Rich was 27 years old when he was shot and killed on July 10, 2016 on a Washington, D.C., sidewalk. If they wanted a Russian hacker, he would give them one. Then on April 29 the operators pointed it to a hosting company based in Iceland called FlokiNET, which marketed secure, stable and anonymous web hosting for journalists and whistle-blowers. Dougans sojourns to Moscow started in February 2013. Shinjuro is an accredited domain registrar that does its own registrations). The agents just laughed, Dougan recalls, and sent him on his way. In Palm Beach County there were about 4,000 homeowners availing themselves of Floridas address confidentiality laws. This doesnt sound like much money, but it turns out to be approximately $4.5 million of taxpayers money at a time when many people in our county have lost jobs due to the pandemic, Diaz said. It reached the mainstream by way of a since-retracted Fox News story, and then on the back of Fox personality Sean Hannity. No, Dougan says quickly. Hes The President and CEO of JoltMedia, Inc, a Trustee of BizPac, and a founder of BizPacReview.com, the conservative news website. Reining in pay for civilian employees could be one way for Bradshaw to cut costs,. Bradshaw is a career cop who, even in such a powerful post, retains the beat cops wish to protect the neighborhood. It included current and retired federal agents, prosecutors, local cops and judges. But that day in the spring of 2016, his hoax backfired spectacularly, with FBI agents raiding his home and carting off his computers. In truth, there was no Russian hackerand there were no hacks. Years ago the Florida legislature recognized two classes of people who might face danger if their home address showed up in the states famously open public records repositories: abuse victims, and government officials like police and judges. He says he walked into the Miami FBIs satellite office in West Palm Beach carrying the recordings on a thumb drive, and demanded the bureau investigate Bradshaws office for hacking him. Those emails never appeared on DC Leaks. A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy was forced to open fire on a knife-wielding man who charged at him, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw says. Dougan posted the full audio of his calls with Lewis, along with screenshots of their text messages. Have you received any other endorsements? It took a few days for me to get my head on straight and apply for asylum. Sometimes called Muck City for the slimy run-off from the local sugarcane farms, Belle Glade is best understood as a developing-world-style shantytown plunked down 40 miles west of Mar-a-Lago. He got 66 percent of the vote four years ago against three challengers, avoiding a runoff. Richs grieving parents have faced threats and smears for debunking the speculation, and struggle daily with what Richs mother has described as the pain and anguish that comes from seeing your murdered son's life and legacy treated as a mere political football.. Dougan and Bradshaw exchanged blows for years. The hacker turned out to be Anthony Rodriguez, a social media specialist in PBSOs media relations office. Bradshaw took 61 percent of the vote to Freemans 39 percent. The Democratic Sheriff was elected to a four-year term in 2020. They were published on Julian Assanges WikiLeaks beginning July 22, 2016. That includes this election cycle. ". Before he ever came back we had all the pictures., The talk of hacking perked up Jessicas interest even more. The county property appraisers office was baffled by the address leak. Barbera's statement said Bradshaw has. Or do you want someone who says, I think I can do it, trust me? They want the experienced professional who has actually done it.. I never make decisions based on a political party to start with, and I won't going forward.". Its a photo he posted a week after he arrived showing Dougan at an upscale restaurant having lunch with someone who was decidedly not a long-distance love interest. For Political Parties; He has served as sheriff for 16 years. As he puts it, I should not be the largest mental health provider in the county. Hes talking about the county jail, which the sheriffs office runs. If he is reelected, Bradshaw proposes to double the number of mental health teams. Had a guy run from me, he wrote in one post. Jan 2005 - Present18 years 4 months. Leaving behind his ex-wife and their two children, he started the long drive north to the Canadian border. Photo: Getty Images. I was pissed off, says Dougan. He was the guy they called in for sensitive investigations. Woodside was fired for using a police PC to watch a movie while on duty, and another deputy was terminated for lying on a police report and surfing Facebook on department time. Oh I bet, Jessica trilled. It was like the Wild West meets New York City, he says. She had a Linkedin profile and was on Facebook, but