Key West’s metropolis corridor was reeling on Wednesday, April 16, following the indictment and arrests the night earlier than of three high metropolis officers.
Metropolis lawyer Ron Ramsingh; his brother Raj Ramsingh, who’s town’s chief constructing official, and code compliance director Jim Younger had been indicted for tampering with proof by deleting textual content messages forward of a pending investigation by the state lawyer’s workplace.
The lads had been arrested and brought to jail the night of Tuesday, April 15. Every is charged with a third-degree felony of tampering with proof. Ron Ramsingh faces two extra expenses for allegedly illegally intercepting digital communication and allegedly disclosing that illegally obtained info. All males posted bond and had been launched from jail.
The afternoon after their arrests, Key West metropolis supervisor Brian L. Barroso positioned Raj Ramsingh and Jim Younger on paid administrative depart pending their arraignments, mentioned metropolis spokeswoman Alyson Crean, who added that such a transfer is a part of a course of and protocol that acknowledges the lads are harmless till confirmed responsible. Crean additionally mentioned that town’s constructing and code compliance departments are staffed, operational and persevering with to serve the residents of Key West.
Their arraignments are scheduled for Thursday, April 24 in entrance of Choose Mark Jones.
Metropolis lawyer Ron Ramsingh’s employment scenario is a bit totally different, as he’s certainly one of three constitution staff within the metropolis, together with town supervisor and metropolis clerk. These constitution staff are employed by and work straight for town fee, fairly than town supervisor, who oversees all different metropolis employees, together with Raj Ramsingh and Younger.
Key West Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez on Wednesday referred to as a particular metropolis fee assembly for Monday, April 21 at 5 p.m. to debate lawyer Ron Ramsingh’s employment contract, Crean mentioned.
On Wednesday morning, April 16, Ron Ramsingh’s protection lawyer, Donald Barrett, submitted a written plea of Not Responsible to the courtroom, waiving his consumer’s proper to a proper arraignment and demanded a jury trial on behalf of his consumer.
Further courtroom paperwork are nonetheless within the strategy of being posted to the clerk of courtroom’s web site and had been listed as “pending” as of Wednesday afternoon, April 16.
“This investigation is ongoing,” Monroe County State Legal professional Dennis Ward informed the Keys Weekly Tuesday night, April 15, simply half-hour after the three males had been taken into custody.
Bond was set at $25,000 for Raj Ramsingh and Jim Younger, and $75,000 for Ron Ramsingh given the 2 extra expenses. If convicted, every defendant faces as much as 5 years in state jail for every depend. The fees may additionally carry critical skilled penalties, together with potential disbarment and elimination from public workplace, based on the state lawyer’s workplace.
The indictments and arrests had been the outcomes of a “months-long joint investigation carried out by the Monroe County State Legal professional’s Workplace in shut partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” states a press launch from the state lawyer’s workplace. “The indictments stem from allegations that the three officers tried to hinder an ongoing legislation enforcement investigation by tampering with bodily proof, particularly textual content message communications despatched and obtained throughout June 2024.”
The indictments state that between Aug. 23 and Sept. 16, 2024, the 2 Ramsingh brothers and Younger “did alter, destroy, conceal or take away textual content messages” that they’d despatched amongst themselves in June 2024 “figuring out that an investigation was pending or about to be instituted.”
The indictments state that Ron Ramsingh in Might 2024 allegedly intercepted a Zoom convention name with out prior consent of the opposite participant. The indictment additional states {that a} day later, Ron Ramsingh “deliberately disclosed the contents” of that Zoom video to a different particular person.
The deleted textual content messages, which had been despatched among the many three males between June 1 and June 28, 2024, coincide with the timing of the contentious firing of former metropolis supervisor Al Childress, which occurred simply days after Childress had formally reprimanded chief constructing official Raj Ramsingh for legally questionable actions he had taken inside the constructing division.
Days earlier than Childress filed disciplinary motion towards Raj Ramsingh, his function and actions within the metropolis’s constructing division had been criticized in a 55-page investigation and assessment by planning consultants from the Corradino Group.
Corradino’s assessment revealed that Raj Ramsingh reportedly authorized scores of improvement functions and permits with out assessment or approval from the planning division, which is the division tasked with approving or denying permits, improvement functions and variances. The report acknowledged that Raj Ramsingh additionally had issued variances that had beforehand been denied by the planning division and issued permits with out requiring improvement plans.
Ward informed the Keys Weekly on Tuesday night that the investigation and subsequent indictments stemmed from the Corradino Group’s assessment of Raj Ramsingh’s actions within the constructing division, the contentious firing of Childress and the textual content messages that had been exchanged amongst metropolis staff and elected commissioners previous to the vote to fireplace Childress.
Keep tuned to keysweekly.com as this story continues.