Bug board pays out $35K to convicted former employee [Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon]

Dec. 17--They weren't happy about it, but Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board commissioners agreed Friday to pay former Superintendent Michael Spoto$35,000 rather than have his wrongful-firing grievance heard by the Monroe County Career Service Council.

Spoto was fired in November 2010, shortly after being charged with felony theft for misappropriating three district cell phones in 2007.

He administered the district's taxpayer-funded cell-phone program at the time and racked up $5,000 in bills using them for personal use.

Spoto pleaded guilty in June charge and was sentenced to three months in jail, followed by two and a half years of probation. Spoto was earning $115,960 at the time of his firing and the board eliminated the superintendent position in January.

Commissioners -- outside of Chairman Bill Shaw, who voted against the settlement -- were clear they acted in what they felt is the best interest of the taxpayers. The district will pay a maximum $5,000 deductible, and its insurance provider will cover the rest.

Director Michael Doyle said that as part of the agreement, Spoto agreed to "drop further attempts at back pay and reinstatement."

Spoto was fired, on a 3-2 vote, because he violated a "last-chance agreement" by getting a speeding ticket in 2009 and ordered a board-approved letter not to be sent to a contractor hired by the district. Commissioner Jack Bridges said he was concerned the Career Service Council might not agree with the reasoning.

"I have great trepidations about paying anybody who actually stole from this board. Anybody who stole should be fired. If this were my money, I might be willing to litigate this to the hilt because the board did the right thing in firing him," Bridges said.

Shaw said he'd prefer to fight.

"Looking at it from a money standpoint, obviously this is the easy way to go. Looking at it from what's right and what's wrong, I can't agree with it. I think it's wrong to pay someone who's been fired and wrong to set a precedent for the future," he said.

The Career Service Council meets once a month and hears termination grievances from former government employees. It comprises representatives from the district, Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, Keys Energy Services, Monroe County government and one at-large appointee.

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