I am Jon Susce the Publisher of Sarasota Phoenix Media Inc. We are currently being sued by a political operative Anthony Pedicini. Pedicini is using the legal system with "lawfare" tactics to damage or delegitimize Jon Susce and the Sarasota Phoenix. They are wasting their time and money. In using lawfare tactics, Pedicini has access to the $ millions from Pedicini PACs and LLCs and from the Florida Republican establishment centered in Tallahassee. This is a standard tactic deployed to damage or delegitimize their opponents. Mr. Susce and the Sarasota Phoenix needs these vital funds to continue to take on the likes of Pedicini and this lawfare lawsuit.Pedicin/Dosev/Andrade.
Hoffman/Neal/Knight
WITH KNIGHT/HOFFMAN/COUNTY COMMISSIONERS IN THE POCKETS OF THE NEAL GANG THE PUBLIC NOW SEES A ONCE $100 MILLIION JAIL BECOMING A $700 MILLION JAIL
PASCO COUNTY BUILDS A JAIL FOR 600 PRISONERS AT $208 MILLION WHILE SARASOTA COUNTY BUILDS A JAIL FOR 940 PRISONERS FOR AT LEAST $700 MILLION
Sarasota County jail to become the most overcrowded jail in Florida
For years Sarasota County officials have failed in building a jail to relieve the illegal overcrowding, which has resulted in Sarasota County becoming for at least another 8 years the most overcrowded jail in Florida. The Sarasota facility has exceeded its inmate limit for more than a decade over its operational capacity and will continue to do so for years to come.
Over the last six to nine months, the jail has seen around 1,100 inmates on average. The problem will grow as the jail population increases due to recent state statutes.
Sarasota County is just NOW in the early phases of planning for an expansion to their jail with a proposed completion of 720 beds in 2033, with another 240 beds added to the top floor by 2042. All of which is to be financed by a ballot referendum in 2026.
The Pasco County jail to be opened in later 2025
Now as Pasco County is about to open its new jail facility in 2025 ending their prison overcrowding, Sarasota County has now become the most massive overcrowded jail in Florida.
In one of the most scandalous examples of how totally corrupt Sarasota County government has become over the years is that a Sarasota County jail, which could have been built for $100 million plus in 2008, now will cost over $700 million +.
Equally scandalous is that while Sarasota County is planning to build a jail for 960 prisoners at $700 million, Pasco County builds a jail at $208 million for 600 prisoners.
One needs to ask, if the projected cost for the proposed Sarasota County Jail is estimated to be over $70O million today, what will the cost be when it is finished in 2042. For example, the Pasco County jail was orginally to be $145 million in 2018 and is now up to $208 million today.
Pasco County officials breaking ground on a then $145 million jail in 2018
In addition, unlike Pasco County, who is building its jail on 285 acres in rural Pasco County, Sarasota County politicians on the suggestion of the County staff will build their jail on some of the most expansive real estate in Downtown Sarasota.
The question that needs to be asked is why not a jail in mid Sarasota County on the thousands of acres that Sarasota County owns?
Jensen/Benderson/Beruff/Neal
The simple answer to that question is that no way does the multimillion-dollar developers, who stuff County Commissioners in their pocket desire a jail where they plan to build new developments.
For example, the County Commission voted unanimously to allow staff to explore two potential options centering on a new, five-level facility on East Ave in Downtown Sarasota.
Sarasota County Commissioners officials have now begun to promote a plan for that new jail facility in Downtown Sarasota to be paid by a referendum costing the taxpayers, as much as $700 million. County Commissioners have signaled that the issue may come before voters in the form of a ballot referendum in 2026.
Mast
“The impact of a $700 million project is gasping,” recently elected Commissioner Teresa Mast said. “It's one of those things that just takes the wind out of your soul.”
Cutsinger
“There's no doubt in my mind that this is reaching a critical stage, and we've got to move as quickly as we possibly can to get this done,” Commissioner Ron Cutsinger said. Cutsinger has never raised these concerns in his over 8 years, as a County Commissioner said.
Smith
“I agree with Commissioner Cutsinger,” Commissioner Mark Smith said in seconding the motion. “This is the highest priority that I believe we have. There’s real urgency.”
Nonetheless, Smith said, “The sad thing about it is we’re looking eight years down the road before we’re able to get out of this mess.”
What is indeed troublesome is that a proposed jail facility could have been built by previous County Commissioners according to plan proposed to the Sarasota County Commission in 2008, which could have been built for $100 million plus.
