To: Thru: Thru: Thru: From: Date: Re: Collier County Sheriff's Of?ce Professional Responsibility Bureau Investigative Summary Finding Authority Undersheriff Tom Storrar, #145 Chief Jim Bloom, #802 Captain Al Beatty, #405 Sergeantjim Baker, #745%/ October 6, 2008 P.R.B. Case #07?238 Investigation; A. Date 8: Time of Incident: Various, 2006 2007 Complainant: Ms. Danielle La Rosa Employee Involved: Cpl. Ben Rowe, #2579, Road Patrol Complaint Description: Ms. La Rosa has alleged that her cit-boyfriend, Cpl. Ben Rowe, #2579, forged her father?s Signature on a statement that falsely described her livmg status. By domg 50, Ms. La Rosa stated that she was able to qualify for Medicaid bene?ts for her child, and herself. Further, Ms. Larosa alleged that Cpl. Rowe utilized the and DAVID data bases to attempt to ?nd out where she had moved. Lastly, Ms. La Rosa alleged that Cpl. Rowe forced his way into her home by locking the door open and hitting her With it. Policy Violation: 0 Chapter P-G, Section 6.3.3, Group Paragraph 8 to-w1t: ?Immoral, unlawful, or improper conduct. . . 0 Chapter P-G, Section 6.3.3, Group Paragraph 24 to-wrt: ?Accessing CjNet, NLETS or the Interstate Identi?cation Index system for purposes that are not authoriZed. . Witnesses: 0 Deputy Ricardo Herrera, #1920 Summary: On October 17, 2007, Ms. Danielle La Rosa, came to the Collier County Sheriff's Of?ce (CCSO), Professional Responsibility Bureau (PRB) to make an allegation of Member Misconduct against her former boy friend, and father of her child, Cpl. Benjamin Rowe, #2579. Ms. La Rosa made several allegations against Cpl. Rowe, listed as follows: 0 She and Cpl. Rowe knowingly forged her father?s signature on a statement used in the application for Medicaid bene?ts. I The statement was forged by Cpl. Rowe believing that without the statement, she would not qualify for bene?ts. I The information contained in the letter, allegedly forged by Cpl. Rowe, was known by Cpl. Rowe to be untruthful. - Cpl. Rowe utilized the CCSO databases, and or databases to determine her current address. I Cpl. Rowe repeatedly drove by her house to harass her. - Cpl. Rowe forced his way into her home, hitting her with the door. "Note Ms. La Rosa provided the original documents in question to Sgt. White for the criminal investigation. Due to the criminal nature of the issues involving Medicaid bene?ts, Sgt. David White, #535, and Detective Tom Muscato, #372, conducted an interview and received a sworn statement from Ms. La Rosa. This interview was conducted at the PRB of?ce and Ms. La Rosa acknowledged, and waived her Miranda warnings prior to giving any sworn testimony. Ms. Larosa advised the following: 0 During their relationship, she became pregnant with Cpl. Rowe's child. 0 During the pregnancy, she applied for Medicaid bene?ts to pay for the medical costs incurred by having a child. - Advised that she was told that to receive bene?ts from Medicaid, she would have to provide a statement from her parents, advising that she lived with, and was being supported by them. I Advised she utilized her parent?s residence as her mailing address, but was staying with Cpl. Rowe approximately 60-70 percent of the time. - Advised her father, Kenneth Newton, refused to write or sign the necessary statement because of my (her) time was at Ben. Benjamin Rowe '5 house and that was his baby. he needed to step up to the plate. my dad wean going to do it. Advised it was Cpl. Rowe's idea to write the necessary statement and sign her father?s name to it. I Advised she was present when Cpl. Rowe wrote, and signed, the document(s) in question. - Advised there were two statements written and signed by Cpl. Rowe. The ?rst did not contain the required detail therefore a second was written and signed. Advised the documents were faxed to Medicaid from Cpl. Rowe?s residence. Acknowledge that by giving the statement, she could become a defendant. After addressing