there was little else. Palm Beach County commissioners, who complain privately about the ever-increasing share of county tax money that goes to PBSO, would not deign to publicly criticize the sheriff or his spending priorities, lest they run the risk of being tarred by him as soft on crime, a brand no politician wants to sport. I said, you know what? Last year, Palm Beach County prosecutors charged Dougan with extortion and wiretapping, the latter presumably for recording the Jessica calls. They didnt have an arrest warrant, and no charges had yet been filed. This is like water off a ducks back, he said. As an Accredited Excelsior Agency, we are deeply committed to providing the highest quality of service possible. Sheriff Bradshaw, Lauro Diaz Face Off In The General Election, Judge Jaimie Goodman Faces A Challenge From Adam Myron, Minto Partners With Sheriffs Foundation On Off-Road Vehicle For Westlake, New PBSO Captain And PBCFR District Chief In Wellington, RPBs Tuttle Royale Project Continues To Take Shape, Fighting Northlake Annexation Tops ITIDs Agenda. In Mangonia Park, Dougan helped the DEA with a series of drug busts, and the agency praised him for his pronounced surveillance skill. Dougan later improvised a sting to collar a local fugitive, leading a Palm Beach County detective to enthuse about his creativity: This is a Deputy thinking outside the BOX., But Dougan faced controversies on the force too. Nearly two dozen sheriff's deputies will soon be available to guard Palm Beach County schools if the school board approves a million-dollar agreement Wednesday.. It was the largest settlement ever reached by PBSO. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Ric Bradshaw is seeking a fifth term as sheriff of Palm Beach County. Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner has said he will push for sales tax money to be used to pay for body cameras. Rodriguez did not respond to repeated emails and phone messages). We arrest somebody that lives in the county that we live in, we want to keep it private. Bradshaw said its strictly been a cost issue. His enemies were on a frantic hunt for a Russian hacker who didnt exist, and investigating computer intrusions that never occurred. Dougan quickly discovered that Muck City was the stomping ground for a gang of rough deputies led by one his superiors, Brent Raban, a sergeant who liked to patrol in a skullcap emblazoned with the word punishment. Raban bragged on Facebook about brutalizing the people he arrested, sometimes posting mugshots of bruised and beaten faces. That wont be true in 2024. He changed training to include a tactical pause designed to de-escalate confrontations and leave more distance between the deputy and a suspect. We hope that four more years will bring even more progress. Once in Moscow he came to appreciate the city almost as much as the woman. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. Its like magic, he said. He was soon at the Toronto airport, boarding one final flight to Moscow. Dougan claims he was determined to follow through on his promise, so the following Saturday, he drove a rental car 1,000 miles to Washington, D.C., to meet the whistle-blower outside a high-school basketball court. The late sex trafficker served only 13 months of his ridiculously light, 18-month sentence in the Palm Beach County Jail on work release. He has near-universal name recognition, and he regularly raises gobs of campaign money. (PBSOtalk was hosted there for about six weeks in 2012.). When The Daily Beast asked Dougan if he could provide a copy of the contents of the thumb drive he claims to have received from his source, he came back a few days later with a zip file of 743 DNC emails, just as hed described. Total of 49 years in law enforcement; West Palm Beach Police Department: road patrol officer; detective sergeant, lieutenant, captain, major; assistant chief of police, chief of police,1996; elected Sheriff of Palm Beach County, 2004; reelected 2008, 2012 and 2016, and 2020. The election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3 with mail-in voting getting underway in late September. The leak put Dougan back in the news. At best, this is irresponsible behavior.. Freeman, who is Black, is making a direct play for voters questioning law enforcement these days. The Sun Sentinel endorses Ric Bradshaw for Palm Beach County sheriff. But Dougan was an unusual cop. While Bradshaw has not officially announced his candidacy, he told me today, I feel good, and Im going to run.. Dougan says hes now on a track to citizenship. I really dont care. (Lewis declined repeated interview requests from The Daily Beast. Jack has written for the Sun-Sentinel and the Boca Raton News. Finally, on Dec. 29, 2008, Dougan resigned from the force, firing off a flurry of pseudonymous emails to department brass on his way out, with screenshots of the Facebook