Investigating St. Augustine Airport: E.D. WUELLNER and LAWYER DOUG BURNETT Conflicts of Interest?

Quo vobis videtor? (What do y'all reckon?)  

1. EDWARD R. WUELLNER, St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority Executive Director, has an ethics problem and an appearance of impropriety. 
   
   
2. St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority lawyer, DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT has an ethics problem and an appearance of impropriety problem, too, arising out of the same corporate law transaction.  
3. BURNETT is a developer lawyer, former St. Augustine Beach City Attorney, and the founder of St. Johns Law Group. This blog has been reporting on his flummery for some fourteen (14) years.
4. St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority Executive Director (E.D.) EDWARD  WUELLNER hired, recruited and employed Airport Authority lawyer DOUGLAS BURNETT BURNETT as his personal lawyer, not an Airport Authority lawyer, to incorporate a Limited Liability Corporation for him, listing as the LLC address Airport Authority propety, the house where WUELLNER lives. 
5. Mr. WUELLNER's 2013 employment contract forbids moonlighting. 
6. Did Mr. BURNETT improperly do private legal work for the Airport Executive Director?  
7. Did Mr. BURNETT empower Mr. WUELLNER's conflict of interest and prohibited moonlighting?
8. There are no documents establishing that Messrs. BURNETT and WUELLNER ever told the five Airport Authority Board members.
9. There are no documents establishing that Messrs. BURNETT and WUELLNER ever asked for an ethics opinion. 
10. There are no documents establishing that Messrs. BURNETT and WUELLNER ever did any legal research.
11. There are no documents establishing that Messrs. BURNETT and WUELLNER ever asked the Board for a waiver of the no-moonlighting clause.  See Airport inculpatory response to my Open Records Request No. 2021-82 (down below these numbered paragraphs, inter alia claiming the Airport does not "possess" any records)
12. So Mr. WUELLNER wrote me this morning and said there are no responsive records. 
13. I don't think we can believe him.
14. I have asked for documents on their search, if any.
15. I have also asked for open records mediation by Florida Assistant Attorney General Pat Gleason.
16. I have asked them for an on-the-record interview.
17. I wrote the Airport on November 19, 2021, "As James Madison wrote in his August 4, 1822 letter to W.T. Barry, 'Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both. Conflicts of interest must be scrupulously guarded against. See, e.g., United States v. Mississippi Valley Generating Co., 364 U.S. 520, 548 (1961)("the 'Dixon-Yates' case"), involving U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority and its investor-owned utility rivals and conflicts of interest in a proposed Memphis coal-fired powerplant), citing Matthew 6:24 -- "no [person] can serve two masters," holding that laws and rules preventing conflicts of interest are aimed "not only at dishonor but at conduct that tempts dishonor."  All conflict of interest laws are based upon Matthew 6:24 ("A man cannot serve two masters"), which the unanimous Supreme Court decision by Chief Justice Earl Warren found to be both a "moral principle" and a "maxim which is especially pertinent if one of the masters happens to be economic self-interest."  Id.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: erw@sgj-airport.com <erw@sgj-airport.com>; dburnett@sjlawgroup.com <dburnett@sjlawgroup.com>
Cc: faa-air21@faa.gov <faa-air21@faa.gov>; klancke.caroline@leg.state.fl.us <klancke.caroline@leg.state.fl.us>; s.green@flynf.org <s.green@flynf.org>; j.mirgeaux@flynf.org <j.mirgeaux@flynf.org>; b.maguire@flynf.org <b.maguire@flynf.org>; r.olson@flynf.org <r.olson@flynf.org>; r.ludlow@flynf.org <r.ludlow@flynf.org>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; krys.fluker@news-jrnl.com <krys.fluker@news-jrnl.com>; anderson.chris@leg.state.fl.us <anderson.chris@leg.state.fl.us>; pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>; bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us <bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; corruption@usdoj.gov <corruption@usdoj.gov>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjccoc.us <hconrad@sjccoc.us>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; davidmigut@gmail.com <davidmigut@gmail.com>; cyndi.stevenson@myfloridahouse.gov <cyndi.stevenson@myfloridahouse.gov>; paul.renner@myfloridahouse.gov <paul.renner@myfloridahouse.gov>; hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov <hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov>; governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com <governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com>; ashley.moody@myfloridalegal.com <ashley.moody@myfloridalegal.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; nicholas.weilhammer@myfloridalegal.com <nicholas.weilhammer@myfloridalegal.com>; shorsteinb@sao7.org <shorsteinb@sao7.org>; shorty.robbins@myfloridahouse.gov <shorty.robbins@myfloridahouse.gov>; larizzar@sao7.org <larizzar@sao7.org>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>; dbirchim@citystaug.com <dbirchim@citystaug.com>; mbreidenstein@citystaug.com <mbreidenstein@citystaug.com>; msimpson@citystaug.com <msimpson@citystaug.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; jdunn@sjcfl.us <jdunn@sjcfl.us>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Mon, Nov 22, 2021 3:31 pm
Subject: Re: Request No 2021-82: Ethics opinions, conflicts of interests, violation of no moonlighting clause?

