I made a Public Records request for Howard Pohl's personnel file based partly on information I had received recently that Pohl had been forced out of the State Attorney's Office because of inappropriate conduct toward a female employee of the S.A.O; partly also because I wanted to see what Rundle/Horn/Brill/Salomon would provide--and what they wouldn't.
I received Pohl's personnel file recently. It was accompanied by the letter at top from Don Horn, the pertinent part of which is "we have redacted confidential exempt information pursuant to Florida law..."
That is a lie. Mr. Horn has redacted information that he, doing Private Rundle's bidding, does not want the public to know. I know that because there are some things I know (and that Horn/Rundle/Salomon, et al know I know) that by law they have to provide in response to a public records request that they have not provided. And have previously refused to provide.
One of those things is the "Mandarin Penthouse" email. One evening when I was dating Lorna Salomon she told me, in some distress, that she had received an inappropriate email from Howard Pohl. Salomon was then, and is now, the (Senior) Employment Counsel for the office. She had sent Pohl an email saying that they needed to discuss an issue related to an employee (if I ever knew who the employee was, I've forgotten). Pohl's response was, "Sure, Let's discuss it at the Mandarin Penthouse!"
I urged Salomon to report the incident. She did. She told me, I don't know whether it was the truth or not, that there was a major investigation as a result, that Rundle called in outside counsel and that the lawyers made it clear to Pohl in no uncertain terms (1) that the "Mandarin Penthouse" email was inappropriate, and (2) nothing of its sort would ever be tolerated again.
The "Mandarin Penthouse" email is not in Pohl's personnel file, nor is there any mention of the investigation, if it was ever conducted. About a year and a half ago I made a specific public records request for the email and directed it to Penny Brill. Her response was that she/the S.A.O. didn't have to turn it over pursuant to law. That is a lie. The State Attorney's Office has deliberately violated Florida's public records law in their responses to these two public records requests.
Why would Horn and Brill--for Rundle--do this? Why would they violate the law? To protect Howard Pohl? No. To protect Rundle. To protect Rundle from a lawsuit that she has tolerated a "hostile work environment" toward female employees. This is not the first time that similar accusations have been made against Pohl, and brought to Rundle's attention.