the potential criminal elements of the allegation with Sgt. White, Ms. La Rosa provided me with a statement that included the following: Alleged Cpl. Rowe had accessed her driver license information, as well as speci?c friends and business associates, to ?nd out where she was living or what her new mailing address was. Alleged Cpl. Rowe told her he had ?ties and ran a (Izell).? Alleged Cpl. Rowe had been driving by her home but has only observed his vehicle on one occasion. Alleged that on August 10, 2007, Cpl. Rowe came to her home, attempted to see their daughter. When Danielle refused, Cpl. Rowe became irate, kicked the door in, and she was hit by the door. (Nate This incident was not reported to law enforcement and occurred in Lee County.) Criminal Investigation: After receiving the initial statement from Ms. La Rosa, Sgt. White contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) FDLE is the lead agency for investigating issues involving Medicaid. FDLE assigned the investigation to Ms. Jennifer Wheeler, Public Assistance Fraud Investigator. Ms. Wheeler?s investigative packet is included in this investigative ?le and her Af?davit of Complaint states the following: Ms. La Rosa did not reside with her parents at the time during the DCF application period. During the application period, Ms. La Rosa lived with Cpl. Rowe. Cpl. Rowe forged the signature of Kenneth Newton to letters received by the Medicaid department on March 2, 2006 and March 21, 2006. Cpl. Rowe falsi?ed information regarding Danielle La Rosa?s residency, household composition, and income in and attempt to aid and abet Ms. La Rosa to fraudulently qualify for Public Assistance bene?ts. Established that the document that Cpl. Rowe forged allowed Ms. La Rosa to receive $2308.00 in Food Stamp bene?ts during the months of September 2006 through December 2006, to which she was not legally entitled. To establish these facts, Ms. Wheeler Spoke with, and listed, the following people as witnesses, in addition to Ms. La Rosa: Ms. Judy Chigaros who is employed by the Department of Children and Families. Ms. Chigaros is listed as being able to establish the over issuance of funds based on the letters written by Cpl. Rowe. Ms. Linda Newton, Ms. La Rosa?s mother, who advised, and provided a sworn statement stating, that Ms. La Rosa lived with Cpl. Rowe during the year of February, 2006 through February, 2007. Mr. Kenneth Newton, Ms. La Rosa?s father, who advised, and provided a sworn statement stating, that he did not complete, sign, or authorize anyone to complete or sign the documents submitted to DCF. Mr. Newton also looked at, and con?rmed that he did not write or sign the subject documents. Mr. Benny J. Lum, who is a Criminalist and handwriting expert with the Broward County Sheriff?s Of?ce, concluded that it was ?Highly Probable" that Cpl. Rowe wrote and signed the documents in question. ?Note During the criminal investigation, Cpl. Rowe was given the Opportunity to provide a statement in relation to the investigation. Cpl. Rowe, with his attorney Michelle Hill present, chose to exercise his 5'h Amendment right to not provide a statement. At the conclusion of the criminal investigation, Ms. Wheeler submitted an Af?davit of Complaint for both Cpl. Rowe and Ms. La Rosa. The Complaints state that Cpl. Rowe and Ms. La Rosa knowingly, by means of afalse statement. misrepresentation. or other ?'audulent means fail to disclose a material fact used in making a determination as to his/her qualification to receive aid or bene?ts under a state or federally funded assistance program: or did knowingly fail to disclose change in circumstance in order to obtain or continue to receive aid or benefits under such program in an amount larger than that to which he/she was entitled: or did knowingly aid and abet another person in the commissron or any such act. contrary to the provision of Section Florida Statutes. After