Allegations center on former Port St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara, who resigned in December 2023 amid a “ghost candidate” scandal. (Courtesy: Port St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office)
By Michael Barfield | September 5, 2024
A former commander at the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office claims in a lawsuit he was illegally surveilled in his office and then retaliated against after he reported the incident to external authorities.
James Wills, formerly the commander of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), filed the lawsuit alleging violations of Florida’s Public Whistleblower’s Act against St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson, but the specific allegations concern Pearson’s predecessor, Ken Mascara.
The lawsuit alleges that in October 2022 Wills discovered covert surveillance devices in his office he suspects were used to capture private conversations, including those involving a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation into Mascara.
The FDLE investigation focused on a scheme by the former sheriff to undermine his political opponent in the 2020 election by encouraging a subordinate in the sheriff’s office to run as a straw candidate. The plot was allegedly intended to split the vote in the Republican primary and prevent Mascara’s opponent from winning.
Two of the witnesses who had information relevant to the investigation and were named in FDLE’s report met with Wills in his office regularly, the lawsuit states. Wills argues the surveillance was politically motivated and linked to Mascara’s actions to influence the 2020 election.
“There is evidence to believe that the recording devices placed in [Wills’] office were to intercept conversations of employees Plaintiff spoke with privately, that had relevant information as to Sheriff Ken J. Mascara’s actions in a Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s investigation into alleged ‘ghost candidate’ campaign finance reporting violations by the Sheriff.”
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