Ziegler's
ANDERSON STATES 68 CONVICTED FELON AND “A CON MAN’S CON MAN” PROVIDED RELIABLE AND CORRECT INFO ON ZIEGLER’S
Barfield after conviction to federal prison for attempting to smear reputation of U.S. federal judge and prosecutor
Barfield after one of his earlier convictions that sent him to a Florida State prison
Anderson
According to Chris Anderson, who is the lead investigative reporter for the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the article that has led to the possible financial and political destruction to one of the leading Republican political couples in Florida and beyond, Christian and Bridget Ziegler was written by Michael Barfield.
According to Anderson, “Barfield is a bright guy and well connected, so there is no reason to believe the information is unreliable and incorrect.”
Let’s take a look at Michael Barfield, who Anderson calls; “A BRIGHT GUY AND WELL CONNECTED” and goes on to write, “SO THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THE INFORMATION IS UNRELAIABL AND INCORRECT.”
Let's take a look at the history of Barfield, who has long history of taking down public figures both financially and politically.
Barfield and attorney Andrea Mogensen
Barfield, who is a former President of the Florida ACLU, is a CONVICTED criminal with 68 felonies by his own admission and he has served three separate sentences in the state of Florida and U.S Federal prison systems.
Those 68 felonies included five federal felony offenses; which were conspiracy, obstruction of justice, perjury before a federal grand jury, and two separate wire fraud schemes. Barfield was sentenced to ten years in the Federal Bureau of Prison system, fined $7,500, and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution on those charges. Barfield did 6 years of a 10-year sentence.
BARFIELD: “A CON MAN’S CON MAN”
Retired U.S District Judge Richard Lazzara, who after sentencing Barfield to 10 years in prison stated that Barfield "is con man's man con man, no question about it and wherever he goes trouble follows him."
Judge Lazzara made that statement concerning one of Barfield's most shameful and disgraceful examples of being a "Hired Gun“ to smear the reputation of responsible public officials. Barfield, for $50,000 attempted to smear the reputation of a U.S Federal Judge and U.S Federal Attorney.
Ever since Barfield enlisted in the U.S Navy after dropping out of a Pensacola High School at the age of 17, he has been using individuals to promote his various scams.
For example, back in 1987 after being discharged from the Navy, evidently for problems with a female Navy officer and finding himself in a Florida state prison for various fraud charges, Barfield spun a story from a spy novel to get out of prison.
What is an early indication that Barfield was a proficient liar at an early age is that he actually got the FBI to believe his story that a naval female officer he was involved while in the Navy was passing documents to the Soviets in their embassy in Washington and he could become an agent in assisting their investigation.
Within a short time, the FBI understood Barfield had fabricated the story and had falsely implicated his former girlfriend in the plot, U.S Navy Lt. Becky Olds.
The former girlfriend Barfield attempted to destroy her military career and life had this insightful opinion of Barfield back in 1987 when contacted by a reporter covering Barfield’s attempted scam to get out of prison, "I don't believe Michael ever told the truth. I wouldn't believe a word he said. He's got his own little reality."
Lyons
The reporter who wrote the story back in 1987 for the Gainesville Sun about Barfield's attempt to get out of prison and took that quote from Lt. Olds was former SHT columnist Tom Lyons.
LOCAL AND RETIRED JUDGE FRANK BRENNER OF NYC CRIMINAL COURT DESCRIBES FLORIDA ACLU PRESIDENT AS....
"He is a confessed liar, thief, conspirator and fraudster. He is no more than a scavenger,
untrained in the law, who forages through public records for grist to nourish the Sunshine Law cottage industry. He is like a molting snake, magically transform himself from a disreputable rogue to a legal luminary."
LEVINE: "BARFIELD PUPPET OF DEVELOPERS"
Barfield has been described by the late, longtime political activist in Venice and former President of the Venice Taxpayers League Herb Levine as, "the puppet of developers."
Levine described Barfield in this fashion when Barfield took out Venice City Councilwoman Sue Lang in another one of his bogus Sunshine law violations:" Barfield is an interloper and puppet of development interests, who only cares about the public records violations of their
opponents."
Barfield over the years has filed numerous bogus predatory law suits against political organizations to take out politicians for corrupt "Pay to Play" developers in Sarasota and Manatee Counties and elsewhere in the state of Florida.
Barfield files numerous bogus predatory law suits against political organizations to take out politicians for corrupt "Pay to Play" developers in Sarasota and Manatee Counties and elsewhere in the state of Florida.