submission, the State Attorney?s Of?ce chose to issue a warrant for Ms. La Rosa, but denied the warrant request for Cpl. Rowe. According to an e-mail from Assistant State Attorney Amy Rosborough, State Attorney Steve Russell concluded that because the hand writing expert could only make the ruling of ?Highly Probable and not ?De?nite? as to Cpl. Rowe being the author of the documents, the case was not prosecutable against him. Administrative Interview: On May 23, 2008, I interviewed and received a recorded sworn statement, under Garrity, ?'om Cpl. Ben Rowe, #2579, at the PRB of?ce. Cpl. Rowe made the following statements in response to Ms. La Rosa?s allegations: Data Basel Drive-bv allegations: In reference to running Ms. La Rosa in the DAVID system, or any other databases, Cpl. Rowe stated, we separated never ran her on DA VID or anything: a?er we were separated there was one time 1 did run a tag because the vehicle she was driving was in my was supposed to hand over the tag. she wouldn 't hand over nothingname because it was uninsured. Denied running her driver license to obtain her address. Advised he learned her new address because the post of?ce put her change of address form in his mailbox. (Cpl. Rowe provided a copy of the change of address form for the investigative - Denied having used the CCSO data bases to run Steve and Tracy Byler, but advised he may have run Gerald lzell in the FCIC system. - Denied having driven by Ms. La Rosa's home as she described. Advised he has passed by her home on the way to the gym. I According to the data base query, Cpl. Rowe queried Ms. La Rosa on three (3) occasions. All three queries occurred prior to their break?up in July, 2007. Data Base Query Summary: In response to the allegation, I requested the query history for the following peeple and . tags, supplied by Ms. La Rosa, (queries listed below each) from 02-01-06 thru 06-30-08: 0 Florida Tag I 01-27-2008: Cpl. Kevin Hendry (CCSO) (FCIC) I 05-22-2008: Sgt. Jim Baker" (CCSO) (DAVID) I 05-13-2008: Christopher Stoddard (LCSO) (DAVID) I 09-] 1-2007: Martin Davila (FMPD) (DAVID) 0 Florida Tag? 1222VQ I 10-07-2007: Alfred Rodriguez (UNK) (FCIC) I 05-22-2008: Sgt. Jim Baker? (CCSO) (DAVID) 0 Danielle Rene LA ROSA I 06-27-2008 Terry Eller (LCSO) (DAVID) 06-23-2008 Abisai Rosario (LCSO) (DAVID) 06-l8-2008 Shirley Williford (LCSO) (DAVID) 06-17-2008 Ramona Amici (LCSO) (DAVID) 06-04-2008 Sgt. Jim Baker? (CCSO) (DAVID) 04-22-2008 Donna Sweedy (LCSO) (DAVID) 12-12-2007 Jennifer Wheeler? (FDLE) (DAVID) 05-21-2007 Benjamin Rowe (CCSO) (DAVID) 11-23?2006 Benjamin Rowe (CCSO) (DAVID) 10-22-2006 Cpl. William Elser' (CCSO) (DAVID) 10-08-2006 Benjamin Rowe (CCSO) (DAVID) 07-08-2006 Melissa Smith (LCSO) (DAVID) . 06-06-2006 Jackie Schell (LCSO) (DAVID) I 05-30-2006 Nick Destefanis (LCSO) (DAVID) 0 Gerald Lee IZELL I 08-30-2006: Cpl. Karen Hebebrand (CCSO) (FCIC) 09-23-2006: Chadwick Goss (LCSO) (DAVID) 04-03-2007: Cpl. John Neiderhiser (CCSO) (FCIC) 04-03-2007: Jason Krumbine (UNK) (FCIC) 05-04-2007: Cpl. Shawn Bogart (CCSO) (FCIC) 07-15-2007: Deputy Robert Palmer (CCSO) (FCIC) 05-22-2008: Sgt. Jim Baker? (CCSO) (DAVID) 0 Steve D. BYLER I 06-30-2008: Sgt. Jim Baker* (CCSO) (DAVID) 06?27-2008: Gary Bailey (LCSO) (DAVID) 02?15-2008: Richard Williamson (LCSO) (DAVID) 07-15-2007: Ryan MacKinnon (LCSO) (DAVID) 02-13-2006: Teresa Lamoureux (FBI) (DAVID) 0 Tracy Elen BYLER I 06-30-2008: Sgt. Jim Baker* (CCSO) (DAVID) depicts single or multiple queries for the investigation. Door Kicking allegations: In reference to the allegation of kicking-in Ms. La Rosa?s door, Cpl. Rowe stated that he was at her home, to pick up his Jeep. While there, he asked to see his daughter and Ms. La Rosa refused. Ms. La Rosa tried to slam the door and Cpl. La Rosa stuck his foot in the door to stop it from closing. Denies forcing his way into the home. When asked if the door bounced back afier it hit his foot, Cpl. Rowe stated, don't