Judge tosses whistleblower lawsuit in Acevedo schools finance scandal

A Florida Keys judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former Monroe County School District finance chief who alleged she was forced out after blowing the whistle on financial irregularities.

Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones' Sept. 4 ruling against Katherine Reitzel put an end to the lawsuit filed against the district Feb. 26, 2010. It was officially a "contract indebtedness" case stemming from her retirement the previous September.

Reitzel wanted her job back with seniority, and back pay. She earned $95,910 annually.

Reitzel brought concerns about the fraudulent use of district credit cards to the state Auditor General's Office and to School Board member Andy Griffiths on March 2, 2009. Subsequent investigation brought down then-Superintendent Randy Acevedo in a $400,000 theft case and resulted in an eight-year prison sentence for Acevedo's then-wife Monique Acevedo, who led the district's Adult Education Department.

Reitzel also refused to sign a district letter to the Auditor General's Office saying the district's finances were sound. But she drafted her own addendum to it with her concerns and faxed it to Tallahassee.

Reitzel's lawyer, Michael Barnes, didn't return a call for comment asking if Reitzel plans to appeal. Fort Lauderdale attorney Michael T. Burke, who represented the School District, said Friday he hadn't heard anything about an appeal. If one is filed, it would be in the Third District Court of Appeal.

Reitzel claimed interim Superintendent Joseph Burke, appointed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist after Randy Acevedo was indicted on three felony counts of official misconduct and removed from office in 2009, gave her a choice that September: Be fired, resign or retire. That came following a forensic investigation into district finances conducted by the accounting firm of Berkowitz, Dick, Pollack & Brandt, hired by the district.

Reitzel chose retirement, but in her lawsuit, she alleged she did so under duress. Jones disagreed.

He wrote in his ruling that when Reitzel filled out her retirement papers, she wrote "under duress" but "removed those words when she was informed by [then-Human Resources Director] Cheryl Allen that Dr. Burke said that she would have to remove those words if she wanted to work until the end of September" 2009.

Reitzel began receiving retirement benefits following her last day of work, Sept. 30 of that year.

"The court finds that the plaintiff had a clear understanding of the situation facing her and she made a knowing and voluntary decision to retire," Jones wrote. "Without a doubt, the plaintiff found herself in a difficult situation where she was faced with disagreeable choices. However, the mere fact that the plaintiff had to make a choice between comparably unpleasant alternatives does not alone establish that her retirement was involuntary."

He wrote that Reitzel had just returned from a three-week leave of absence when given her departure options and that she "considered herself fit to return to her demanding and stressful job responsibilities, which she continued to perform until she retired Sept. 30. The court finds that the plaintiff was just as mentally and emotionally capable of making a decision regarding her personal employment situation as she was to carry out her employment responsibilities."

He concluded that "the level of stress she felt did not render her decision involuntary in any respect."

The forensic and a subsequent criminal investigation determined that Monique Acevedo, head of Adult Education from 2005 to 2009, had used her district credit to buy more than $400,000 worth of stuff for her and family, including groceries, clothes and a "ride-me-cowboy" outfit.

In 2010, she pleaded guilty to four felony theft counts and two felony organized fraud counts. On Aug. 31 that year, Jones sentenced her to eight years in state prison and she entered the system that Sept. 8. Her current release date is June 15, 2017.

A jury convicted Randy Acevedo of the three felony obstruction counts. Jones gave him three years of probation and fined him $15,000.

Last year, former School District Accounting Clerk Linda Walker, who had also sued as a whistleblower in the case, settled with the district.

The entire scandal rocked district finances for years. As the scandal unfolded, the district suspended all use of district credit cards. This year, the School Board allowed a limited number of people to use them.

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 9:13 AM with the headline "Judge tosses whistleblower lawsuit in Acevedo schools finance scandal."