Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services

CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT AND/OR EXHIBITS MAY BE EXEMPT
FROM PUBLIC RECORDS PURSUANT TO F.S. CHAPTER 119, AND MUST BE
REDACTED PRIOR TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

Investigative Report
IG 2017-0039
June 5, 2017

Office of Inspector General
Ron Russo, Inspector General

 INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT AND/OR EXHIBITS MAY BE EXEMPT FROM PUBLIC RECORDS
PURSUANT TO F.S. CHAPTER 119, AND MUST BE REDACTED PRIOR TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
CASE NUMBER:
IG 2017-0039

DATE INITIATED:
April 3, 2017

DATE SUBMITTED:
May 10, 2017

INVESTIGATOR:
Amanda Cable

CASE SUBJECT:
Lisa Wilde, Operations and Management Consultant Manager, Division of Licensing

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INVESTIGATIVE PREDICATE
On March 31, 2017, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ (FDACS)
Office of Inspector General (OIG) received a request from the Division of Licensing (DOL) to
investigate allegations that Lisa Wilde, Operations Consultant Manager, DOL, purposely failed
to perform essential job duties.
INVESTIGATIVE OVERVIEW
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is a check administered by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and used by Federal Firearms Licensees to determine whether a
person is eligible to purchase a firearm from a retailer. As part of the concealed weapon license
(CWL) application review process, the DOL evaluates NICS checks, which are provided by the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The NICS is a vital component of the CWL
applicant review process, and potentially disqualifies applicants from possessing a CWL.
Applicants denied a CWL license due to the NICS must appeal directly to FDLE. In March 2017
the DOL discovered that the NICS checks were not being reviewed and exported to the Bureau of
License Issuance (BLI), in accordance with DOL procedure.
During sworn recorded interviews conducted by the OIG, Laura Gallagher, Chief, BLI, provided
testimony advising that in late March 2017, she observed her section had not received any recent
correspondence from CWL applicants seeking information regarding their NICS rejections.
Mikah Ford, Chief, Bureau of Licensing Support Services (BLSS), testified that she was alerted
BLI had not been receiving the NICS reports, so she checked the DOL database and discovered
that the last time a NICS report had been saved was February 26, 2016. Ford advised that Wilde
has been responsible for the NICS checks since approximately July 2013 and she therefore
questioned her (Wilde) about the NICS reports. According to Ford, Wilde explained that she had
a login issue with the NICS checks and never followed up to resolve the issue. Ford also identified
Robin James, License Issuance/Election and Corporate Records Supervisor, DOL, as having
access to the NICS data base, acted as Wilde’s back-up.
Wilde provided sworn testimony acknowledging that she is the current supervisor responsible for
accessing the NICS checks daily and exporting the files to BLI. Wilde advised that it was
approximately February 2016 since she last accessed NICS, and explained that she and James had
a login issue and they were unable to access the database. Wilde stated that James was waiting on
her (Wilde) to have the login issue fixed; however, she (Wilde) never followed up to resolve the
issue. Wilde advised she never asked James to check the NICS after the login issue, and stated
that James probably assumed the login issues were fixed and she (Wilde) was exporting the NICS
Page 1 of 9

 files. Wilde characterized her failure as negligent, and agreed it could cause an embarrassment to
the agency.
CONCLUSIONS
The investigation concluded that the allegation against Lisa Wilde for Negligence is
SUSTAINED.
This Investigative Report will be forwarded to Adam Putnam, Commissioner; Mike Joyner,
Assistant Commissioner; Alan Edwards, Deputy Commissioner; Grea Bevis, Director, Division
of Licensing; and Joey Hicks, Director, Division of Administration.

INVESTIGATIVE NARRATIVE
Investigator Amanda Cable, OIG, was assigned the investigation, obtained sworn recorded
statements, and gathered evidence of investigative significance, as described in this report.
The following allegation was identified during the course of this investigation:
ALLEGATION ONE: Lisa Wilde was negligent in her job duties by failing to conduct checks of
the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), in accordance with DOL
procedure.

