Port St. Lucie Councilman Anderson shows his lack of knowledge about the Garcon Point Bridge and the proposed Walton Road toll bridge by stating that their only similarity is that they "extend from the mainland to a barrier island." In truth the Garcon Point Bridge, touted as an example of "successful" Florida toll bridges, doesn’t go to a barrier island. It connects 1-95 to U.S. 98 on a peninsula in Gulf Breeze.
That bridge, now the focus of a criminal investigation, is a product of Walton Road Toll Bridge designer Figg engineering.
This investigation has great relevance to our community. Figg enables expressway authorities to draw permits for projects like the Walton Road Toll Bridge. They provide expertise and assure state permitting agencies that projects can be done without environmental damage.
Figg’s records are now being subpoenaed for an investigation of illegal dumping of concrete and debris. Reports indicate as many as fifty acres in Pensacola Bay were used as a dump during construction, some sealed over with concrete.
Some say Figg isn’t implicated. The building contractors are implicated, but Figg Engineering bears a direct responsibility.
Figg builds many bridges, but most are under the control of departments of transportation. The Garcon Point Bridge is criticized because it was built without the level of oversight provided FDQT bridges. Without those safeguards, Figg can only assure quality in materials and workmanship to the same extent that they can assure compliance with environmental regulations and permit requirements.
Will they accept responsibility for criminal dumping and damage to the waterways of Pensacola Bay? If they weren’t present to oversee the handling of waste disposal, how could they assure quality control? Were the materials up to the standards of the FDOT? Who made sure corners weren’t cut for the sake of greater profit? Should our expressway authority ask such questions? Now Councilman Bowen says opponents can’t link the proposed Walton Road Toll Bridge to problems with the Garcon Bridge."
The PSL city council passed a resolution promising to finance legal defenses in actions against the Walton Road Toll Bridge. Will they pay costs if there is criminal negligence as alleged at Garcon Point? Will they be held accountable if the bridge has problems because of the lack of oversight normally provided by the state at FDOT projects?
The People of the Pensacola Bay area may have suffered a great loss because of the illegal dumping. If residents sue for damages, whom will they sue? They won’t sue "Bo" Johnson, because he is in jail. They won’t sue the local municipalities because they didn’t pledge to fund the legal defense. There are the contractors, the authority and the engineering firm.
The expressway authority should at least stop expenditures until the criminal investigation of Figg’s Panhandle bridge is resolved.
Port St. Lucie’s budget has been committed to the defense of a company under criminal investigation by a federal grand jury. Isn’t that a link to the proposed Walton Road Toll Bridge? Maybe that is why councilmen Bowen and Anderson don’t want people to understand the link.
Kevin Stinnette
10303 South Indian River Drive
Ft. Pierce, Florida 34982
Exhibit
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ELVILLE & SOWERBY, P. A.ATTORNEYS AT LAW
LAUREL PROFESSIONAL PARK
2940 SOUTH 25TH STREET
FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA 34981-5605
HAROLD MELVILLE TELEPHONE (561) 464-7900 DAVID N. SOWERBY FAX (561) 464-8220
BOARD CERTIFIED CIVIL TRIAL LAWYER AND
BOARD CERTIFIED BUSINESS LITIGATION LAWYER
August 28, 2000
VIA CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
AND REGULAR MAIL
Charles Grande
9950 S. Ocean Drive, #705
Jensen Beach, FL 34957
Re: Defamation of Figg Bridge Engineers. Inc.
Dear Mr. Grande:
Please be advised that this office represents Figg Bridge Engineers, Inc. ("Figg").
On or about January 7, 2000 you wrote an article in the Forum Islander South, a newspaper circulated within St. Lucie County. A copy of the article is enclosed.
In this article you refer to a criminal probe being conducted by state and federal authorities relating to the Garcon Point Bridge. Your article makes reference to two entities as being involved with the construction of the Garcon Point Bridge, those being Figg Engineering, Inc. [sicj and the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority.
In the next to last paragraph of your article you contend that the St. Lucie County Expressway and Bridge Authority must halt the Walton Road project "until the state and federal criminal investigations of those so heavily involved [in the Garcon Point Bridge matter] are complete".
The foregoing statement in your article is false and highly defamatory towards Figg. Figg is not now, nor has Figg ever been, under any form of state or federal criminal investigation. Likewise, Figg has never been the target or object of any state or federal
EXHIBIT
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Charles Grande
August 28, 2000
Page 2
criminal investigation. As you obviously hew, the target of the state and federal criminal investigations was Odebrecht-Metric, Inc., the general contractor for the bridge project, and yet you never mentioned Odebrecht-Metric in your article. Both Figg and the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority were simply witnesses whose records had been subpoenaed in connection with that investigation of the general cant-actor.
All of this information was readily apparent from the Associated Press article upon which you based your article. Nevertheless, in pursuit of your own political agenda and with either knowledge of the falsity and/or reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of your statements, you intentionally chose to defame Egg for your own purposes.
Please be advised that pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 770.01 Egg is hereby providing to you notice in writing and specifying the article and statements which Figg claims to be false and defamatory. In that regard, your failure to promptly publish a full and fair correction, apology and retraction may be considered in connection with the assessment of punitive damages against you.
Kindly govern yourself accordingly.
Sincerely,
Harold G. Melville
HGM:lgh
enclosure
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ELVILLE & SOWERBY, P. A.