed that some of you who have posted here are my Collier County neighbors...shame on you all!

As a post script to my blog above...I'm a former NJSP Trooper who's been around all types of law enforcement from the local constable to the Presidential Protection Unit of the US Secret Service. We are so lucky to have Kevin Rambosk as a candidate for sheriff; frankly speaking I'm suprised he would want the job after completing a unblemished career as Naples Chief and then City Manager. I believe he's doing all of us a favor by staying in law enforcement. The next time any of you lambast this man, remember that he does his job by choice, and that his family stands with him.

Dang, is Collier County turning into South New Jersey? Read LEOaffairs.com if you want to hear the "real" dirt.

Well MarcoRobert, it's nice you suggest no one "lambast" your man, and yet you people trot out the terrible charactor assasination of whoever David Rich is.....not sure....but what does he have to do with the debate about whether Freeman should have been fired or allowed to resign?

The Sheriff was exposed as a man, and an administration, that lacks integrity by not fully investigating these allegations.

Freeman is the most obnoxious foul mouthed individual in the SO. A true womanizer who is on the make daily. Being appointed a captain from a sgt was the most disgusting item Hunter pulled during his regime. This guy is a pure bully and rules like a tyrant.
When a former Lt. was fired for running against Hunter several years ago, why hasn't the current undie (don't bet he's not still making those decisions), been fired for the same thing. I believe I can make these statements due to being retired-in good standing- from this half-a**__ agency.

My brother and his family live in the estates and Sheriff Don Hunter has some real professionals working for him. Their work during the brush fires last week was wonderful. They were helpful, compassionate and true public servants. We are a lucky community.

So thank you, Don. And all of your deputies, including Kevin Rambosk.

You're doing a fantastic job. I look forward to your fine work in the future, Kevin!

It's about time! Maybe the FDLE will finally investigate the CCSO and Hunter. Just remember that NO means NO and covering it up will make it worse for the innocent victom.

Rambosk will do the right thing once he's in. He knows how to lead and knows the job. He's more than qualified. Those who say he's just like Hunter don't know the man; they are just trying to sway some folks to vote for their man Vic, who's never run anything but a small PI company full of fired cops. RAMBOSK FOR SHERIFF!

Word is that Ortino is dropping out of the race due to lack of money.

I am curious to know why NDN has links for "Related Stories" posted near the top? How are those links related to this story? Or are they just their for sensationalism?

I do not know much about Mr. Ortino but from what I can see so far it does not appear he has the experience or leadership abilities to handle a bureaucracy as large as the Sheriff’s Office. If indeed he his hiring those Hunter has fired that has to say something regarding his hiring standards.

Some of you may vote for him because you do not like Hunter but explain to me how you justify him being a better candidate over Mr. Rambosk.

I bet Mr. Rambosk must cringe every time something like this happens but I am sure he has his own ideas and plans for the Sheriff’s Office that he must to keep to himself until post primary season.

And for those of you who think the current administration is somehow responsible for or promotes this kind of behavior is ridiculous. The deputies who have chosen to break laws or engage in unethical or immoral conduct made those decisions on their own. Nobody likes or enjoys an internal investigation.

Many of you “Hunter haters” are screaming for change. Deputies are going to do dumb things or get in trouble no matter who is Sheriff. So I would like to know from the Hunter haters if Mr. Ortino gets elected and deputies continue to get in trouble are you going to scream for his resignation as so many of you have done in the past? Or are you four years from now going to yell ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE once again?

#15 and for you Toesmom you are a sad reality of one of those people the deputies in this county protect without reservation or hesitation!

I can go on but it’s difficult to concentrate with Hillary Clinton crying in the background.

Oh it's the same stuff, different day on the blogs.

Those who will only support Rambosk (myself included) and those who will only support Ortino.

Face it, nothing is going to change our minds. They were made up long ago. Ortino's philosophy of law enforcement is completely different than that of my own. That's why I won't vote for him.

At this point ad hominem attacks on people because they support one person or another doesn't accomplish anything. Give it a break.

