State Rep. Likes To Eat On Lobbyist’s Dime
BY BUDDY NEVINS
State Rep. Shevrin Jones likes to eat….well…on his campaign’s dime.
He’s basically found a way for lobbyists like Ron Book, who donated $1,000, to pay for his meals.
Jones has spent roughly $2,000 of the $9,350 he raised from lobbyists on “meetings” and “campaign meetings” in various restaurants. Lobbyists were the only ones giving to his campaign.
Jones has no opponent.
The West Park Democrat also spent $11.45 at a Tallahassee dry cleaner for “cleaning event wear” on Feb. 12. He appears to have had fundraisers at Andrew’s Downtown in Tallahassee that week.
My favorite is $241 paid to Michael Mina, a restaurant in the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, for “fundraising meal expense” in May. He reported raising no money in May or any other month in the second quarter.
The form Browardbeat.com looked at online had a bizarre touch. Jones paid himself $2,602.73 for an expense labeled “loan reimbursement.” Yet he made no loans to the campaign.
“You did me a favor by bringing this to light,” Jones said after the story was posted. “It was an accounting mistake and we amended it.”
Hmmmm.
August 2nd, 2013 at 4:29 pm
Typical actions of a elected black politician. Having feelings of entitlement with no regards for taxpayer money
FROM BUDDY:
It has nothing to do with Jones being black. We have a long line of politicians convicted of corruption in Broward who are white.
And its not “taxpayer’s money.” Its campaign money. However, Jones still has to adhere to the law. Did he? Somebody else will have to decide.
August 2nd, 2013 at 4:42 pm
This is akin to Keechl’s campaign expenses when he was renting his house from himself at 2xs what commercial rent was going for at the time.
August 2nd, 2013 at 4:43 pm
Please! You expect “Somebody else..” in Broward to do anything about the obvious abuses?
You’re right on Buddy about it having nothing to do with race. What he did is definitely equal opportunity corruption.
People who do such things don’t see anything wrong with their behavior, and/or they know there won’t be any consequences.
August 2nd, 2013 at 5:38 pm
Rep also still hasn’t sent in his appropriate ethics disclosure which was due July 1. Looks like another good and honorable guy working for Sheriff Israel.
August 2nd, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Mr. Shevrin must need a local history lesson. Broward once had an illustrious county commissioner who went to jail for such shenanigans…Shame
August 2nd, 2013 at 7:38 pm
Next he will open a church and have it pay for an expensive house. Oh wait…….
August 2nd, 2013 at 7:51 pm
Looks like another Judy Stern crony playing fast and loose with the rules, below was a post between Judy’s daughters about their mom and Jones…
Sterns on Stern says:
April 22nd, 2013 at 6:10 pm
Barbra Stern Ha! Shit your mom text me:
Mom:Shevrin Jones, Pastor Jones’ son from West Park would be ideal to help rebuild party politics for the black community in south broward. That is exactly what his degree is in from FAMU and he organizes professional mentoring programs for young black high school and college youths. Shevrin’s phone number is
Me:Mom share this with someone who is trying to rebuild in the black community. U are making me feel like u are trying to make me into ur messenger and u need to stop.
Mom:I am not looking to use you as a messenger. I am exchanging ideas for out of the box thoughts since Team Broward has ignored diversity.
Ricki Stern really? the guys name is shevrin?
Ricki Stern she’s such an ass. she uses any available platform to air all her arbitrary political thoughts she has at any given moment. STFU!!!!
http://www.browardbeat.com/despite-tough-questions-sterns-appt-approved/
August 3rd, 2013 at 3:29 pm
He is a reverend’s son. Doesn’t the Bible preach against lying, which is what he did on his campaign disclosure. That must be the way they do it in West Park.
August 3rd, 2013 at 7:47 pm
These members need to realize its 2013 and not 1980. This stuff doesn’t fly anymore. People can check this stuff at the push of a button, as opposed to the past where only interested parties would request the data (nobody).
August 3rd, 2013 at 8:08 pm
Race has nothing to do with it. Point is that he has lied on his report which he should be critiqued for. Same with his ethics disclosure. A pattern has developed. Sad.
August 3rd, 2013 at 8:10 pm
This is illegal. Could be prosecuted on the “loan reimbursement” alone. Tip of the hat to you Buddy, good catch
August 4th, 2013 at 10:15 am
Shevrin is a good person. I guess working for a Sheriff that is unethical and with a formal complaint filed against him by a former campaign treasurer rubs off on the employees. Where will this unethical behavior lead teh Sheriff’s Office. NO WHERE GOOD!!! What’s good for the boss has to be good for the troops!!