Dear Messrs. Wuellner and Burnett:

1.  Your one sentence e-mail this morning stated, "We are not in possession of any of the requested records."

2.  Please explain it to me, like I was a six year old. Who searched and how?  Please provide proof. 

3. Who has "possession?" The St. Johns Law Group?   An Airport IT or other contracto or subcontractorr?  

4. Were any documents ever lost, stolen, altered or destroyed?  Are you asserting any evidentiary 9r constitutional privilege over any documents?  If so, please provide a Vaughn index.

5. Please obtain all of the requested records pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and provide them today, with no further delay.

6. Please let me know today your respective proposed schedule(s) re: on-the-record interview(s) and Florida AAG Pat Gleason mediation conference call.

7. Please provide today all responsive documents generated since my November 19, 2021 request 2021-82, including but not limited to your written instructions to St. Johns Law Group, other Airport contractors, or IT personnel for what search terms to use in looking for requested e-mails and other electronic documents, including any report back from them on their search(es).

8. Since your November 22, 2021 e-mail was copied to government officials, including every single one of our five (5) elected Airport Authority Board members, please take note that F.S  837.06 may apply re: any false statements to government officials.

9. On November 3, 1992, 3,8 million Florida voters (83%) enacted Florida Constitution, Article I, Sec. 24. We have a Florida constitutional Right to Know, which must be respected and not neglected. 

10. Please conduct yourselves accordingly, from this day forward.  Please call me to discuss your legal and ethical duties.

Thank you.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Ed Slavin

904-377-4998

www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

www.edslavin.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: erw@sgj-airport.com <erw@sgj-airport.com>; dburnett@sjlawgroup.com <dburnett@sjlawgroup.com>
Cc: klancke.caroline@leg.state.fl.us <klancke.caroline@leg.state.fl.us>; s.green@flynf.org <s.green@flynf.org>; j.mirgeaux@flynf.org <j.mirgeaux@flynf.org>; b.maguire@flynf.org <b.maguire@flynf.org>; r.olson@flynf.org <r.olson@flynf.org>; r.ludlow@flynf.org <r.ludlow@flynf.org>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; krys.fluker@news-jrnl.com <krys.fluker@news-jrnl.com>; anderson.chris@leg.state.fl.us <anderson.chris@leg.state.fl.us>; pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>; bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us <bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; corruption@usdoj.gov <corruption@usdoj.gov>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjccoc.us <hconrad@sjccoc.us>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; davidmigut@gmail.com <davidmigut@gmail.com>; cyndi.stevenson@myfloridahouse.gov <cyndi.stevenson@myfloridahouse.gov>; paul.renner@myfloridahouse.gov <paul.renner@myfloridahouse.gov>; hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov <hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov>; governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com <governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com>; ashley.moody@myfloridalegal.com <ashley.moody@myfloridalegal.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; nicholas.weilhammer@myfloridalegal.com <nicholas.weilhammer@myfloridalegal.com>; shorsteinb@sao7.org <shorsteinb@sao7.org>; shorty.robbins@myfloridahouse.gov <shorty.robbins@myfloridahouse.gov>; larizzar@sao7.org <larizzar@sao7.org>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>; dbirchim@citystaug.com <dbirchim@citystaug.com>; mbreidenstein@citystaug.com <mbreidenstein@citystaug.com>; msimpson@citystaug.com <msimpson@citystaug.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; jdunn@sjcfl.us <jdunn@sjcfl.us>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Mon, Nov 22, 2021 11:51 am
Subject: Re: Request No 2021-82: Ethics opinions, conflicts of interests, violation of no moonlighting clause?