Hmmm....info gets posted about a forced resignation on LEOAFFAIRS.COM with the reasons of sexual harrassments and sleeping with subordinates, a few hours later the sheriff puts out an email stating that Captain Chris Freeman resigned for personal and medical reasons. Now the NDN reports that in actuality he resigned because allegations were made of sexual harrassment. Freeman resigns from a well paid position but claims its all lies and he would have been completely cleared. Unemployment is at an all time high and this man resigns his cushy position. The sheriff refuses to do a proper investigation and actually accepts Freeman's resignation. Sounds like a cover up. Also, what really happened in Costa Rica????

Grouper I think its time for a diaper change.

Rambleon, you're a dope.
This is a story from the Naples Daily News, the local paper that you're reading, in case you're too drunk to know that.

This guy did this, admitted it and then a man who would later want to be sheriff hired this mess who apprarently likes teen porn.

Victor is on a boat?

Amazing, Once again personal opinions support the biggest disgrace of all... Criminals all over the world are innocent until proven guilty. Yet we see by the blogs here that you all believe Law Enforcement Officers are guilty until proven innocent! Right or Wrong your opinions fuel that fact. As a Law Enforcement Officer myself you all can bash me all you want, I will still do my job in this county as the rest of the S.O. will do. And we will continue to put up with the bashing. Have fun bashing us, and I'm sure I can be one of targets as I have been called a pig by the best of 'em (by a 2 year old collier county resident in front of his parents).

Ray E

STOP LYING TO THE CITIZENS

Fact – Another major cover-up.

Fact - Hiding violations of sexual harassment issues.

Fact - Continue to cover-up issues that involve rank of privilege.

Fact - High ranking officials retire with huge pensions and are re-hired to make more.

Fact - Agency needs a huge overhaul.

This circle of corruption and lying to the public must stop.

Now I got it.

Victor is the rumpled looking guy who hires the fired rejects from CCSO.

He's made a deal with the guy in shorts to be in his administration.

What an embarrassment!

"Fact - High ranking officials retire with huge pensions and are re-hired to make more."

Who is doing this? And who is the retiree?

GROUPER YOUR AN IDIOT! Does it make you feel tough to belittle the hard working officers who protect (and probably arrest) your sorry butt? You and your remarks are cowardly. How would like it if the deputies made fun of the way you cleaned the port-a-potties every day?

SCOTSA,

1- Re-hired-Captain Tom Storrar,retired with very nice pension and it currently making about $140,000 per year. With his retirement he is making well over $200,000 per year. I guess no other person in the agency was qualified for that position.

2- Sheriff's personal attorney, Danny Shriver, retired and is now paid through a special account. I wonder what his retirement and current salary could be.

3. Stand by for #3, Chief Greg Smith is retiring and will be hired back after 30 days to his position making over $130,000 and with his retirement will being making over $200,000.

Once again, I guess no one else in the agency is qualified to move up the ranks. This is another example of poor management. Another example is recruiting two captains from outside the agency. This does not say much for the current
Lieutenants that were jumped or neglected in being promoted from within. It's all about what is best for ME, not the members of the CCSO. If your fortunate to be in the upper ranks, your pensions will be worth more than $1,000,000 and that's not enough. Get rehired and make more. THEY CALL THIS GREED. Do you think they really care about the citizens?

I really don't care who the next sheriff is. This place is out of control and everyone including the employees are blind to it.

NEEDACHANGE

I should be cleaning toilets for hunter at least I'd retire with 100,000 pension. I have never been arrested but i've tried to bond a friend out once but was delayed cause a deputy came in with a bag of mcdonald's food so i had to wait till they were done eating then it was to late to bail him out cause he went to court from there. so i've seen first hand the ineptness of the department.
I also had a friend who ended up suing Hunter for his swat team broke into the wrong address. again Hunter's stupidity.
But everyday I still see the illegals hanging out looking for work underneath the no loitering sign and deputies coming in for there free coffee.
thursday there was a minor fender bender on my street(it wasn't blocking the local traffic) but it took 3 sheriff cruisers to figure out no one was at fault, a total waste of manpower, gas and time.
why does hunter feel the need for every deputy to have a squad car driven home? again a waste of tax dollars.
and some one you idiots feel they deseve 120,000 a year pensions!
Hunters sheriff's dept is part of the tax problem and some in here can't even figure this out geez.
now i see why many towns are missing there village idiots.