posts and a photo of Raban in his punishment cap. Lewis defended himself on the broadcast and claimed that he knew the calls were a setup from the start and was just playing along. After that it didnt take much digging to confirm what Rodriguez had already come to suspect. Under Bradshaw, who had been police chief in West Palm Beach, standards increased quickly. Im shocked how he is still alive., Jessica couldnt get enough of it. It seemed puzzling from the start that Dougan, hot on the heels of an FBI raid and already planning his escape, would take a couple of days off to physically transport a zip file small enough to be sent as an email attachment. He had Lewis on tape boasting about hacking him, with no mention of getting a warrant first. PBSO, you think your hacker is great but he is amateur. It was so convincing that Bradshaws office had to issue a denial, leading to a cycle of real news headlines like Sheriff Bradshaw Wrongly Accused of Telling Boynton Residents to Run Over Protesters?, There are rules to making good fake news, Dougan learned. Lauro Diaz, the Republican nominee. You know, whats interesting is he thinks hes really, really super-smart., Bradshaw had placed Lewis in charge of the perpetual investigation of Dougan that began when PBSOtalk started churning out scoopsit was Lewis whod busted one of Dougans sources in 2012. Hed just gotten his kids off to school when he noticed a suspicious pickup truck with tinted windows idling in front of his house. Dougan moved back to Palm Beach County with a burning sense of injustice. But he still did work for Sheriff Bradshaw. Bradshaw said he is not opposed to having his deputies use body cameras, but he has noted the cost, currently estimated to be about $19 million. In October 2009 he was fired from the Windham police force for sexual harassment. We have in place an initial screening of anyone arrested and constant care while in custody. Four years later, Freeman was named Victims Rights Officer of the Year by Palm Beach County Victim Services. Dougan discovered a flaw in the system while compiling data for a geo-marketing venture. There no way to know if Dougans entre into the Russiagate truther club is calculated to support Putins denials that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, or just to sell books. Thats when he started exacting his own brand of justice. He also wants to teach and raise awareness about scams and identity theft, ensure fiscal accountability by seeing that tax dollars are spent responsibly on programs that improve the safety of all citizens, and keep citizens informed and updated on all threats and emergencies. A reporter from Gawker interviewed BadVolf over online chats, suspecting at first that he was actually talking to Dougan, but eventually falling for the hoax as thoroughly as Lewis fell for Jessica. A Channel 5 reporter said Lewis sounded more like a modern-day hatchet man than a cop in the recordings. He has near-universal name recognition, and he regularly raises gobs of campaign money.. In this we were able to hack their database and give all records confidential to public so their privacy is no more important as the people they hack.. Voters will have a chance to choose between Freeman and Bradshaw on Aug. 18, with the winner facing former PBSO deputy Lauro Diaz, a Republican, in the general election on Nov. 3. The Sheriff's Office has nearly 1,800 civilian employees about 45 percent of Bradshaw's workforce. (The Daily Beast turned up no evidence of a link between Borodin and Flyman.). If that was the plan, it worked. Through July 25, Bradshaws reelection campaign had pulled in a massive haul of $692,658 about 23 times the amount Freemans campaign has raised. In other races, we have endorsed candidates who have answered yes. The feds had evidently bought into Dougans game. His campaign slogan and key commitment is Citizens Before Politics., My opponent likes to say that I dont have the 50 years of experience that he has, Diaz told the Town-Crier. A deputy shot Adams after a struggle outside the family business in Loxahatchee Groves in 2012. I can assure you that those victims and their families and many of us in Palm Beach County dont believe and feel he kept Palm Beach County safe., Listening to the wild accusations of Mr. Freeman wallowing around in the gutter doesnt do us any good, Bradshaw said. We provide them with the best equipment, the best training, the best technology, which translates into the best service for the public, he said. Bradshaw is a politician, not a sheriff. One of his bigger hits quoted Bradshaw encouraging motorists to run over Black Lives Matters protesters. Are you a member of any civic groups? I have served in nearly every position in law enforcement, from patrolman to police chief. Southeast Regional Domestic Security Task Force, Chair, Florida Sheriffs Task Force for Region 7, Chair, FBIs Joint