recall. Denies kicking the door but said, put my foot to block the door. Advised he was in the doorway but said the door would not have hit him if he hadn?t blocked it with his foot. Letter Writing allegations: Advised that during the Medicaid application process, Ms. La Rosa told him that she needed a letter written stating that she lived with, and was being supported by, her parents. Denies it was his idea to author the letters as alleged by Ms. La Rosa. Advised Ms. La Rosa told him that her father said it would be okay for Cpl. Rowe to write the letter and sign her father?s name to it. Advised he wrote and signed each letter. . Stated, was under the impression I had permission by her dad. Should I have called him. Denied Ms. La Rosa?s assertion the she told Cpl. Rowe that her father refused to write or sign the letters. Advised Ms. La Rosa told him what to write on the letters. Stated, 'm like, it's not an o?icial document. it ?3 just a handwriting notebook paper and no big Advised, in good faith thought I was doing them a favor or her a favor not committing no doggone way 1 see it, I still don 't think I did anything wrong other than being Denied being present when Ms. La Rosa faxed the documents. Advised, was written in the letter was pretty much. fairly the Advised Ms. La Rosa lived with him about sixty percent of the time. Advised when Ms. La Rosa was living with him, he supported her and her children. Stated, ?She stayed with me sixty percent of the time, so 1 ?d say I supported her sixty percent. On October 1, 2008, I interviewed and received a recorded sworn statement, under Garrity, ?'om Deputy Ricardo Herrera, #1920, at the PRB of?ce. Deputy Herrera?s name was supplied by Cpl. Rowe as a witness to the ?door kicking" allegation. Further, Deputy Herrera is a friend and former business associate of Cpl. Rowe. Deputy Herrera gave the following information: Door Kicking Allegation: Accompanied Cpl. Rowe on August 10, 2007, to help him retrieve a Jeep ?'om Ms. La Rosa?s residence. H. Stayed in his truck approximately thirty feet from the door where Cpl. Rowe and Ms. La Rosa were talking. Advised Cpl. Rowe was partially in the doorway when Ms. La Rosa slammed the door. Advised the door appeared to hit Cpl. Rowe on the leg and arm. Advised the door did not bounce back Advised Cpl. Rowe did not kick the door. Advised he could not hear the altercation but did not see any gestures to support Ms: La Rosa assertion that Cpl. Rowe was irate. Advised that after the incident, Cpl. Rowe was not in an irate state. Living Status: Advised he was friends with Cpl. Rowe the entire time he dated and lived with Ms. La Rosa. Advised Ms. La Rosa was the ?book-keeper? of a roo?ng business that he and Cpl. Rowe were partners in. Recalled Cpl. Rowe and Ms. La Rosa living together, either at her home or his home, before, during and after her pregnancy. Advised Ms. La Rosa did not have a job during the relationship and believed Cpl. Rowe supported her; except for child support. Database Issues: Denied any knowledge of Cpl. Rowe querying any CCSO data bases to ?nd Ms. La Rosa home, or querying any of her associates. Denied any knowledge of Cpl. Rowe driving by Ms. La Rosa?s home or harassing her. On October 3, 2008, I interviewed and received a recorded sworn statement, under Gan'ity, ?'om Cpl. Benjamin Rowe, #2579, at the PRB of?ce. The purpose of the additional testimony was to answer to the information that had been gained since his last interview. First, the DAVID report that showed he had queried Ms. La Rosa three (3) times before their break up on July 10, 2007. Second, the statement given by Cpl. Ricardo Herrera, #1970. Cpl. Rowe gave the following information: Acknowledged that he had queried Ms. La Rosa three times, but reiterated that it was prior to their break-up and was not for the purposes she alleged. Advised that on one of the three occasions, be queried Ms. La Rosa because she told him that her driver?s license may be expired. Advised that the other two queries were for general information, not for criminal justice purposes. In reference to the living arrangements, Cpl. Rowe stated, "Asfar as Ricky '5 knowledge to the living arrangements. he ?s my friend. He 's?'i'ends at my house once a month or so. and he would see Danielle as far as he knows she was there all the doesn 't know any original statement and Danielle 's statement states that we and Additional Information: 0 There IS no video of this inc1dent. Era..