For example in 2008, the county did plan to build a new jail on roughly 30 acres of land in mid-county with a minimum of 1,750 correctional beds before 2030. The new jail at the time was estimated to cost $102 million and an additional $10 million a year in operational costs.
Recently elected Sarasota County Commissioner Knight
Unfortunately, the then Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight and other Sarasota County officials did near nothing to follow up on a Sarasota County jail-space planning exercise conducted in 2008. That exercise determined Sarasota County would need 1,750 “correctional beds” by 2030, including those in a new facility “in mid-county. Furthermore, the existing jail needed extensive rehabilitation and modernization.”
Former Sarasota County Sheriff Knight
Ever since Knight took office in 2008, as the Sarasota County Sheriff when he was the local corrupt political machine's fourth choice to be sheriff, Knight and his predecessor Sheriff Kurt Hoffman along with Sarasota County Commissioners have done absolutely nothing in strongly advocating to take action on a consistently overcrowded, overwhelmed and aging Sarasota County Jail.
Despite one of the first actions Sheriff Knight did when he took office in 2008 was to take the media on a tour of the Sarasota County jail and point out the serious conditions existing at the jail, Knight for 12 years did near nothing to take on any serious action to push County Commissioners to alleviate the serious problems at the jail.
As to the plan in 2008 for the new jail that thousands of dollars were spent on surveys, architects’ drawings and meetings the plan in mid County at the Knight Trail Road land fill, it was abandoned.
Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hofman
What history has shown it was abandoned, which includes present Sarasota County Commissioner Knight and his predecessor Sheriff Hoffman are nothing more than flunkies for local developers like Pat Neal.
For example, the last thing multimillion dollar developers like Neal and his cronies, who control Sarasota County government desired was a 1,750 jail in Sarasota Mid County, which was to be the site of their future developments. Not to mention former Sheriff Knight’s residence in 2008 was a couple miles away at Mission Valley.
Sarasota County Sheriff Knight with his patron Neal
What is obvious is that Knight and other local politicians were in the pockets of multimillion dollar "Pay to Play" developers like Neal and his cronies, who stuffed thousands of dollars into politicians like Knight when he was the Sheriff---JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY.
Neal
Thus, the last thing Neal and his cronies who control Sarasota County government desired was a 1,750 jail in Sarasota Mid County. By the way, what you see around the Knights Trail area today is numerous Neal projects and others planned.
Since 2008 local handpicked Neal and his cronies’ politicians did absolutely nothing to tackle the tough political issue as the population continued to increase significantly and millions indollars in infrastructure was financed by the public to subsidize with thousands of commercial and residential projectors, but no jail.
What is scandalous and bordering on the criminal is that in order to keep the jail population not to explode, Knight failed to serve criminal warrants.
According to records obtained from the Sarasota Sheriff's office there were 1,771 unreserved criminal warrants in Sarasota with 827 in North Sarasota when Knight left office in 2019.
The breakdown is as followed.
A. Unserved criminal warrants outside of Sarasota County in the State of Florida: 987.
B. Unserved criminal warrants outside of Sarasota County and outside the State of Florida: 452.
Unserved criminal warrants in Sarasota County: 1771 with 827 in North Sarasota.
Not only did Knight allow criminal to roam the streets of North Sarasota and beyond, Knight with a $900,000 grant from Sarasota County Commission had his deputies rounding up the homeless in incorporate areas of Sarasota County and dumping them on the streets of North Sarasota.
Former Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells
By the way, if you want to observe what Knight should have done when he became Sheriff take a look to Manatee County and observe what former Sheriff Charlie Wells accomplished with the present jail in Manatee County, which includes an excellent substance abuse program.
No longer can present Sarasota County Commissioners, which includes Knight fail to ascertain why a County jail that could have been built for a$100 million in mid Sarasota County, will now cost taxpayer over $700 million.
In addition, why is Sarasota building a jail in Downtown Sarasota with enormous property values and not on County owned land in mid Sarasota County?
No longer can questions be unanswered in why County Commissioners, Knight included “kicked the can down the road” for years in not building a jail costing $100 million that is now to cost over 700 million, as the Sarasota County jail is about 360 inmates over its operational capacity.
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 operat like a Latin American Junta..
"As usual, Jon Susce offers great insight found nowhere else in Suncoast and State Republican politics." Kevin Wright of the Manatee Republican Liberty Caucus.
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