Dear Messrs. Wuellner and Burnett:
1. What time(s) do you propose for on-the-record interview(s) today about your apparent conflict(s) of interest, appearance(s) of impropriety and violation(s) of the terms of your contracts with our St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport by misusing our Airport property and embroiling its attorney in representing the Executive Director on his private business, conducted on Airport property, in violation of his contractual no-moonlighting contract? 

2. Will you both kindly agree to F.S. 119 mediation by Florida Assistant Attorney General Pat Gleason, e.g., re: your unfathomable claim to have no records?

Thank you.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Ed Slavin

904-377-4998

www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

www.edslavin.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Edward R. Wuellner <erw@sgj-airport.com>
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>; dburnett@sjlawgroup.com <dburnett@sjlawgroup.com>
Cc: klancke.caroline@leg.state.fl.us <klancke.caroline@leg.state.fl.us>; Suzanne Green <s.green@flynf.org>; Justin Mirgeaux <j.mirgeaux@flynf.org>; Bruce Maguire <b.maguire@flynf.org>; Robert Olson <r.olson@flynf.org>; Reba Ludlow <r.ludlow@flynf.org>; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>; sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>; aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>; krys.fluker@news-jrnl.com <krys.fluker@news-jrnl.com>; anderson.chris@leg.state.fl.us <anderson.chris@leg.state.fl.us>; pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>; bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>; bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us <bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us>; bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>; sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>; corruption@usdoj.gov <corruption@usdoj.gov>; pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>; hconrad@sjccoc.us <hconrad@sjccoc.us>; dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>; davidmigut@gmail.com <davidmigut@gmail.com>; cyndi.stevenson@myfloridahouse.gov <cyndi.stevenson@myfloridahouse.gov>; paul.renner@myfloridahouse.gov <paul.renner@myfloridahouse.gov>; hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov <hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov>; governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com <governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com>; ashley.moody@myfloridalegal.com <ashley.moody@myfloridalegal.com>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; nicholas.weilhammer@myfloridalegal.com <nicholas.weilhammer@myfloridalegal.com>; shorsteinb@sao7.org <shorsteinb@sao7.org>; shorty.robbins@myfloridahouse.gov <shorty.robbins@myfloridahouse.gov>; larizzar@sao7.org <larizzar@sao7.org>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>; lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>; dbirchim@citystaug.com <dbirchim@citystaug.com>; mbreidenstein@citystaug.com <mbreidenstein@citystaug.com>; msimpson@citystaug.com <msimpson@citystaug.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; jdunn@sjcfl.us <jdunn@sjcfl.us>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Mon, Nov 22, 2021 10:17 am
Subject: Re: Request No 2021-82: Ethics opinions, conflicts of interests, violation of no moonlighting clause?

Good Morning Mr. Slavin,

 

We are not in possession of any of the requested records.

 

Regsards,  (sic)