Terrorist Task Force, Executive Board Member, Law Enforcement Planning Council of Palm Beach County, Member, Have you ever been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime? None of the DNC emails did. The PBA contributed $25,000 to DeSantis' political action committee. The mystery source handed Dougan a thumb drive, and Dougan jumped in his car and drove straight back home, racing to return to Palm Beach County before the FBI noticed he was gone. He claims the record shows otherwise only because Shinjuro outsources its domain registration service to the Romanian hosting company THCservers. (Ditto above). An Internal Affairs lieutenant named Dean Johnson was eventually charged with four felonies for allegedly leaking information to and about Dougan (he later copped a misdemeanor plea), but Dougan himself emerged unscathed. In 2001, Borodin was briefly detained in New York on Swiss money-laundering charges en route to George W. Bushs inauguration. Weve even gotten to the point whereand this is not completely, you know, on the law enforcement sidethere are ways we can even access her password through various methods, Rodriguez said. Once theyd patted him down and confiscated his cell phone, they told Dougan he was free to go. He too fell down some stairs last night, and his medical clearance took a while But like a good batterer I know the areas that hide the marks well.. While law enforcement agencies across the country have employed body cameras, PBSO deputies still dont have them. Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. Dougan raised money to put a light aircraft in the skies over Palm Beach, a banner with an anti-Bradshaw slogan trailing behind it. The warrant sought evidence of communication between Dougan and Internet user BadVolfs Russian moniker. Palm Beach County Sheriffs office follows the latest policies and procedures for hiring practices. The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May sparked protests across the country, renewed questions about the relationship between law enforcement and minorities and even generated calls for police departments to be defunded. (The voting records leaks appear not to have included abuse victims, who have a higher level of protection under a state-run program.). Bradshaw, Ric L. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw is a career law enforcement professional responsible for leading the largest law enforcement agency in Palm Beach County. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw is running for re-election in Florida's August 2020 primary election. Mr. Epstein was allowed to engage in sexual behavior with underage girls. Dougan says hed reached out to Borodin in advance of his trip, primarily because he wanted to meet as many interesting people as possible on his first visit to Russia. Its none of my business One day if I ever get my Russian citizenship, maybe thatll change.. Then he laughs. The actions of law enforcement officers are being scrutinized more closely, and the public is calling for policy changes and policing reform. BS Degree, Human Resources Management, with honors, Palm Beach Atlantic University, MS degree, Administration, with honors, Specialization in Emergency Management Lynn University, Administrative Officers Course at the Southern Police Institute, University of Louisville. Due to term limits, Kerner, a Democrat, and a former police officer would have to give up his seat on the county commission in 2024. Dougan was also hoping to interest Borodin in his business phone system venture, he says. Michael Gauger, the longtime chief deputy to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, wants to run against his old boss in the 2024 election for county sheriff. I went to Michigan, I went to Canada, I went all over the place, Lewis told Jessica. Florida Gov. The agents had a search warrant to seize all his electronics and any and all records, data or materials pertaining to the computer networks of 24 different Florida county governments and confidential property records within these counties.. I would love to run into him in a dark alley, said Lewis. It deals with the safety of your family.. Before he got into the construction business hed worked at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office for 23 years, retiring in 2005 as a lieutenant detective. CA: Do Not Sell My Info 1:07. Sheriff Bradshaw allowed Jeffrey Epstein to be on work-release for 12-hour days, six days a week. Revenge websites rarely have an impact, but PBSOtalk.com would prove an exception. But they dont feature at all in Dougans story. If the contract makes it difficult for supervisors to discipline officers, what can and should the sheriff do? Freeman has knocked Bradshaw for overseeing an agency that has had to make multimillion-dollar payouts to settle cases brought against people shot by deputies. The thumb drive was loaded