INVESTIGATION
On March 31, 2017, the OIG was contacted by Paul Pagano, Assistant Director, DOL, regarding
the discovery that the NICS checks were not being reviewed.
On April 3, 2017, OIG investigators met with Chief Ford and obtained a screen shot of the DOL
database (Exhibit 1) indicating the last time the NICS was saved to their database was on February
26, 2016.
On April 4, 2017, OIG investigators contacted Mike Courtemanche, Senior Management Analyst
Supervisor, FDLE, who provided a login audit (Exhibit 2) for Wilde and James for the NICS
database. The audit, which could only go back 12 months, revealed that on April 7, 2016, user
identifications Wilde-lx (Wilde) and James-rx1 (James) both showed a failed login attempt, had
their passwords reset, and then successful logins, all on this date (however, email correspondence
described below indicated continued problems accessing the NICS files). This was the last
recorded login event by either user until the incident was discovered in late March 2017.
Investigator’s Note: Both Wilde and James confirmed the above user identifications in emails
(Exhibit 3), dated April 17, 2017.
OIG investigators obtained and reviewed a chain of email conversations (Exhibit 4) between Wilde
and Jameson Schnetzler, Government Analyst II-Firearm Purchase Program, FDLE, dated April
7, 2016, and April 8, 2016. The following exchange in dialog was discovered:
On April 7, 2016, at 8:14 a.m. Wilde sent an email to FDLE’s public website email address,
Firearmspurchasing@fdle.state.fl.us (which was forwarded to Schnetzler for assistance) that
read:
I am unable to access nics ineligible and pending files through FDLE Firearm
Eligibility System.
Username – widel-lx

IG 2017-0039
Page 2 of 9

 On April 7, 2016, Schnetzler responded to Wilde’s email at 1:46 p.m. with:
I was forwarded an email you sent regarding your inability to access files in FES.
The account name you listed in your email was widel-lx – I’m not sure if that was
a typo in that email or if that’s the name you’ve been trying – your User ID for the
FES system is wilde-lx, there is no L before the hyphen. I don’t see any recent failed
login attempts for that user ID, and it looks like you did access the account roughly
a month ago (March 8th).
If the incorrect User ID is not the issue, let me know and I’ll see if I can get you
sorted out.
On April 7, 2016, Wilde responded back to FDLE’s generic email webmaster@fdle.state.fl.us
at 1:52 p.m. with:
It was a typo, I still can’t access the pending and ineligible files.
On April 8, 2016, Schnetzler responded to Wilde’s email at 1:06 p.m. with:
Good afternoon again – from what I can see, it looks like you were able to log in
successfully yesterday afternoon, but I wanted to make sure that was the case. Are
you all set?
On April 8, 2016, Wilde responded to Schnetzler’s email at 2:33 p.m. with:
No, It will not pull up the pending or ineligible files.
On April 8, 2016, Schnetzler’s final email response to Wilde at 2:47 p.m. was:
Ok – I just checked it and I think I see what you’re talking about. If you’re available
by phone (I just tried to call) I’d like to confirm that the issue you’re having is the
same one I’m seeing. I think I can help with a short term fix until our development
staff is able to sort out the issue. My number is 410-8169 and I should be available
until 5 PM today.
Investigator’s Note: Investigator Cable spoke with Schnetzler regarding his April 2016 email
conversations with Wilde. Schnetzler recalled the email correspondence between himself and
Wilde, however, he could not recall if Wilde ever pursued further assistance after their last email
dated April 8, 2016. Schnetzler did not have any correspondence with James regarding the NICS
login issue in 2016.

WITNESS INTERVIEWS
Investigator Amanda Cable and Captain James Hayden conducted sworn recorded interviews of
the following employees at the Division of Licensing, 4040 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida,
in accordance with FDACS policies and procedures. The following is a paraphrased synopsis of
relevant information pertaining to the allegations; the complete recordings (Exhibit 5) and
interview forms (Exhibit 6) can be consulted for additional details.
Laura Gallagher, Chief of License Issuance, Division of Licensing
Interview Date: April 4, 2017
•

Gallagher stated that she reviews the NICS correspondence from CWL applicants
requesting information on the reasons applications have been rejected. Gallagher advised
that during a conversation, she told Brandee Jones (B. Jones), Regulatory Program
IG 2017-0039
Page 3 of 9

 Administrator, DOL, she had not seen any NICS denial correspondence recently, which
was unusual.
•

Gallagher advised that B. Jones contacted FDLE to make an inquiry regarding the NICS
appeals and was told that they had not received any since September 2016, which prompted
her to speak with Ford. Gallagher stated that NICS checks are “extremely important,” to
the CWL issuance process, and they rely on the BLSS to provide them with the
information.