DeSaatino/Brown/Chapman/Goodwin/Lang
Barfield filed five bogus Sunshine law violations against the following: Manatee County Commissioner Robin DeSabatino, Venice City Council member Sue Lang, Sarasota City Commissoner Susan Chapman and Sarasota School Board members Jane Goodwin and Shirley Brown. In those lawsuits Barfield attempted to destroy both politically and financially those five local women politicians.
Beruff
Barfield had no problem in suing Commissioner DiSabatino for Sunshine violations after DiSabatino voted against the Long Point project in Manatee County, which was being developed by Carlos Beruff.
Hopes
Barfield is also presently involved in taking out former Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes.
BARFIELD IS NOT TO PRESENT HIMSELF AS A PARALEGAL
In all of Barfield’s actions of a “Hit Man” for whoever pays him, Barfield attempts to pass himself as a paralegal. In fact, Barfield is not a Florida registered paralegal. He is doubly barred from registration by virtue of his lack of required education and his criminal past. He is a paralegal by self-description alone. Conferring this title on him serves to mislead the public and cloak him in a mantle of undeserved respectability.
In TFP case number20102019, Barfield signed a letter with the Florida Bar agreeing not to present himself as an attorney or as someone licensed to practice law in the state of
Florida.
That has not prevented Barfield from regularly giving legal opinions in the media and claiming legal expertise when he has none. What Barfield does is to use the false legitimacy, as a cover story for his criminal history.
BARFIELD'S BACKGROUND
As for those who need a little background on when Barfield brought his act to Sarasota, Barfield first arrived in Sarasota after being asked to leave West Palm Beach by law enforcement officials.
According to an article in a West Palm Beach newspaper, Barfield was put on three
years’ probation and placed on house arrest in his new hometown of Sarasota.
It did not take Barfield long before he got involved with illegal activities with a client in Lee County. Barfield was sentenced to 10 years in a Florida state prison after pleading guilty to
conspiracy, obstruction of justice, perjury and wire fraud charges.
After serving three years in prison, Barfield returned back in Sarasota and connected with another ex-con, Anthony Lorenzo, who discovered that Venice City Commissioners were in violation of the Florida Sunshine Law.
“I didn’t even know then they were breaking the Sunshine Law.” Levine continued," Nobody cared about these alleged violations other than a disaffected few.” Levine viewed Barfield, Lorenzo and Attorney Andrea Mogensen as, "interlopers and puppets of development interests, who only cares about the public records violations of opponents."
After his Sunshine Law court case in Venice, Barfield became involved with the owner of the Cheetah Lounge on U.S 301 in Sarasota, Ken Tatarow.
Barfield was hired to gather Sunshine law violations and other information that could be used against Sarasota County Commissioners, who Tatarow believe were discriminating against his operations, due to the nature of his business operations at the Cheetah Lounge.
Barfield on Tatarow' yacht
Tatarow stated that he "gave Barfield $thousands to pursue the courts to invoke 'Term Limits' for Sarasota County Commissioners." Once again Barfield was successful in removing local
politicians for clients, who paid him to do so. For example, Attorney Andrea Mogensen
and Barfield led the legal procedures, both in Sarasota and Tallahassee to evoke Term Limits for Sarasota County Commissioners.
Thaxton/Patterson/Barbetta
In 2012 County Commissioners Jon Thaxton was forced off the County Commission due to "Term Limits" to be followed with Commissioner Joe Barbetta and Nora Patterson being forced out by "Term Limits," which Tatarow said pleased him considerable.
Chapman
What gives added evidence that Barfield is nothing more than a "hired gun" to remove politicians, whoever pays him to do so, is that two years after Barfield was paid to remove Barbetta, Barfield proceed to work with Barbetta to remove Sarasota City Commission Susan
Chapman.
The ACLU snake Barfield in the middle with Republican Sarasota County Commissioners Paul Caraguilo and Joe Barbetta/Democrat Sarasota City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell and LGBTQ political operative Gabriel Hament
The ACLU snake Barfield with members of the Sarasota UNI Party -Christine Robinson/Suzanne Atwell/Paul Cariguio/Hagen Brody/Kevin Cooper/Matt Woodall
68 CONVICTED FELON MANAGES A $2.8 MILLION PAC AS FLORIDA PRESIDENT OF THE ACLU.
How is it that Barfield, who could not pass security clearance at McDonalds and is a 68-time convicted felon and spent three terms in state and federal prisons managed a $2.8 million ACLU financed Dark Money PAC, while President of the Florida ACLU.
This $2.8 million Dark Money PAC, named the Committee to Advance Constitutional Values was being managed out of the State of Florida ACLU office in Miami where Barfield was both the chairperson and registered agent of the PAC along, with Gary Sample as the treasurer.