August 4th, 2013 at 4:05 pm
People like to eat “family style”. In October, 2012, during the commission race in Dania Beach,Lisa Duke, Walter Duke’s campaign manager, paid Bobbie Grace $900.00 for campaign food. Lisa Duke was Bobbie Grace’s campaign manager in a previous commission race. Bobbie Grace holds a seat on the dais now and rumor has it will run again with Lisa Duke as her campaign manager. Keeping it in the family, Dania Beach style.
August 4th, 2013 at 11:26 pm
His role model must be Stacy “Keep Those Ethics Laws Toothless” Ritter, who is very well known for billing her spare-no-expense restaurant adventures directly to the campaign account…
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/12/stacy_ritter_russ_klenet_campaign_violations.php
All indications are that the [campaign] money went to satisfy [Stacy Ritter’s husband, Russ] Klenet’s lavish habits. In all, the campaign provided four checks to Klenet for vague “reimbursements.” The Klenet reimbursement checks examined by the FEC totaled $5,348.66 in a roughly four-month period. The $895 phantom reimbursement notwithstanding, here’s what Ritter provided to the FEC to justify the expenses paid to her husband, whose Twitter account indicates that he’s a wine snob of the first degree (Example: “Before the fast Stacy made roast chicken, me a 2007 Brandlin cab (she had Blackberry Manishewitz, like a wayward child)”).
— On October 9, 2007, Ritter’s campaign cut a reimbursement check to Klenet for $484.87. At the request of FEC investigators, Ritter supplied her husband’s credit card records showing that he had spent $332.72 at swank and now-defunct Jackson’s Steakhouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale and $152.12 at Cafe Bella Sera, a favorite restaurant of Ritter and Klenet’s in Parkland, where they own a home.
– On January 23, 2008, Ritter’s campaign paid Russ Klenet a reimbursement check for $1,576.91. Ritter submitted five receipts to the FEC for the expenditure, three from Cafe Bella Sera, one from Jackson’s Steakhouse, and one that was “not legible.”
— On February 27, 2008: Ritter’s campaign paid Russ Klenet $2,391.50 listed as reimbursement. Ritter provided receipts for the expenditure that included two from the casino Isles of Pompano (better-known as the Isles of Capri), one from the Pillars Hotel at New River Sound (billed as “Fort Lauderdale’s premier boutique hotel”), one from Jackson’s Steakhouse, one from Romeo’s Cafe, and one that was “not legible.”
August 7th, 2013 at 10:48 pm
Given the the loan may be flat out fraud, how can this be investigated further? This is great reporting Buddy but who polices this stuff and where should complaints be filed? If a crime was committed this guy needs to be removed from office.
August 13th, 2013 at 6:50 pm
This is racial profiling.
Jones is an honest man who has done nothing wrong.
How much has Satz taken in campaign contributions from big law-firms he cuts breaks for everyday ? Give me a break!
August 13th, 2013 at 6:52 pm
Sen. Maria Sachs perjures herself on forms claiming she lives in Fort Lauderdale and Satz does nothing.
Shevin Jones makes an honest mistake and Satz wants to bust him.
Racial profiling!
August 13th, 2013 at 7:58 pm
When Shevrin gets called out for doing the same thing white politicians do all the time in Tallahassee, I have to call it racism. I take his rookie explanation at face value and trying to stir it all up as unethical or illegal is not something you see every day. It takes a reason to come after a politician in this way.
August 13th, 2013 at 8:14 pm
The Sentinel goes even further to harass Shevrin Jones by printing his expense report. Senator Maria Sachs lies on forms claiming she lives in Fort Lauderdale and Satz does nothing but when Shevin Jones makes an honest mistake Satz wants to bust him. Sorry but this is racial profiling at it’s worst.
August 13th, 2013 at 11:37 pm
I’d like to know what white legislator, what white politician or white businessperson does NOT have fund raising meetings in restaurants? This is nothing more than racial profiling. The big mistake Shevrin Jones made is “serving in office while being Black.”
August 14th, 2013 at 8:12 am
Sen. Maria Sachs is cozying up to a lobbyist to live “within” district…and we care that this guy had a few dinners? Is it because he is black?
August 14th, 2013 at 12:13 pm
This is racial profiling — a fault-finding exercise to try to make Shevrin Jones look bad. There aren’t any violations to be found in the instances of Jones buying those dinners. Maybe Jones should have limited his dining at Church’s Fried Chicken. Surely that would not have been an issue for the White power structure which is obviously threatened by an independent Black man.
August 14th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
Sen. Maria Sachs lies about her residence in violation of the state constitution.
Sen. Maria Sachs perjures herself on forms claiming she lives in Fort Lauderdale.
Satz does nothing. THis is shameful.
August 14th, 2013 at 8:50 pm
Is it because he is black that they assume his vote can be bought for a couple steak dinners? This is some racist stuff…