ETHICS COMPLAINT vs. Joseph Adams, Esquire |
PROPABLE CAUSE HEARING: December 20, 2005 Mr. Ken Hinkle 1 John Anderson Dr. #55 Ormond Beach, FL 32176 RE: Complaint No 05-86, In re JOSEPH ADAMS, Dear Mr. Hinkle: The probable cause hearing in the above-referenced complaint is scheduled for consideration at the Friday, January 27, 2006, Commission meeting. The meeting has been scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m., in Room 412 of the Knott Building, 111 W. St A St., Tallahassee, Florida (Map enclosed). Under the Commission rules, the Respondent, the Complainant, and their counsel may attend the hearing to observe the Commission’s deliberations. The Respondent and the Commission Advocate will be given five minutes each to provide statements to the Commission. No witnesses may be called at this hearing and no new evidence may be introduced. The sole purpose of the probable cause hearing is to evaluate the results of the preliminary investigation. If you plan to attend the meeting, please notify our office at least one day prior to the meeting.
Please do not hesitate to contact this office if you have questions concerning this matter. Sincerely, (Signature) Kaye B. Starling Complaint Coordinator STATE
OF FLORIDA COMMISSION
ON ETHICS ATTN
BEAU JACKSON INVESTIGATOR P
O DRAWER 15709 TALLAHASSEE
FL 32317-5709 November 14, 2005 RE:
In re JOSEPH ADAMS, complaint No. 05-086
Additional documentation as requested Dear Mr. Jackson, I apologize for taking longer than
anticipated, but Hurricane Wilma caused quite a delay in communicating
with parties down South. In response to your telephone call
requesting further documentation, I am sending additional documents to
show Joseph Adams’ personal involvement in the Community Associations
Institute condominium education courses. In the document Adams is clearly named as the facilitator of
minimum two of these courses, meaning he personally profits from the
contract. (Please see
attached document: “CAI
ANNOUNCEMENT CONDO COURSES.”) This is just an announcement for a
certain area of Florida, but it already names Adams twice as
facilitator, showing he personally profits from the CAI contract. Furthermore,
as chair of the Advisory Council On Condominiums, Adams is trying to
suppress public input in opposition to the CAI contract.
A presentation made at the Council meeting on March 31, 2005
earned this mention in the official minutes of the meeting: (quote)
“PUBLIC
INPUT – Condo education Courses Presentation
by Jan Bergemann regarding education and outreach to the public.
Mr. Bergemann encouraged Division to use email capabilities to
educate and keep public informed. Suggested more education to be offered
through the web.” (unquote) It seems
that public presentations -- if they don’t fit in the concept of Chairman Adams –
garner just a few words in the minutes, often not even reflecting the
actual content of the presentation.
Adams’ Excuse:
“Minutes should just be the short summary of the events, not
a detailed report.” Please
read here the original notes that were used by Mr. Bergemann to make his
presentation. (See enclosed document:
“CONDO
EDUCATION COURSES.”) It is very
obvious that the content of the presentation was altered to fit the
needs of Chairman Adams. Even after
Bergemann complained about the wording of the draft of the minutes and
even before these minutes were approved, Chairman Adams didn’t take action.
Instead Adams tried to blame others for the obviously wrong
minutes. Please see
e-mail exchange between parties in enclosed document: “E-MAIL
EXCHANGE CONDO COURSE PRESENTATION.” Despite the statements in his e-mail,
Adams never brought up that issue again. The minutes are still written
to serve Adams’ purpose and stand uncorrected! Adams’ intention
to have the minutes serve his own purpose became very obvious when he
insisted at the Council meeting in Panama City on May 14, 2005 that the
minutes must contain the exact wording of the exchange amongst Council
members; Kara
Collins-Gomez, Staff Director for OPPAGA (Office for Program
Policy and Government Analysis); and Colleen
Donahue, an attorney from the Office Of Condominium Ombudsman.
To quote Adams: “Minutes should just be the short summary of
the events, not a detailed report.”
Why wasn’t Adams’ quoted statement about minutes used in this
case? In my opinion, it is very obvious
that Joseph Adams is using his official position as chair of the Advisory
Council On Condominiums for his own profit – and the profit of Becker
& Poliakoff, the law firm in which Adams is a shareholder.
Since Adams is also the chair of the Legislative Action Committee
of Florida, he is also promoting the agenda of the Community
Associations Institute while serving as chair of the Advisory Council On
Condominiums. Sincerely, Ken
Hinkle 1
John Anderson Drive # 515 Ormond
Beach, FL 32176-5789 Enclosures
3: CAI
ANNOUNCEMENT CONDO COURSES, Schedule from NOV 05 – FEB 06 CONDO
EDUCATION COURSES, Dated MAR 31 05 E-MAIL
EXCHANGE CONDO COURSE PRESENTATION, Dated MAY 10-17 05 INITIAL COMPLAINT FILED 6/18/2005: 2.
PERSON AGAINST WHOM COMPLAINT IS BROUGHT: Name:
Joseph Adams, Esquire
Telephone Number: (239)
433-7707 Address: 14241 Metropolis Ave, Suite 100 City: Fort Myers County: Lee Zip Code: 33912 Title
of office or position held or sought: Member
of the Advisory Council on Condominiums 3.
STATEMENT OF FACTS: Mr.
Adams is a licensed, practicing member of The Florida Bar and a managing
shareholder in a statewide law firm known as Becker & Poliakoff,
P.A.. Mr. Adams and
his law firm specialize in condominium and community association law.
At least two (2) attorneys (Gary Poliakoff, Esquire and Keith
Poliakoff, Esquire) in Mr. Adams law firm are registered Florida
lobbyists for the Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. law firm as their
principal. Based on the
foregoing it appears that an irreconcilable and continuing conflict of
interest exists between Mr. Adams’ personal interests as a lawyer and
his public duties as a member of the Advisory Council on Condominiums.
Mr. Adams as chairman of the Advisory Council has advocated and
promoted legislation in open Council meetings that were lobbied for by
his law firm for the benefit of their clients. He also has used the
Advisory Council as a vehicle to recommend to the Governor certain other
legislation should be vetoed. This activity is not only outside of the
statutory jurisdiction, functions and duties of the Advisory Council but
also clearly perpetrated by Mr. Adam’s to further his own personal
interests.
The
procedural safeguards enacted by Chapter 112, Florida Statutes, are not
sufficient to protect against Mr. Adams proposing, supporting or voting
on recommendations that would favor or further the interests of himself,
his law firm, his clients or principals and/or their firms and interests
and any of their own political or social agendas and do not inspire and
ensure the public’s confidence in his service on the Advisory Council
on Condominiums. |