Brandee Jones, Regulatory Program Administrator, DOL
Interview Date: April 4, 2017
•

B. Jones advised that she became aware of the NICS issue after a conversation with
Gallagher and made an inquiry with FDLE; she learned that FDLE had not received an
appeal from a CWL applicant since September 2016, which was unusual. B. Jones advised
that she informed Gallagher, who contacted Ford. B. Jones stated that Ford investigated
the NICS issue and discovered that the task had not been completed since February 26,
2016. B. Jones advised that Ford identified Wilde as being responsible for the NICS
checks.

•

B. Jones explained that the BLSS is supposed to obtain the NICS reports from an FDLE
database, then index the reports into the BLI database for review. B. Jones advised that
there is no one person responsible for getting the NICS reports in the BLI, as the NICS
denials are placed in an electronic que by the BLSS, and the BLI staff would not see it until
they opened the “package” to work it. If there is no response from NICS on an applicant,
then no information is put in the package, which would not be uncommon due to the small
number of NICS denials. B. Jones advised that an applicant identified as NICS ineligible
is disqualified from having a CWL. B. Jones advised that since February 26, 2016, the
NICS reports have not been provided for review, thus, CWL’s may have been issued to
potentially ineligible individuals.

Mikah Ford, Chief of Licensing Support Services, Division of Licensing
Interview Date: April 3, 2017
•

Ford advised that Gallagher and B. Jones alerted her on Thursday, March 30, 2017, that
they had not been receiving the NICS reports. Ford stated that she checked the DOL
database and discovered that the last time a NICS report had been saved was February
26, 2016. Ford advised that she was Wilde’s direct supervisor, and stated that she
(Wilde) has been responsible for the NICS since approximately July 2013, and
questioned her about the NICS reports.

•

According to Ford, when she questioned Wilde about the NICS reports, she looked
bewildered, and stated: I had a login issue and never followed up. Ford advised that
Wilde told her that she had called Billy Hunter, Systems Programmer III, BLSS, for
assistance with her login issue, but never followed up.
Investigator’s Note: Investigator Cable and Captain Hayden spoke with Hunter, who did
not recall the incident; however, he advised that if Wilde had contacted him about a login
issue, he would have directed her to FDLE. On April 5, 2017, OIG investigators obtained
and reviewed Wilde’s departmental electronic mail (email). An email (Exhibit 7) dated

IG 2017-0039
Page 4 of 9

 March 2, 2016, at 8:56 A.M. from Wilde, addressed to Hunter, and copied to Ford, stated
the following:
Billy [Hunter], Robin [James] nor I have been able to pull the Nics Pending or
Ineligible yesterday or today, could you look into this for us?
•

Ford advised that Wilde was primarily responsible for the NICS; however, Robin James
also performed indexing at times. Ford advised that to her knowledge only Wilde and
Hunter had access to the FDLE NICS data base. Ford advised that James and Emily Jones
(E. Jones), Quality Control Supervisor, BLSS, acted as the back-ups for the NICS.

•

Ford advised that Wilde failed to perform her assigned duties by not checking the NICS,
not alerting her to the NICS login issue, and described her conduct as negligent.

Emily Jones, EDP Quality Control/Scheduling Supervisor, Division of Licensing
Interview Date: April 4, 2017
•

E. Jones advised that she has been in her current position for approximately four years and
reports to Wilde. E. Jones advised that she has never had a login to access FDLE’s NICS
database; however, she was aware that it needed to be checked daily. E. Jones stated that
Wilde was responsible for the NICS. E. Jones stated that the last time she assisted with the
NICS indexing was October 12, 2015.

•

E. Jones advised that for her to index the NICS, someone else had to export the files from
the database. E. Jones advised that James is Wilde’s back-up for the NICS function, and
they were the only people that had access to the database. E. Jones advised that if Wilde
was out of the office, then she thought James was responsible for the NICS.