- ud?d?II? m?nu? .m-IQ?m PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY BUREAU MEMORANDUM - To: Finding Authority Thru: Chief Jim Bloom, Operations, #802 Captain Albert Beatty, #405 From: Date: October 15, 2008 Re: PRB Case #2007-238 in this case, Ms. Danielle La Rosa alleged that her ex?boyfriend, Cpl. Ben Rowe, #2579, forged her father?s signanirc on a statement that falsely described her livtng status By domg so, Ms. La Rosa stated that she was able to qualify for Medicaid bene?ts for his and her child Additionally, La Rosa indicated that she believed that Rowe utilized agency data bases in an attempt to ?nd out where she lived. Finally, Ms. La Rosa alleged that Cpl. Rowe forced his way into her home by kicking the door open and hitting her With it. Opinion. First ..that Rowe forged her father?s Signature on a statement that falsely described her livtng status. Cpl. Rowe indicated that Ms. La Rosa had told him that she had her father?s pemusston to the statement in his name Cpl. Rowe stated that he was only gotng on the word of Ms. La Rosa and admits that he completed and Signed the document at the behest of Ms. La Rosa. Rowe indicated that the information contained in the statement was factual. That said, the written statement Indicates that Ms. La Rosa resrded With her parents Since August 2005 when Cpl. Rowe himself acknowledges that she restded with him "on and off? ., at the time the statement was authored Additionally, the statement indicated that Ms La Rosa had ?no source of income for her or her children at tl'us tune?. Cpl. Rowe stated that he supported the ?children? when they were him According to Investigators from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Public Assmtance Fraud, the statement which was authored by Rowe allowed Ms. La Rosa to be awarded $2308.00 in Food Stamp bene?ts to which she was not legally entitled The actions of Cpl. Rowe concerning this issue appear to be a Violation of Florida Statute 414.390) to-Wit, .dzd knawmg?r, b! mean: qf a ?rire rtatement, Or mean: fat! to dudes: a untrue/?r! and making a drtemmattw: a: to er/ber qualg'?mtm ta mew: an! or bang/3t: under a state or fedem/?z funded amateur: or Mommy to dzn?lrm change it: anamrtame: order to obtain or comma: to new: and or bene?ts" under rad) pmgram an amount tagger that that to which bf/J'be war emit/ed; or dm? at}! and abet (OMMHIIOIJ or my .mrb art. Cpl. Rowe has been a member of the Collier County Sheriff?s Of?ce stnce January 6, 2004. As a certi?ed Law Enforcement professional Rowe should have known that signing another persons name to any type of document, hand written or other wtse, displayed poor judgment and brings his integrity into question. Second. ..tliat Rowe utilized agency data bascs in an attempt to ?nd out where Ms. La Rosa lived and to ?nd information on assouates of hers. Cpl. Rowe denies that he used agency data bases to locate Ms. La Rosa. Rowe Indicated that he found out where Ms. La Rosa lived because a change of address form had been returned to his address that contained her new address. Rowe's use of the DAVID system was reviewed and on three occasmns Cpl. Rowe queried Ms. La Rosa?s name. Cpl. Rowe indicated that he ran Ms. La Rosa to see if she had ?a bad history? because she was using his vehicle and to make sure her license was valid Cpl. Rowe indicated that his queries were for his personal knowledge and did not provide a bona ?de law enforcement reason for utilizing the DAVID system. Additionally, the DAVID history did not re?ect that Cpl. Rowe had queried the names of Ms. La Rosa?s friends. Cpl. Rowe denied or could not recall if be utilized the agency?s ?