Former Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes might be in hot water. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday that it had concluded its investigation into multiple criminal complaints against Hopes and has recommended that the State Attorney's Office file charges.
The MCSO put out a press release stating the following:
"Scott Hopes, former administrator of Manatee County Government was the subject of multiple complaints received by The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in February of this year. These complaints alleged criminal violations of Florida’s public records, theft, and notary laws, under sections 119.10, 117.105, 812.14 (2) ( c ), and 817.569, Florida Statutes. Charges have been recommended.
"The investigation and relevant materials were forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office for review on 11/15/2023. Pending that review and requests from the SAO for additional information or investigative work, MCSO will not be releasing further details of the case and defer all inquiries to the SAO. (Citing active criminal investigation exemption, FSS 119.071 (2) ( c ) 1.)"
Hopes was hired in 2021 after a newly elected county commission moved to fire Cheri Coryea, despite possessing little to no relative experience. Hopes later lost the confidence of the board, which decided to part ways with the former school board member in January. Hopes was later hired as CEO of troubled private aviation club AeroVanti in June but was let go in just four months.
7 comments on this item
Only paid subscribers can comment
Please log in to comment by clicking here.
Cat L
Good... It would be nice to see some of these crooks get their comeuppance.
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 Report this
Debann
Wow...Wonder if this will go anywhere???..Worst BOCC ever...Wouldn't shock me if their all in cahoots together...Lots of SHADY things took place and maybe are continuing...VOTE ACCORDINGLY
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 Report this
David Daniels
Voters must not forget - it was Kevin VanOstenbridge, with the blessing of his Daddy Carlos, who pushed Scott Hopes into the Administrator job. Any normal person who watched a BoCC could see that Hopes was just a know it all BS-er. When the Clerk of Court reported Hopes had ordered a brand new luxury SUV exclusively for himself yet continued to collect a $400/month car allowance, what did our BoCC do? - They gave him a raise. KVO, Satcher, and even Kruse let Hopes force out people with integrity and install an unethical culture that still exists (See Charlie Bishop, Courtney Depol, Jodie Fiske). And this current BoCC, except for Kruse, continues to turn a blind eye to mismanagement (see Animal Services).
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 Report this
Charlene
I am not horribly hopeful about this but it would be nice to see one of the thugs that have ruined this county get his comeuppance.
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 Report this
Removetheplantburglar
ATTENTION MANATEE COUNTY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES!
DON’T LET THESE CROOKS TAKE AWAY YOUR YEARLY RAISES!
IT ONLY TAKES MORE THAN 50% TO FORM A UNION!
TIME TO STAND UP AND FORM A UNION BY EXPRESSING YOUR INTEREST AND COPY/PASTE THE LINK BELOW:
https://www.afscme.org/join/form-union
Thursday, November 16, 2023 Report this
rjckeuka4
NEVER FORGET at election time...it was KVO who leveraged (forced) the hiring of this incompetent,...and Satcher, Baugh et. al. who rode along and caused the destruction!
Thursday, November 16, 2023 Report this
Dianna
They will never catch Hopes for all the corrupt things he has done under the guise of county administrator. Hopes never met an investigation that he didn’t manipulate public records for. Look at what a shambles our county has been left in. It will take years and millions of tax dollars to fix the mess. Citizens need to remember that it was criminal Van Ostenbridge who brought this crook to the citizens of Manatee County. Vote out Van Ostenbridge, Satcher, Turner in 2024.
Thursday, November 16, 2023 Report this