Land Buyer Sues County Over Firing

By Sarah Okeson - Florida Today

February 8, 2008

A fired government land buyer has filed a whistle-blower suit against Brevard County, claiming he tried to stop a non-profit that negotiates prices with landowners from misappropriating public money.

David Drake was hired as the county's land acquisition manager for its Environmentally Endangered Lands program in April 2006 but was let go in March 2007, less than a year later.

Drake's attorney, Maurice Arcadier, said Drake had told the county about problems with The Nature Conservancy, including overbilling and submitting wrong invoices.

"He was terminated for doing his job too good," Aracadier said. "Basically, the county was getting ripped off left and right. There's a lot of things that could potentially be corrupt."

Drake's former boss, Mike Knight, who oversees the county's EEL program, said Drake had problems working with The Nature Conservancy.

"He was terminated in his probationary period because he couldn't develop a cooperative working relationship with The Nature Conservancy," Knight said. "He wasn't able to work with them. He was very adversarial with them. It developed into a very nonfunctional relationship."

Jill Austin, a spokeswoman for The Nature Conservancy, said Drake's lawsuit doesn't have any merit.

"The Nature Conservancy reviewed the claims that he made and found them without merit," Austin said.

The county's EEL program was established in 1990 when voters approved issuing up to $55 million in bonds to buy land and paying slightly higher property taxes to cover the bonds. Those bonds still are being paid off. In 2004, voters approved a renewal of the program, enabling the county to spend up to $60 million more.

Recent purchases have been marked with public scrutiny of appraisals and questions about whether taxpayers are getting the best deal possible.

County commissioners let two deals lapse last month that would have paid $24.2 million for two Scottsmoor-area properties, prices that were more than twice what the owners paid during the hot real estate market of 2004 and 2005.

Drake said in his lawsuit that he told Knight he suspected The Nature Conservancy of misappropriating funds and that Knight tried to silence him. Drake said he suspected that Knight was also "involved in the illegal acts" and that he also reported the suspected violations to Don Lusk, the parks and recreation director, and to County Manager Peggy Busacca.

The Nature Conservancy has a three-year contract with Brevard County for up to $278,000 a year. The contract runs through Sept. 30 and can be extended.

Drake seeks damages of at least $15,000, back pay and compensation for job-search costs and loss of benefits, his complaint in circuit court says. He filed suit last April and the case is pending.

Contact Okeson at 321-242-3673 or sokeson@floridatoday.com.