\mngs? program to run the provided names. There is no removable record for queries. Third. . .that Cpl. Rowe showed up at her residence irate and forced his way into her home by kicking open her door and in so doing caused the door to hit her. Rowe denied the allegation and Dep. Ricardo Herrera, #1940, who the interaction indicated that Cpl. Rowe did not kick the door nor did he seem irate. Recommendation I recommend a ?nding of unlawful, or improper conduct I recommend a finding of ?Accessing purposes that are not authorized" PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY BUREAU FINDING DOCUMENT CASE Person Making Allegation Name BMW Allegation WW Investigation Assigned to Date Received I 2, mill Investigative report referred to CCSO Administration on Member Invoived in Allegation Name Rank Distrigt 8 0 BE COMPLETED BY THE FINDING AUTHORITY ONLY Finding Not Sustained, insuf?cient evtdence to prove or disprove Sustained Sustained in Part, supported by suf?oent eVidence to prove Unfounded, not based on facts or did not occur Exonetated, action by CCSO member was lawful and proper Exceptional Ciosure, Circumstances beyond the control of the CCSO, investigation closed Poiicy Failure . Action Imposed 0 Five (5) days suspension Without pay Discipline is mooted as a result of the member resigning, ?Not in Good Standing?. Subsequent to a ?nding of the Discipline Appeal Committee renew ft On eh the Disupline Appeal Comm: Date Date [an?O7 Signature of Lieutenant Signature of Investigator Sergeantjim Baker #745 '"Member has ?ve days from the date of receipt of this ?nding, to appeal. CC Sustained cases-Personnel File Rev 05 05 09 1 of 2 PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY BUREAU FINDING DOCUMENT CASE 2997-253 Person Making Alleg-atlon Name Danielle Rene LaRosa Allegatlon Investigation to Date Received Investigative report referred to CCSO Administration on Member Involved in Allegsuon Name Miim Rank QM BE COMPLETED BY THE FINDING AUTHORITY ONLY Finding Not Sustained, insuf?cient evtdence to prove or disprove 2i ?ustained Sustained in Part, supportedaby suf?cient evtdence to prove Unfounded, not based on facts or did not occur Exonerated, action by CCSO member was lawful and proper Exceptional Closure, beyond the control of the CCSO, investigation closed Policy Failure Acnon Imposed 0 Five (5) days suspension without pay Discipline is mooted as a result of the member resigning, ?Not tn Good Standing?. Subsequent to a ?nding of the Dlsuphne 8: Appeal Committee W4 W1 Date JZWW #591 Date?/ On beh of the Disopltne 8.: Appeal Comnutterg mm WMM Date Signature of hwtenant Date ?3 (rah-09 Signature 0 RB Investigator Sergeantjun Baker #745 *Member has five days from the date of receipt of this ?nding, to appeal. CC Sustained cases-Personnel FillCOLLIER COUNTY OFFICE . Review of Apfgeal Package PRB Case 2907-238 Date appeal was recelvcd by Deputy Involved Assignment: Dugm mg; 3 Policy Vlolation: th Rulg? a?gn? Status: em: 11 ft du th mber 2 2 Sign that you have reviewed the Committee Member ID appeal. Add any additional Date comments to the attached sheet. - Undershenff Tom Storrar 145 MW 0? '5 Chief of Greg South 391 A, 15'7" Chtef of Correctlons Scott Salley 410 . My), .55 M0 39% ?008 Chef of Operattons Jun Bloom 802 ?it 08 a Chef of Investigations Jun 847 [:13 o? RECEIVED CCS Legal Amw?me?u '5 le?i?m} 569 a Sheriff renewed Conn-mttee's recommendauon and lt?mdmg Shenff?s comments 5% Magma Date 5: Ill-'97 9 REFER TO THE ATTACHED SHEET FOR ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Rev 08 23 07 #14 1/ 77/5 4. ran I .5 9 1?1: xx. -- WW ?329,351? an! n42: - I "b . "in. Ftn' US 23