with about 700 private emails taken from the DNC, the story goes. The biggest one weighs 200 pounds, he says. But Bradshaw never has been shy about pushing a big budget and has noted that sheriffs can ask the governor to overrule county commissions. Fuck them. Lewis told Jessica all about his career. Rodriguez started poking around right away, but he had trouble finding information on Jessicas target. The final report nine months later evinced little interest in the hacking boasts by Lewis and Rodriguez, but found that Lewis had broken department regulations by divulging PBSO business to Jessica.. If he really wanted body cameras which are not failsafe, but can protect deputies and suspects the department would have them. BE SURE TO READ: We Cannot Allow the Left to Destroy Palm Beach County, BE SURE TO READ: Zero Evidence of Threats to Palm Beach County School Board, [Video] 7th Grader Punished For Shirt Saying Only Two, Pushaw Dunks On FLOTUS Spox Who Resigned After, Cruz Defends Justice Thomas-Dems Hate Him Because Hes, Video: Satanists Shred Bible at SatanCon Boston Opening, Nightmare Photos Hatched: Hilarious Easter Bunny Encounters Thatll, News A former Marine gunner, Dougan wanted to do real police work, make arrests, solve crimes and help people. What you need to know about Ric L. Bradshaw, running for Nonpartisan (all voters vote) in County Sheriff in 2016. Dougan says hes had no contact with government officials or former Kremin bigwigs since that lunch with Pavel Borodin in 2013, except for the bureaucrats who processed his political asylum request. Hed learned, for example, that the FBI was working with the sheriffs office against him, at least according to Lewis telephonic pillow talk. Fearful that hed be arrested and wind up in the custody of the very cops hed been battling, Dougan fled to the only place he felt safe: Russia, where Vladimirs Putins government granted him asylum status. I couldnt stick around out of fear I would be missed, so I drove straight back to Palm Beach County before they realized I had taken my little trip.. A recent one took the form of a mock treatment for an imagined TV series about the West Palm Beach FBI. Seth Rich conspiracy stories are most virulent of the narratives purporting to exonerate Russia of interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential race, and by extension clear the Trump campaign of collusion. What I dont have is 50 years of experience in reckless spending and arrogant behavior, such as providing special treatment to convicted pedophile sex offenders, like [Jeffrey] Epstein, or like losing important evidence in critical cases, or abandoning the troops to move to a high-priced executive office building to lead from the rear instead of the front, all on the backs of the taxpayers and their hard-earned money., Diaz added that Bradshaws leadership is based on political influence more than experience. He has served as sheriff for 16 years. She broke into an elaborate story about a suspicious woman whod become involved with her wealthy father, and asked Lewis if he could help investigate the woman. Bradshaw has earned praise from many for keeping crime down, but that praise hasnt been universal. For someone who claims to dislike politics, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has made himself into a political force. When he talks about his leadership and who has kept Palm Beach County safe for the past 16 years, I question that, Freeman said. His excellent inter-personal and communication skills demonstrate competence as a leader who gets things done, yet maintains a balance between assertiveness and diplomacy while always remembering that his first and foremost duty is to keep citizens safe. I arrived, but the embassy was shuttered until Monday. I am your sheriff, he said. Gov. But now that the recordings were public by way of his BadVolf persona, he could use them freely. The police believe it was a botched robbery, but the unsolved murder has fuelled waves of speculation that it was Rich who leaked the 44,000 DNC emails ultimately published by Wikileaks, and that he was murdered as a consequence. Former West Palm Beach police chief. JW Marriott Tampa Water Street Or have you ever received a withheld adjudication or had a matter sealed or expunged? (A spokesman for the FBIs Miami office declined comment.). But no matter how busy he gets writing fake news, Skyping into conspiracy shows, promoting his book or building custom computer tables, Dougan always finds time once a week to send a taunting email to the FBI agents who raided him. I made it here to Russia on April 6 or 7, he says. Sheriff Bradshaw has a successful track record of forty-nine (49) years in law enforcement. Politically speaking, it is the equivalent of trying to climb Mount Everest without rope. I start picking their life apart, and their businesses, their family., One target in