Grouper you seem to have a lot of bad luck and nothing better to do but pay attention to what the deputies are doing. Don’t you work? The pension is a State funded system and every Sheriff's Office retirement program is the same. I know it’s difficult for the idiot brigade to comprehend that but it’s true. City and municipal are different.

Now that does not change the fact that you’re a complete MORON who cannot spell, form a correct sentence or piece together a paragraph that doesn’t look like it was written by a child in pre school.

Now take note Grouper based on your frustration I have come to realize you are not really angry with the Sheriff’s Office but with yourself. Thankfully this is an anonymous forum where you can manifest your lack of education, vent your frustrations from childhood, and stupidity without ridicule. I have also concluded from your senseless tirade that you are a coward. Oh and to use one of your words INEPT. At least you spelled that one right.

Putting down those who put their life on the line every day without complaint is just another sign of what a creep you really are.

Now if you can’t understand some of the big words here like “manifest”, “anonymous”, or even the word “Grouper” go get your dictionary and look them up. YA BIG DOPE!

But the real nail in Vallejo's coffin was the city's labor costs. Under the current labor agreement, the average police officer walking the beat in Vallejo will be paid $122,000 this year before overtime, according to city documents. An average sergeant will make $151,000; a captain, $231,000. The average firefighter, meanwhile, will bring in $130,000 before overtime.

That's just the salaries, though. The final budget-crusher was the city's pension plan. Thanks to retroactive benefit enhancements approved by the city council in 2000, police officers and firefighters can now retire at age 50 and receive an annual pension equal to 90% of their final pay (assuming 30 years on the job), an amount that gets increased every year to help keep pace with inflation. The old plan had given the workers a pension equal to 60% of their final pay at age 50.

So a Vallejo police sergeant making $150,000 a year can now retire at age 50 and receive an annual pension of $135,000, increased each year for inflation. To put that amount in context, you would need to amass a retirement nest egg equal to about $3.5 million to produce a similar retirement income on your own.

It wasn't just police and firefighters who benefited from the city's largess. The annual pensions for rank-and-file city employees were jacked up from 60% of final pay at age 55 (after a 30-year career) to a whopping 80% of pay, increased each year for inflation.

this is what Naples may come too
Like I said facetell1, somewhere there's a town missing there village idiot.

Grouper - Sadly you are unable to comprehend your own stupidity. I must say this post is written much better. Did you have help from a pre schooler?

Sorry to see your life is so full of anger and contempt for those who do a job that you know you cant.

Maybe one day you will crawl out from your little liberal rat hole of a life you lead and realize how pathetic you really are.

And need I really say it sir, but you are the idiot!

I continue to be amazed by all of the posts. Someone stated that whether Victor or Kevin, minds are made up. That being said, whoever gets in needs to clean house. I agree that people retire and then re-hired is wrong. It is very apparent that there is a lot of sweeping things under the rug at CCSO, but how does an ordinary citizen fix that? We can't. We leave it up to the leaders we vote in and it does not matter who it is, there will be something. There has to be some truth to all of this if Freeman was willing to resign to save face. If he was going to be cleared, why not agree to time off without pay until the investigation was over?

Just for the record, I do not support either candidate for Sheriff, so don't bash me for taking one side or the other. I am also not affiliated with CCSO in any way. I am just an ordinary citizen.

Ordinary citizen PMK we will not bash you. And citizens can speak up and even make changes.

We will bash the act of giving parents tickets at public school car lines on the last two weeks of school....at least eight great CCSO officers in a school parking lot waiting to give tickets, and causing traffic delays in the morning. Really wonderful to target parents at an elementary school.

We will bash the lazy way that a large platform is set up high in a parking lot of a local water park today to "watch over" citizen's who park cars and use the facility. Is there a deputy in there? Who knows? Can you ask the "box in the sky" for directions.

I don't think so.

Or my all time favorite lazy endeavor is an empty police car that sits on the median of Immokalee Road. Let's ask the empty CCSO car for directions shall we? Yooo hooo anybody in there?

WHAT IS THE POINT?

Improvements need to be made.

Rambosk or Ortino.

The answer....I think we already know.
A voting we will go!
To the polls you know
This deputy's behavior is just too low.