Barfield's managed PAC made over 110 separate expenditures with ACLU money going to numerous Democratic and Progressive political entities throughout many cities in Florida and entities in Illinois, California, Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Washington State, Washington D.C and Puerto Rico.
Barfield's managed Committee to Advance Constitutional Values PAC had had over $2.2 million in expenditures.
BARFIELD'S PAC ON SEPARATE OCCASIONS FUNNELED ACLU DARK PAC MONIES TO THESE COMPANIES INVOLVED IN PARTISAN ELECTIONS:
$100,000 TO 270 STRATEGIES LLC IN CHICAGO.
$194,975 TO STONE ONE'S PHONE IN RANCHO MIRAG
$12, 000 TO COMMERCE GROUP IN TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA.
$3,408 to L2 IN BOTHEL, WASHINGTON.
$15,000 TO 65 INDIVIDUALS TO GET OUT THE VOTE IN FLORIDA.
$300,000 TO SOLIDARITY STRATEGIES, LLC IN WASHINGTON, DC
$120,342 TO SOLIDARITY STRATEGIES, LLC IN WASHINGTON, D.C
$468,488 TO RESONANCE CAMPAIGNS IN WASHINGTON, D.C
$16,625 TO EMC RESEARCH IN COLUMBUS, OHIO.
$10,064 TO MB STRATEGIES LLC IN TAMPA, FL.
$48,861 TO RESONANCE CAMPAIGNS IN WASHINGTON, D.C
$100,750 TO 76 WORDS IN ALEXANDRIA, VA
$96,993 TO 76 WORDS IN ALEXANDRIA, VA
$201,500 TO 76 WORDS IN ALEXANDRIA, VA
$59,800 TO EMC RESEARCH IN COLUMBUS, OH
$97,563 TO ELECTIONSMITH IN GAINESVILLE, FL
$30,867 TO BOIES SCHILLER FLEXNER LLP IN BOCA RATON, FL
$38,176 TO 270 STRATEGIES LLC IN CHICAGO, IL
$ 55,024.28 STONE'S PHONES IN RANCHO MIAGE, CA
$100,000 TO 270 STRATEGIES LLC IN CHICAGO, IL
OVER $172,000 IN CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS
BARFIELD'S $2.8 MILLION DARK PAC FINANCED OUT OF ACLU OFFICES INNEW YORK AND MIAMI
While Barfield managed the PAC in Miami, the national ACLU office out of New York City funneled in over $2 million in Dark Money contributions to a PAC in Miami that was represented by Barfield, as the chairman and agent. The PAC was named the Committee to Advance Constitutional Values.
In addition, the Florida ACLU state office out of Miami with Barfield as President, funneled over $800,000 in Dark Money contributions through the Committee to Advance Constitutional Values PAC, where Barfield was Chairman and Agent.
There were 23 separate contributions from the New York ACLU office to Barfield's managed PAC in Miami and 36 separate contributions from the Florida ACLU office to Barfield's managed Dark Money PAC in Miami.
Three of New York ACLU contributions included a $500,000 contribution, a $550,000 contribution, and a $750,000 contribution.
The Beruff four--George Kruse/Vanessa Baugh/Kevin Van Ostenbridge/James Satcher
CON MAN'S CON MAN" TAKING DOWN REPUBLICANS IN MANATEE WHILE MANAGING A $2.8 MILLION DARK ACLU PAC IN MIAMI
How is it that this convicted felon Barfield, when he was the President of the Florida ACLU, emerged as a major player in an alleged criminal conspiracy involving the takeover of the Manatee County Commission by Carlos Beruff and four Republican Manatee County Commissioners in 2020---and at the same time Barfield is laundering a $2.8 million Dirty Dark Money PAC financed out of the ACLU offices in New York and Miami to elect Democrats and Progressives?
How is it that Barfield, a 68 times convicted felon, a convicted perjurer (and the person that
United States Federal Judge Lazzara dubbed as the "con man's con man" when he sent Barfield off to prison for the third time) managed a $2.8 million Dark Money financed ACLU PAC out of Miami?
Maybe the SHT’s Chris Anderson, who calls Barfield “A BRIGHT GUY AND WELL CONNECTED and "THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT BARFIELD’S INFORMATION IS UNRELAIABL AND INCORRECT.” ----CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
Jon Susce
The Sarasota Phoenix team is the last guardian in Sarasota of the vital fourth estate. While the rest of local, mainstream media outlets have been overtaken by profit driven directives, the
Sarasota Phoenix is the only local media outlet laying bare for all to see how Sarasota local government is operating like a Latin American Junta.
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