•

E. Jones advised that a telephone call from Ford prompted her to submit a written
statement 1 regarding the NICS. E. Jones reported that for the last six months, she
consistently reminded Wilde not to forget about the NICS reports, to which she (Wilde)
would never respond. However, E. Jones stated that on March 2, 2017, after she again
reminded Wilde of the NICS reports, she responded that she (Wilde) felt that the NICS
responsibilities should not be under BLSS.

•

E. Jones advised that Wilde had been given the NICS responsibility by former Chief of
BLSS, Mary Kennedy, when she (Wilde) was in her prior position as Profiling Supervisor.
E. Jones advised that Wilde told her that she was unable to train Renee Stalvey, Quality
Control Supervisor, BLSS, and therefore, had kept the responsibility of NICS when she
(Wilde) promoted into her current position.

Robin James, License Issuance / Election and Corporate Records Supervisor, Division of
Licensing
Interview Date: April 3, 2017
•

1

James advised that she is currently the mailroom supervisor for BLSS; Wilde is her direct
supervisor and she (Wilde) is also the primary person responsible for the NICS. James
stated that prior to her current position, she worked in the Profiling section and assisted

E. Jones submitted a typed statement (Exhibit 8) dated March 31, 2017.

IG 2017-0039
Page 5 of 9

 Wilde with the NICS functions. James acknowledged that the NICS duties had to be done
daily, and she and Wilde previously spoke daily as to who was going to complete the NICS.
•

James advised that when she and Wilde moved into their current positions they continued
to perform the NICS functions for only a short period, until over a year ago when they were
unable to access the NICS database. James advised that she reported to Wilde that she
could not log in, and Wilde discovered the same. James advised that they stopped speaking
about the NICS after they could no longer login. She stated that Wilde was seeking
assistance with their login issue, was referred to FDLE, and was waiting on a response.
James stated that she never asked Wilde about it again and assumed she (Wilde) was
handling the NICS.

•

James acknowledged that it would have been her responsibility to obtain the NICS if Wilde
was out of the office because she was the only person who could; however, she never
inquired about doing the NICS while Wilde was out of the office because she thought their
involvement was temporary and the function was being returned to the profiling section
under Stalvey.

•

James stated that she did not consider the NICS a mailroom function, but a function of
Wilde’s. When asked if James recalled being given any procedure or policy on NICS prior
to assisting Wilde, she stated, “They just gave us instructions on how to do it.”
Investigator’s Note: OIG investigators obtained and reviewed James’ email, and on
August 30, 2013, at 7:40 a.m., James acknowledged by a “read-receipt” (Exhibit 9) that
she had received the NICS procedure email distributed by Mary Kennedy (former
employee) on that same date.

Renee Stalvey, EDP Quality Control and Scheduling Supervisor, Division of Licensing
Interview Date: April 4, 2017
•

Stalvey advised she has been the profiling supervisor for the last two and a half years, and
Wilde is her direct supervisor. Stalvey advised that after she (Stalvey) became the profiling
supervisor, Wilde told her that she (Wilde) would transfer the NICS function to her
(Stalvey) but that never happened. Stalvey advised she never had access to NICS, nor had
she ever assisted with the indexing.

Mary Kennedy, former Division of Licensing employee, Division of Licensing
Interview Date: April 4, 2017
•

Kennedy advised that the NICS function was very important to the CWL review process,
and when she left the department on February 23, 2016 (her last working day), it was, to
the best of her recollection, Wilde and James who were the primary individuals responsible
for accessing the NICS database and indexing the data to the BLI. Kennedy advised that
she recalled a discussion about Stalvey being trained to do the NICS, but did not believe
Wilde had time to train her.

IG 2017-0039
Page 6 of 9

 SUBJECT INTERVIEW
Lisa Wilde, Operation and Management Consultant Manager, DOL
On April 4, 2017, Investigator Cable and Captain Hayden conducted a sworn recorded interview
of Wilde at the OIG, 2601 South Blair Stone Road, Building C, Suite 3, Tallahassee, Florida, in
accordance with FDACS policies and procedures. The following is a paraphrased synopsis of
relevant information pertaining to the allegations; the complete recording (Exhibit 10) and
interview form (Exhibit 11) can be consulted for additional details.
•

Wilde advised that she is the current supervisor responsible for accessing the FDLE NICS
daily, to export files. In reference to the NICS, Wilde stated “it has to do with criminal
histories, it’s very important.” Wilde advised that no one ever told her that the NICS
function was no longer her responsibility, and stated, “I should have been doing it,” and
indicated it had been a very long time since she had accessed the data base.
Investigator’s Note: Investigator Cable reviewed Wilde’s previous and current position
descriptions (Exhibit 12), and noted that neither specifically addressed the NICS.

