Jacob City mayor under investigation

MARIANNA, Fla. — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating Jacob City Mayor David Pittman, according to Jackson County Sheriff John McDaniel and an FDLE officer.

McDaniel said Wednesday that his office was first involved, but as is customary in instances involving a local governing body, he turned the matter over to the FDLE regional office.
The special agent in charge of that office in Pensacola, Jay Etheridge, said Wednesday that the case is being handled by the Panama City field office.

“It is an active investigation, referencing allegations of fraud and misconduct on the part of the mayor,” Etheridge said. “If there are findings, the case will be submitted to the state attorney.”
If there are no findings, the matter will be dropped.
The FDLE agent would not say who brought the allegations or what prompted the investigation. Neither would he say if a tape of a Jacob City Council meeting had been picked up from city hall.

“It is an active investigation,” he repeated. “Allegations were made and we are conducting a criminal investigation.”
McDaniel was first asked about such a tape, but simply replied, “The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is doing that.”

Mayor Pittman himself made a reference to a tape in late March when he was asked if the March meeting tape was available. He first said that meeting wasn’t taped, then said he thought the sheriff’s office might have picked it up.

Etheridge said the investigation started in February. After checking with the supervisor in the Panama City office, he said the investigation should be finished about mid-April.

“Our agent is still reviewing the evidence from the case and it will probably be in the next two or three weeks before he will make a presentation to the State Attorney’s Office,” Etheridge said.
Efforts to reach Mayor Pittman for comment concerning the investigation Wednesday afternoon were unsuccessful.