In 2011, Palm Beach County investigators with State Attorney Michael McAuliffe’s office arrested 13 people and charged them with trading taxpayer dollars for gifts, accusing eight mid-level managers at governments around the state with taking bribes from Chaz Equipment, a Wellington company, or its subsidiaries Chaz Environmental Services and Florida Flow Control. Sarasota County employee, Rodney Jones is included in the “Operation Dirty Water” investigation.
Jones started as a maintenance coordinator in 2001, receiving promotions that ended with his position of project manager in the Capital Management Services division.
He resigned from the county twice and was rehired. Once in 2002 and again in 2007.
While with the county, Jones was allowed to oversee contracts with National Pipe even though his supervisors knew he was friends with the VP, Ron Wilkes. In 2007 Jones left the county to work as business development manager for National Pipe. Five months later Jones left the company and returned to work for the county’s utilities department — where he went right back to overseeing contracts held by his friend and former co-workers at National Pipe Services.
7/29/2011 “Rodney Jones makes plea deal”
Jones, 56, was one of 13 people arrested in a wide-ranging investigation dubbed “Operation Dirty Water.” He is scheduled to plead either guilty or no contest on Aug. 10 to three counts of accepting illegal gifts, and prosecutors have agreed to drop seven other counts, said his attorney, Stephen Walker.
6/11/2011 “How the piggy-backing began”
Chaz won a 2010 South Florida Water Management District sewer repair job with a bid of $9,750, about $3,300 lower than the next bid. But Chaz bid $300 per linear foot to replace additional lines, the most of four bidders and $125 per foot more than one. After a project manager recommended replacing the entire line, Chaz’s final payout rose to $38,250. No water management worker is facing charges.
4/11/2011 “County worker had earlier contract controversy”
Long before he was charged with accepting bribes from a contractor, Sarasota County employee Rodney Jones helped steer lucrative government contracts to an old friend.
3/28/2011 “County leaders knew of bribe investigation in November”
A county government employee who was a suspect in a corruption investigation told his supervisors four months ago that he was being sought for questioning by detectives, and that it had something to do with NASCAR trips he had taken with a firm that did sewer repairs for the county.
But county officials say the supervisors did not tell anyone higher up in management what they had learned, and Rodney Jones was allowed to keep working on multi-million dollar contracts until March 18, when he was charged with accepting illegal gifts from Chaz Equipment Co.
“Prosecution rests in Operation Dirty Water corruption case” Susan Spencer-Wendel
[read more] on the Chaz corruption case
“Gifts for government workers” Rodney Jones accumulates $15,228
Jones has been charged with 10 counts of unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior and testified he intends to plead guilty in the future.
Jones testified that his conscience started to bother him during a March 2010 cruise – also paid in full by Chaz – where no Chaz employee went along. “I didn’t feel it was right,” Jones said.
Rodney Jones speaks to detectives
11/23/2010: Rodney Jones – Jason Brown e-mails: Correspondence between Jones and Jason Brown (operational manager field services(CMS) and former Williams Testing employee) discuss Country Place manhole rehab. Jones asks Brown about Sak being paid for a job. Brown states he wouldn’t mind paying if there is a way. He doesn’t have a contract with Sak
3/31/2009: Rodney Jones – Ian Lancaster e-mails: Ian Lancaster: Insituform Technologies (Business Development Mgr)
5/26/2009: See attached Purchase Order issued to Insituform 14 days after taking Rodney Jones to the St Pete Grand Prix.
