Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel May 5, 2005
Soliciting jobs for his kids poses conflict, officials say.
By SUSANNAH BRYAN
STAFF WRITER
DEERFIELD BEACH • Long before his troubles began at City Hall, suspended City Manager Larry Deetjen sent out letters to local companies inquiring about possible jobs for two of his three children.
One letter went to mega-developer Terry Stiles requesting a job interview for his son. Another went to Deerfield Beach-based JM Family Enterprises asking about a job for his youngest daughter. The letters, faxed on city letterhead and signed Larry R. Deetjen, city manager, were typed by a secretary at City Hall.
Vice Mayor Steve Gonot discovered the letters when he requested Deetjen's correspondence after he was suspended on April 19 amid accusations of insubordination. Culled from Deetjen's City Hall computer, the letters were made available to the entire commission.
Deetjen would not comment, and City Attorney Andy Maurodis says he did nothing wrong. But Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, questioned whether Deetjen had abused his position as a public official in writing the letters on official city letterhead.
"The first problem is having his secretary do his private business with the taxpayers footing the bill," Jarvis said. "The second issue is sending out the letter on city letterhead. When he puts it on city letterhead there's an implied promise/threat. You hire my son and we'll look favorably on any business we can throw your way. Whether they hired [his son] is irrelevant. The problem is not with Stiles. The problem is with the city manager, who doesn't understand basic ethics."
Deetjen, city manager since 1994, plans to fight for his job at a public hearing on May 17. It will take at least four votes of the five-member commission to fire him. Under the terms of his contract, he will receive an 18-month severance package worth more than $350,000 if terminated.
In a letter to Stiles dated Oct. 9, 2003, Deetjen made a pitch for his son Chad, now 25. "My understanding is that the Stiles Corporation likes University of Florida graduates and I've got a great one to recommend," Deetjen wrote. "I am somewhat biased so I hope you will not hold that against me, but my son Chad Deetjen is a recent graduate of the University of Florida and is pretty high on my list of available talent for Florida corporations."
Deetjen's son, now in law school, never got an interview with Stiles because there were no appropriate openings at the time, said Nancy Brusher, vice president of marketing at Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles Corp., the largest commercial developer in South Florida.
Jill Deetjen, now 22, got a job at JM Family Enterprises, working as a college intern in May 2002, said company spokesperson Marc Spoto.
In an April 17, 2002, letter to JM, Deetjen wrote: "I am pretty biased but I believe Jill will be an asset to any organization."
JM is one of the city's biggest employers. City commissioners recently hired Stiles to build and $8 million fire station near Interstate 95.
Some commissioners said the letters gave the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Gonot, who is leading the charge for Deetjen's dismissal, noted Stiles was hired less than a year after Deetjen sent the letter inquiring about a job for his son. "I think it's troubling," Gonot said of Deetjen's letters. "You should not put yourself in a place where there is a perception of a conflict of interest."
Jon Rosenthal, Deetjen's attorney, said Deetjen did nothing wrong. Commissioners, not Deetjen, chose Stiles to build the fire station, Rosenthal said.
State law prohibits public officers and employees from "corruptly using or attempting to use their official positions to obtain a special privilege for themselves or others."
The ethics code of a global city managers association, of which Deetjen is a member, advises officials to clearly draw the line between their public duties and personal lives.
"Our members agree to subscribe to a code of ethics," said Martha Perego, ethics advisor for the International City/County Management Association in Washington, D.C. "We advise them, do your personal correspondence from you home using your own personal resources."
Commissioner Pam Militello objected to the letters. "My gut tells me that's not good for the city manager to be doing."
Mayor Al Capellini and Commissioners Sylvia Poitier an Marty Popelsky said they had no objections to the letters.
"What parent wouldn't help their child?" Poitier said.
"Maybe he didn't have any other stationery," Popelsky said.
Mid-Trial Offer of Probation for Client