Cardshark8,
Although your comments are misplaced, why don't you do the right thing and tell the whole story regarding Rich?

Just for those that don't dig further, here's the rest of Naples Daily News’ article cardshark8 doesn't want you to read:

____________

Rich was not arrested or charged with a crime.

“I will say that if the case is released to the media, and the sheriff does not have some sort of hard, concrete evidence, then there will be some suits filed against the department — his department,” Rich said in the report.

Rich appealed the decision on Jan. 9. In his appeal, Rich argued that Criscella was not an “independent examiner” because he and the first examiner, Walters, used to work together. His appeal was denied on March 23, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

In an e-mail to the Daily News on Wednesday, Rich said he did not want to be interviewed because he feared being misquoted or having his statements taken out of context.

In the e-mail Rich stated the Sheriff’s Office wouldn’t accept his offer to have the agency inspect his computer, waited until after his termination to inspect his agency-issued laptop, and failed to interview any of his co-workers, friends or his wife.

“Also consider that I was, and still am, the webmaster for the Collier Deputies FOP,” Rich wrote in his e-mail. “It was well known that I was involved in attempting to unionize the CCSO, and had just been elected to the Executive Board of the Collier Deputies Lodge of the FOP.”

During the interview Rich told investigators that he had brain surgery as a child and had significant memory problems.

“I have medical evidence that I should not have been polygraphed,” Rich wrote in the e-mail. “I have a statement from a longtime polygrapher that my polygraph results could not be relied on, and also from Cpl. Scott Walter, CCSO polygrapher, that doubts the findings of my polygraphs. These are all in my file.”
____________________________

Cardshark8, have some integrity, tell the whole story, not just the part that makes those you don’t like look bad. In addition, I’m not a lawyer, but I bet you’re getting close to deformation of character and slander charges regarding your Rich & Varnold comments. Remember, the Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office NEVER PRESSED CHARGES against them. I bet there was nothing there, these people probably just got on the wrong side of the Hunter/Rambosk/Freeman team…

Don’t think you can hide behind an anonymous screen name here, IP addresses are subject to court orders… just a word of advice.

I too was concerned about this Dave Rich thing. So I called Ortino's office and was told how to get a copy of the investigation. What a sham. If this internal affairs investigation is a sample of what they do down there, we are all in trouble. This was a witchhunt. There was no Child Porn, there were no "confessions". There was no criminal charge and there was no crime. Everyone should get a copy and you can see for yourself. If Hunter's hatchet man can sweep the Freeman thing under the rug and hide it, they can just as easily trash someone they dont particularily like. The problem is the NDN didnt review this peice of garbage investgition to make sure it wasnt anything except a smear campaign, before they printed it. I am still undecided about the election, but I wonder if Rambosk had anything to do with the final word on Dave Rich's case. If he did, he has no balls.

factteller: you might want to spend some time talking to Rivas. You are displaying the typical hostile, "us against them" Cop mentality that creates so negativity with the general public. Believe it or not, the majority of citizens are not out to get you.

Butch up and get over your hypersensitivity. This forum gives a small group of insecure, cop-hating weenies an anonymous forum in which to vent their hostilities. Consider the source, moderate your behavior. You are creating ill-will among the taxpayers you are sworn to serve.

Current Freeman issue aside as I don't know anything other than what has been printed (as much as most other posters here).

The whole Internal Affairs criticism seems off mark if you know anything about the process. I was fortunate neough to attend a (ok several) session of the Citizen's Academy where I got to speak at length with some of the people involved in investigations.

For short, there does not have to be a complaint of a criminal nature. The members of the CCSD serve at the pleasure of the elected Sheriff. They are "appointed" not hired. If someone's appointment is withdrawn, it does not mean that they are guilty or even accused of a crime. Those that try to link the two processes and dismiss the validity of the Internal Affairs investigation due to lack of criminal prosecution are missing the whole idea.

Deputy Rich's appointment was withdrawn for cause. No proof of a crime, pornography or otherwise was needed as the reason was listed as "improper conduct" which can mean anything that brings discredit to the department. The additional wording "unlawful or immoral" seems to strike a nerve with some and justifiably so. It does not change the fact that the Sheriff can withdraw an appointment when he sees fit.