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Date: Friday, November 19, 2021 at 7:31 PM
To: dburnett@sjlawgroup.com <dburnett@sjlawgroup.com>, Edward R. Wuellner <erw@sgj-airport.com>
Cc: klancke.caroline@leg.state.fl.us <klancke.caroline@leg.state.fl.us>, Suzanne Green <s.green@flynf.org>, Justin Mirgeaux <j.mirgeaux@flynf.org>, Bruce Maguire <b.maguire@flynf.org>, Robert Olson <r.olson@flynf.org>, Reba Ludlow <r.ludlow@flynf.org>, sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com <sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com>, sheltonhull@gmail.com <sheltonhull@gmail.com>, aschindler@firstcoastnews.com <aschindler@firstcoastnews.com>, krys.fluker@news-jrnl.com <krys.fluker@news-jrnl.com>, anderson.chris@leg.state.fl.us <anderson.chris@leg.state.fl.us>, pat.rice@news-jrnl.com <pat.rice@news-jrnl.com>, bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us <bcc1cwhitehurst@sjcfl.us>, bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us <bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us>, bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us <bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us>, bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us <bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us>, bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us <bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us>, bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com <bpatty@stjohnsclerk.com>, sheriff@sjso.org <sheriff@sjso.org>, corruption@usdoj.gov <corruption@usdoj.gov>, pmccormack@sjcfl.us <pmccormack@sjcfl.us>, hconrad@sjccoc.us <hconrad@sjccoc.us>, dmigut@sjcfl.us <dmigut@sjcfl.us>, davidmigut@gmail.com <davidmigut@gmail.com>, cyndi.stevenson@myfloridahouse.gov <cyndi.stevenson@myfloridahouse.gov>, paul.renner@myfloridahouse.gov <paul.renner@myfloridahouse.gov>, hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov <hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov>, governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com <governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com>, ashley.moody@myfloridalegal.com <ashley.moody@myfloridalegal.com>, pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>, nicholas.weilhammer@myfloridalegal.com <nicholas.weilhammer@myfloridalegal.com>, shorsteinb@sao7.org <shorsteinb@sao7.org>, shorty.robbins@myfloridahouse.gov <shorty.robbins@myfloridahouse.gov>, larizzar@sao7.org <larizzar@sao7.org>, tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>, ilopez@citystaug.com <ilopez@citystaug.com>, nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>, rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>, jregan@citystaug.com <jregan@citystaug.com>, jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>, bblonder@citystaug.com <bblonder@citystaug.com>, lfountain@citystaug.com <lfountain@citystaug.com>, dbirchim@citystaug.com <dbirchim@citystaug.com>, mbreidenstein@citystaug.com <mbreidenstein@citystaug.com>, msimpson@citystaug.com <msimpson@citystaug.com>, sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>, jdunn@sjcfl.us <jdunn@sjcfl.us>, waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Subject: Request No 2021-82: Ethics opinions, conflicts of interests, violation of no moonlighting clause?

Dear Messrs. Wuellner and Burnett:
1. Would you please be so kind as to send me any St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority staff and attorney disclosures to our Airport Board, to our Florida Ethics Commission, to FAA or FAA Inspector General -- or any presentations, transcripts, ethics research, opinions, reports, e-mails, letters, videos or other paper or electronic documents -- concerning the Airport Authority attorney, DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT, Esq.,personally  incorporating COMMANDMENT FIVE LLC, a limited liability corporation, for the Airport's Executive Director, EDWARD R. WUELLNER, in apparent violation of paragraph 2 (the Airport's no moonlighting clause) in Mr. Wuellner's enclosed May 20, 2013 contract, listing as the LLC's address Airport property, to wit, 360 North Blvd., St. Augustine, Florida 32095, the home that Executive Director WUELLNER lives in as part of his contract?  

Please see enclosures. 

2. Please send me all documents on  COMMANDMENT FIVE LLC, including but not limited to its responses to civil, criminal or administrative investigations, business plans, accounting records, responses to RFPs, RFQs or otherwise, and correspondence and e-mails between Messrs. DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT and Airport Executive Director EDWARD WULLNER.

3. Please call me to arrange an interview on Monday, November 22, 2021 about the Airport's legal compliance procedures, if any, for preventing, detecting, deterring, reporting and remedying appearances of improprieties and conflicts of interest at our St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority and for protecting persons making protected whistleblower disclosures pursuant to the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21) and Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower laws.

4. Please send me copies of any notices of AIR21 and Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower rights to Airport employees, and airport businesses, contractors and vendors.

5. As James Madison wrote in his August 4, 1822 letter to W.T. Barry, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both.”

6. Conflicts of interest must be scrupulously guarded against. See, e.g., United States v. Mississippi Valley Generating Co., 364 U.S. 520, 548 (1961)("the 'Dixon-Yates' case"), involving U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority and its investor-owned utility rivals and conflicts of interest in a proposed Memphis coal-fired powerplant), citing Matthew 6:24 -- "no [person] can serve two masters," holding that laws and rules preventing conflicts of interest are aimed "not only at dishonor but at conduct that tempts dishonor."  

7. All conflict of interest laws are based upon Matthew 6:24 ("A man cannot serve two masters"), which the unanimous Supreme Court decision by Chief Justice Earl Warren found to be both a "moral principle" and a "maxim which is especially pertinent if one of the masters happens to be economic self-interest."  Id.

Thank you.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Ed Slavin

904-377-4998

www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

www.edslavin.com

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