State Attorney Angela Corey fires information techonology director who raised concerns in Trayvon Martin case
State Attorney Angela Corey fired her officeâs information technology director Friday after he testified last month about being concerned prosecutors did not turn over information to George Zimmermanâs defense team in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
On the same day attorneys finished their closing arguments in that nationally watched trial, a state attorney investigator went to Ben Kruidbosâ home about 7:30 a.m. to hand-deliver a letter stating Kruidbos âcan never again be trusted to step foot in this office.â
The letter contended Kruibos did a poor job overseeing the information technology department, violated public records law for retaining documents, and noted he was questioned in March when the office was trying to determine who had leaked personnel information obtained through a computer breach.
In an interview Friday, Kruidbos denied the allegations in the letter, which was written by Cheryl Peek, the managing director of the State Attorneyâs Office.
He said he had acted in good faith about âgenuine concerns.â He said he had been proud to work at the State Attorneyâs Office and feared the letter would cripple his chances at finding another job to support his family, including a 4-month-old son.
âI donât have any regrets,â he said, âbut I am terrified about the future and what that will end up being.â
His attorney Wesley White â who resigned from the State Attorneyâs Office in December and is a critic of Corey â said the firing was aimed at sending a message to office employees âthat if they feel like there is wrongdoing,â they should not disclose it or seek legal guidance from a private attorney.
âIf they do speak to an attorney, then they are dead,â he said. âThe State Attorneyâs Office will do whatever is necessary to not only terminate them, but destroy their reputations in the process.â
State Attorney spokeswoman Jackelyn Barnard did not return phone calls or emails for comment.
Kruidbos, 42, had been on paid administrative leave since May 28 from his $80,892 job.
In January, he used computer software technology to extract photographs and text messages from the source file in Martinâs cellphone. Kruidbos was able to recover more information than the Florida Department of Law Enforcement obtained previously.
GETTING LEGAL ADVICE
Kruidbos said he became concerned that lead prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda might not have turned over Kruidbosâ report to defense attorneys. Kruidbos asked White in April for legal advice and described some contents of his report such as a photo of an African-American hand holding a gun, a photo of a plant resembling marijuana, and a text message referring to a gun transaction.
White then contacted one of Zimmermanâs attorneys and learned the defense had not received the report generated by Kruidbos. The defense did receive the source file from the cellphone and used its own experts to extract data.
Last month, Zimmermanâs attorneys subpoenaed both White and Kruidbos during a pretrial hearing on their motion seeking sanctions against prosecutors. Circuit Judge Debra Nelson deferred a ruling until after the trial.
Before Kruidbosâ name surfaced in the Martin trial proceedings, he received a pay raise for âmeritorious performance,â according to a document dated May 16 in his personnel file.
But the dismissal letter written by Peek contends he did his job poorly as information technology director and said he should have asked someone in the office about his concerns regarding the Martin case.
âYour egregious lack of regard for the sensitive nature of the information handled by this office is completely abhorrent,â Peek wrote. âYou have proven to be completely untrustworthy. Because of your deliberate, wilful and unscrupulous actions, you can never again be trusted to step foot in this office.â
The letter said Kruidbos âapparently questioned the ethicsâ of de la Rionda, who has been an assistant state attorney since 1983. âHis record as an honorable and respected attorney is unblemished and beyond reproach,â Peek wrote.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/...mation-techonology-director-who#ixzz2YwOOhShG
State Attorney Angela Corey fired her officeâs information technology director Friday after he testified last month about being concerned prosecutors did not turn over information to George Zimmermanâs defense team in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
On the same day attorneys finished their closing arguments in that nationally watched trial, a state attorney investigator went to Ben Kruidbosâ home about 7:30 a.m. to hand-deliver a letter stating Kruidbos âcan never again be trusted to step foot in this office.â
The letter contended Kruibos did a poor job overseeing the information technology department, violated public records law for retaining documents, and noted he was questioned in March when the office was trying to determine who had leaked personnel information obtained through a computer breach.
In an interview Friday, Kruidbos denied the allegations in the letter, which was written by Cheryl Peek, the managing director of the State Attorneyâs Office.
He said he had acted in good faith about âgenuine concerns.â He said he had been proud to work at the State Attorneyâs Office and feared the letter would cripple his chances at finding another job to support his family, including a 4-month-old son.
âI donât have any regrets,â he said, âbut I am terrified about the future and what that will end up being.â
His attorney Wesley White â who resigned from the State Attorneyâs Office in December and is a critic of Corey â said the firing was aimed at sending a message to office employees âthat if they feel like there is wrongdoing,â they should not disclose it or seek legal guidance from a private attorney.
âIf they do speak to an attorney, then they are dead,â he said. âThe State Attorneyâs Office will do whatever is necessary to not only terminate them, but destroy their reputations in the process.â
State Attorney spokeswoman Jackelyn Barnard did not return phone calls or emails for comment.
Kruidbos, 42, had been on paid administrative leave since May 28 from his $80,892 job.
In January, he used computer software technology to extract photographs and text messages from the source file in Martinâs cellphone. Kruidbos was able to recover more information than the Florida Department of Law Enforcement obtained previously.
GETTING LEGAL ADVICE
Kruidbos said he became concerned that lead prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda might not have turned over Kruidbosâ report to defense attorneys. Kruidbos asked White in April for legal advice and described some contents of his report such as a photo of an African-American hand holding a gun, a photo of a plant resembling marijuana, and a text message referring to a gun transaction.
White then contacted one of Zimmermanâs attorneys and learned the defense had not received the report generated by Kruidbos. The defense did receive the source file from the cellphone and used its own experts to extract data.
Last month, Zimmermanâs attorneys subpoenaed both White and Kruidbos during a pretrial hearing on their motion seeking sanctions against prosecutors. Circuit Judge Debra Nelson deferred a ruling until after the trial.
Before Kruidbosâ name surfaced in the Martin trial proceedings, he received a pay raise for âmeritorious performance,â according to a document dated May 16 in his personnel file.
But the dismissal letter written by Peek contends he did his job poorly as information technology director and said he should have asked someone in the office about his concerns regarding the Martin case.
âYour egregious lack of regard for the sensitive nature of the information handled by this office is completely abhorrent,â Peek wrote. âYou have proven to be completely untrustworthy. Because of your deliberate, wilful and unscrupulous actions, you can never again be trusted to step foot in this office.â
The letter said Kruidbos âapparently questioned the ethicsâ of de la Rionda, who has been an assistant state attorney since 1983. âHis record as an honorable and respected attorney is unblemished and beyond reproach,â Peek wrote.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/...mation-techonology-director-who#ixzz2YwOOhShG
