Former St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara, who is under investigation for violating state ethics laws, admitted that he misused his public position to help himself win the 2020 election.
The admission came in a document filed Thursday with the Florida Commission on Ethics.
The filing said Mascara admitted that he “approached and encouraged” an individual to seek the sheriff’s office in the 2020 election, a violation of the Code of Ethics.
According to this latest filing, Mascara and his attorney worked with an advocate for the ethics commission to come up with a stipulation, which would keep Mascara from having to go through any further hearings or proceedings on the matter.
Mascara is accused of misusing his authority or his position as sheriff to recruit a fake candidate to run against his primary opponent and have his subordinates run the campaign.
When the straw candidate won the primary, the plan was that he would concede to Mascara to win the election.
READ THE FULL FILING BELOW:
The filing shows that Mascara admitted to violating the code of ethics and made the admission “to avoid the costs of litigation and protracted legal proceedings.”
He and his attorney also asked the commission to approve recommending a penalty of public censure and reprimand of $5,000 fine.
However, if the commission does not approve the stipulation, the document stated that this would then not be deemed an admission by Mascara.
WPTV has reached out to Mascara’s attorney for further statements but has not heard back as of Friday evening.
The next public hearing for the commission, where Mascara’s case is expected to be discussed, is in late July.