•

Wilde advised that it was approximately February 2016 since she last accessed NICS, and
explained that she and James had a login issue and they were unable to access the database.
Wilde stated that James was waiting on her (Wilde) to have the login issue fixed; however,
she (Wilde) never followed up to resolve the issue. Wilde advised she never asked James
to check the NICS after the login issue, and stated that James probably assumed the login
issues were fixed and she (Wilde) was exporting the NICS files.

•

Wilde advised that she forgot about accessing the NICS database after the first month in
her current position. Wilde stated, “I dropped the ball—I know I did that, I should have
been doing it and I didn’t.” Wilde stated that she did not tell anyone that the NICS data
base had not been accessed for over a year.

•

In reference to E. Jones’ allegation that Wilde stated that she did not believe NICS should
be a BLSS function, Wilde denied saying it.

•

Wilde advised that she did not believe she performed her NICS duties in an effective or
efficient manner. Wilde stated, “I neglected to do it for almost a year.” Wilde
characterized her failure to ensure the NICS information was accessed, indexed, and sent
to the BLI as negligent, and agreed this could cause an embarrassment to the agency.
Investigator’s Note: Investigator Cable obtained Wilde’s signed Disciplinary Policy and
Employee Standards of Conduct Acknowledgment of Receipt (Exhibit 13), dated May 24,
2012.

INVESTIGATIVE FINDINGS
ALLEGATION ONE: Lisa Wilde was negligent in her job duties by failing to conduct checks of
the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), in accordance with DOL
procedure.
Department Administrative Policies and Procedures (AP&P) No. 5-3, V, B, Negligence, states:
IG 2017-0039
Page 7 of 9

 Negligence - Employees shall exercise due care and reasonable diligence in the
performance of job duties.

CONCLUSION

The testimony and evidence obtained during this investigation was suf?cient to establish that Lisa
Wilde knowingly and admittedly neglected, for over a year, to perform the essential duty of NICS
checks for which she was responsible. Therefore, the allegation of Negligence against Lisa Wilde
is SUSTAINED.

DEFINITION OF 
SUSTAINED: Evidence is suf?cient to prove allegation.
NOT SUSTAINED: Insuf?cient evidence available to prove or disprove allegation.
EXONERATED: Alleged actions occurred but were lawful and proper.

UNFOUNDED: Allegations are false or not supported by fact.

POLICY FAILURE: Alleged actions occurred and caused harm; however, the actions taken were not inconsistent with department
policy.

 

 

 

 

It is recommended that DOL identify any NICS ineligible applicants that may have been
erroneously issued a license as a result of Wilde?s actions, and address as appropriate. In addition,
it is recommended that DOL review and evaluate NICS procedures to ensure employees
responsible for the system checks are aware of the proper protocol, complete and sign training
acknowledgment forms, and are supported by additional trained backup employees and/or a system
of oversight con?rming the completion of the tasks.

 

XHI pig?s
1. Screenshot of DOL database 8. E. Jones typed statement
2. FDLE login audit 9. James? email ?read-receipt?
3. Emails con?rming user 10. CD Subject Interview
4. Wilde FDLE emails I 1. Subject OIG form
5. CD Witness Interviews - 12. Wilde position description
6. Witness OIG forms 13. Wilde?s FDACS form
7. Wilde Hunter email

 

QERTIFLQATIONS

This investigation was completed in accordance with accreditation standards established by The
Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accr itation and has been conducted in compliance with the
Quality Standards for Investigations found with' the Principles and dards for the Offices of Inspector

General. 

manda Cable, Investigator, Office of Inspector General

 
    
  

 

IG 2017-0039
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REVIEW ANQEAPPROVAL

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CMistopher Pate
Director of Investigations Inspector General

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2017-0039
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