NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- One of the things I've learned early on as a journalist and reinforced over the years is that things are not always as they appear. Nothing could be more true than the situation at hand here in New Smyrna Beach, a beautiful seaside community with some ugly secrets.
I knew when I embarked on our investigative project "Show Me the Money: New Smyrna Beach," that NSBNews.net and myself, in particular, would be labeled a troublemaker. It comes with the territory.
There is a finite group of individuals who think they are privileged, that they are entitled to take and they're above reproach. Several of them have angrily have accused me of trying to destroy New Smyrna Beach and that all I'll do in the process is destroy this online newspaper.
My response has been and continues to be that we are actually saving New Smyrna Beach and our business by exposing the tightly-wound hold this power elite has had for years and it revolves around taxpayer money. It is no coincidence that the two sources of this money are the Community Redevelopment Agency and the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority.
These people want you to believe that they volunteer on boards and commissions to serve the community. They're there to serve themselves and their friends.
Take George Richford, for example. Here's a guy who runs the Dolphinview Restaurant off Canal Street. He's on the executive board of the Chamber of Commerce and was year talked County Council member Joyce Cusack into getting him appointed to the ad authority board. He's also been granted $50,000 from the CRA in the last two years alone.
He's the same guy who sat in the front row of the joint meeting between the City Commission and the CRA, clapping when Mayor Adam Barringer groused how the CRA has a double standard that doesn't allow its board members to seek grants for their businesses like other business owners.
Richford is the classic example of an insider who uses his connections to take care of himself and his friends. It should come as no surprise that Richford quit the SVAA after his public display of loyalty for Nicole Carni, even as the allegations of lining her own pockets became pronounced to the point where she was fired last month.
A forensic audit of the ad authority's finances is more critical than ever to allay the whispers that Richford, who was generously taken care of by his CRA friends was in a position to take care of them by virtue of his close ties to Carni.
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NSBNews.net file photo by Sera Frederick / Robert Lott is a key player in connecting the dots of those with influence connected with the flow of money with the New Smyrna Beach CRA and the ad authority, both scandal ridden.
And while the public is under the impression that the city's elected office holders, the mayor and comissioners Jack Grasty, Judy Reiker, Jim Hathaway and Lynne Plaskett appear to either calling the shots or taking their cue from City Manager Pam Brangaccio, it is the heirarchy of the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce that is in control.
And while Samantha Bishop, its director is the face of the organization, the real driving force is Robert Wayne Lott, former chamber president and current member of its board of directors, owner of the former weekly print Observer newspaper, former board member of the Southeast Volusia Hospital Taxing District board and one-time financial services planner.
The next several segments of "Show Me the Money: New Smyrna Beach" will take on a more pronounced tone where the players will be identified like a connect-the-dots. NSB News will show how this finite network of insiders are able to curry favor and why those in local government either look the other way or go along.
The difference between this set-up and the age-old good-ol' boy network is the idea of keeping a lid on what the public sees and the lack of transparency that is engineered by the high-priced administrators of city hall and to some extent the flow of "news" by use of taxpayer money from the CRA and ad authority.
Upcoming segments of Show Me the Money will further shake the foundation of what's been allowed to happen and force Volusia County's elected officials to take stock in what is unfolding and why they need to clean it up.
Make no mistake about it. There are two key driving forces that will push County Manager Jim Dinneen and County Chairman Frank Bruno to deal with the situation at hand: One, it is election year with greater voter interest because the presidency of the country is the headliner. Two, New Smyrna Beach's mess could unearth the potential of a countywide mess.
After all, you take the CRAs, the ad authorities and the hospital taxing districts out of the equation and without the taxpayer pot of gold, the power elite disintegrates.
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