Hernando County Sheriff Nienhuis asks Hernando County Commissioners for additional money for his office only to find out he’s been hiding money .
For those of you who have been following my daughter’s story and know my fight to get justice for my pregnant daughter who was shot and killed, know for almost three years, I have argued there was a cover-up going on in the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. I have stated numerous times that people can not kill people whether accidental or not and get a free pass from justice. I firmly believe that because my daughter’s killer was close friends to a Sergeant in the Sheriff’s Office, who was highly regarded with his peers and the court system, the killer never got charged, detained or prosecuted. He was allowed to have his guns back which put the public at risk as the man had not learned the safe use of firearms after killing my daughter and grandson as he went out shooting in public drunk with a child. Isn’t it the sheriff’s job to protect the public? Had my daughter’s case been properly investigated and the rules of the Florida Law Enforcement Protocol been followed the killer would not have had the opportunity to put the public in danger.
Finally, after having a private investigator investigate the case. The Investigator’s findings were submitted to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. The report was given to Major James Terry, who tried to get the evidence for the killer’s prosecution however, Assistant State Attorney Peter Magrino refused to issue subpoenas to obtain the information. Interestingly enough this is what is posted on the State Attorney’s website.
“There is nothing more critical to the public’s trust in the integrity of the criminal justice system than a prosecutor’s ability to openly weigh information that speaks to a person’s guilt or innocence. A prosecutor has no more important responsibility than to follow the facts and the law wherever they lead, regardless of popular passions or political consequences.”
-Daniel F. Conley.
June 28, 2017 Barbara Behrendt from the St.Petersburg Times wrote an article on how Sheriff Nienhuis has been hiding money from the Hernando County Commission. In 2016, as the Hernando County Commission was holding hearings about the county budget and allocation for the following year, the Sheriff complained he needed additional money so his office could do there job.The Sheriff even filed an appeal with the Governor’s office. Meanwhile the Sheriff has been collecting money from housing Federal Inmates and keeping it hidden. Is this another cover-up? How much more has the sheriff’s office been hiding? Shouldn’t a federal investigation be initiated into the operations of the sheriff’s office?
Now according to the article Major James Terry was a disgruntled employee who was facing an internal investigation. Funny though, according to the article Behrendt writes that the paperwork submitted to the St.Petersburg Times only shows memos dated on or immediately after Major Terry was placed on paid administrative leave. You would think if Terry was that bad of an employee there would have been write-ups in his file prior to his being put on paid leave. Is the Sheriff’s Office using Major Terry as a smokescreen to hide their illegal activities of fraud? Where is the money? Why has it been hidden?
March 18, 2016 Barbara Behrendt wrote in the St.Petersburg Times about Sheriff Nienhuis had a new budgeting method but the county commissioner’s questioned the legality of it. you can read it here:
September 7, 2016 Barbara Behrendt of the St. Pete Times wrote that the Hernando County Commission declined to raise taxes for the Sheriff’s Office
September 26, 2016 Columnist Dan Dewitt of the SaintPetersburg Times wrote about the Sheriff thinking about filing an appeal with the Governor and the State Cabinet.
October 11, 2016 Dan Dewitt St.Petersburg Times Columnist wrote Sheriff Nienhuis filed an appeal with the Governor and The State Cabinet over his budget Allocation and his office did not have the resources to needed to do his job.