A mayor in Florida, USA, abruptly resigned, but not before taking his colleagues down with him. Accusing his counterparts of corruption, Former Mayor Jim Rostek rocked Madeira Beach City Hall and the whole community alike with an explosive letter. According to the ex-mayor, his colleagues won’t go “up to the pearly gates.”
Last Friday (June 14), Rostek sent a letter to Madeira Beach City’s residents outlining a series of concerns surrounding what he called "corruptive behavior," Fox 13 reported on Friday (June 19).
Highlights
- Former Mayor Jim Rostek resigned, accusing his colleagues of corruption in an explosive letter.
- Rostek criticized City Manager Robin Ignacio Gomez for ignoring policy requests and wasteful spending.
- He cited discriminatory enforcement, unethical financial practices, and misuse of taxpayer money.
Rostek's allegations pointed to City Manager Robin Ignacio Gomez, per the June 14 letter reviewed by Fox News Digital.
The damning letter read: “I am sorry to leave. But with a city manager as such, I cannot be or have any part of Gomez’s corrupt behavior, talking in circles, lies, preferential treatment of some, or discriminatory enforcement practices.”
Madeira Beach City Mayor Jim Rostek (Florida, USA) abruptly resigned, but not before taking his colleagues down with him
Image credits: City of Madeira Beach
"As well as the everyday wasting of the tax-payers' money and trying to justify it.
"In the end, some will go up to the pearly gates and some won’t.
"I will always do what is ethical and correct, others not so much."
Gomez allegedly ignored Rostek's requests to establish a life jacket policy, a smoking policy, and a formal prohibition on cellphone usage for municipal employees who are operating city boats and vehicles, the resigning mayor claimed, as per Fox News Digital.
Image credits: City of Madeira Beach
"I had a resident take pictures of the code enforcement boat, with people riding around on it doing their job, I guess, no life jackets on," Rostek added. "The smoking policy … I see one or two of them smoking in city vehicles. There’s federal law about that stuff. He refuses to implement policy."
Rostek affirmed to Fox 13 that his concerns with leadership in his town were the reason he had to walk away, saying: "What is going on with this small town is all wrong."
"Please keep up the fight. I will always try to have your back. Please continue to do what's right."
Rostek accused his counterparts of corruption in an explosive letter
Image credits: FOX 13 Tampa Bay
Rostek reportedly said the stress of City Hall dealings resulted in a series of health scares, recalling: "The city manager refused to implement any policy.
"He said he would talk to them and I told him, 'Talk is cheap.'
"I said, 'You need to have policy to back up what you've told them, because when it comes time for a lawsuit, we're not going to have any ammunition to substantiate.'
"If you don’t get the small things right, what about the big things?"
Image credits: FOX 13 Tampa Bay
In addition to citing wasteful spending, concerns over the city’s procurement process, and what he called selective or discriminatory enforcement in his letter, the former mayor alleged there were even more wrongdoings.
"God only knows what else is going on," the retired paramedic/fire captain told Fox 13. "You don't know what you don't know until you start looking and digging deeper."
In addition to observing and hearing about municipal employees’ long list of misbehaviors, Rostek reportedly also complained that he had seen city sanitation workers holding onto the back of a truck with one hand and texting with the other.
Rostek's allegations pointed to City Manager Robin Ignacio Gomez
Image credits: City of Madeira Beach
"Gomez is very well-liked by employees because, in my mind, it’s 'Camp Run Amok,'" the ex-mayor told Fox News Digital. "We're supposed to set an example for the public."
Rostek, who moved to Madeira Beach in 2015, reportedly alleged that his former colleagues practiced technically legal but unethical financial techniques.
He reportedly claimed that his colleagues avoided commission approval on projects totaling over $30,000 by negotiating multiple line-item contracts at lesser amounts instead of issuing a Request for Proposals.
Anne-Marie Brooks, previously a city commissioner, has reportedly stepped up as Madeira Beach's mayor in Rostek's absence
Image credits: City of Madeira Beach
Meanwhile, City Manager Robin Gomez said: "While entitled to his opinions, the city has provided answers and resolutions to the comments although not completely supported/agreed/understood by Mr. Rostek.
"It is unfortunate that the disagreements and misunderstandings of city processes and policies by Mr. Rostek led him to state/list claims of corruption, which are simply baseless and false.
"We continue to perform our daily tasks and responsibilities pursuant to federal, state, county, and city laws/ordinances/statutes in the most ethical manner."
Nevertheless, Rostek reportedly said he wasn’t done with his community’s City Hall, stating: "My hope out of all of this is someone at the state level makes contact with me, and I will show them what they have."
Anne-Marie Brooks, previously a city commissioner, has reportedly stepped up as Madeira Beach's mayor in Rostek's absence.
"If ethics and safety are your values, then government isn't the right career," a reader commented