particular had consumed much of Lewis time over the years, he explained. "I've stopped work release altogether until this whole thing has been reviewed and I may not even have work release again because my personal stance is if you get sentenced to a year in the county jail, you need to do a year in the county jailperiod.". For more information about Diaz, visit www.diazforsheriff.com. Reports of the treatment drew national scorn. By the end of his campaign, Dougan had released roughly 14,000 protected address records from at least 20 different Florida counties. He was a disgruntled ex-cop named John Mark Dougan who for years had been waging a relentless campaign against his former employer, the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office. Bradshaw is also speaking out, for the first time, about the controversy surrounding late businessman and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's time in jail. Legislature considers flooding our streets with cancer-causing chemicals | Opinion, Before DeSantis and Disney, a Broward case with free speech parallels | Steve Bousquet, Hispanics are turning Republican, and theyll vote for Ron DeSantis in 2024 | Opinion. Sturdy and wrought in steel, the tables resemble consoles from Star Trek or props from TRON and are primarily marketed to gamers. Please explain. Dougan had nowhere left to go. Weve been waiting on them for years.. Bradshaw asked Governor Ron DeSantis to have FDLE conduct an investigation and his agency has also been looking into whether any policies were violated. Dougans trick was to cross-reference that number against previous versions of the data, stepping back month by month until he found the same voter not yet protected as confidential. I know he loves his job and is passionate about the agency. Youd think they would give you some kind of warning so you could be more on alert., A retired cop says he knew about the incident from news reports, but did not know that his name and address were on the list until contacted by The Daily Beast. Bradshaw is facing hard questions about his conduct with respect to registered sex offender and alleged child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein after his previous conviction. In other areas, however, Bradshaw has not embraced reform. Hes saying that now. As far as Dougan was concerned, they were all culpable. What do you hear in the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd, and what specifically needs to come from it? They want the most experienced person to run the largest, most technologically advanced agency in the county. Now he had his own personal online tormentor. Bradshaw is the most politically powerful persona in the county. Sheriff Bradshaw has a successful track record of forty-nine (49) years in law enforcement. We contract with an inmate health care provider and ensure that all possible CDC guidelines are followed. Special work. Since then hed been many things to many people. Other targets featured on DC Leaks included Colin Powell, State Department and White House employees, some Clinton campaign staff and volunteers, and a recently retired four-star general. They wanted to know why Dougan had started traveling to Russia. In interviews with The Daily Beast, Dougan insisted there was no other purpose to his frenzied drive to the capitol. Both datasets included the unique parcel number, or APN, of each property. Please outline your work history for the past 15 years. But its not my fight here. Thats precisely what Dougan did, for every confidential address in the county. National Versions of the Rich conspiracy story have been spread by Russias social media foot soldiers at the Internet Research Agency, and by the likes of Julian Assange, Infowars radio host Alex Jones and indicted piracy baron Kim Dotcom. www.pbso.org, County Seat: West Palm Beach They can maybe try to say I encouraged it, but Im not worried about that. Dougan also claimed hed sold the PBSOtalk website to a Russian businessman (he changed his domain registration first, to make it look good) and that he no longer had control over what was posted there. Whenever we have a bad contractor or person who attacks one of our judges or the sheriff or the state attorney, thats one of the things I do, Lewis told her. The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office has come far under Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who is seeking his fifth term. 2023 www.palmbeachpost.com. Its absolutely the best nightlife of any city Ive been, including New York, he says. If so, please name them: Have you ever run for office before? No other candidate running has run an agency or has the qualifications I have to serve. Dougan set up SheriffBradshaw.com to rail against Bradshaw, and PBSOtalk.com, to serve as an open web forum where Dougan and anyone else would be free to air the departments dirty laundry.
