Kissimmee mayor, commissioner face investigation after ethics complaints

Ethic complaints made against Kissimmee Mayor and Commissioner

FOX 35’s Chancelor Winn reports from a Kissimmee City Council meeting following ethics complaints filed against the Kissimmee mayor and a city commissioner.

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - Tensions flared at Kissimmee City Hall as commissioners moved forward with a formal request for an independent investigation into Mayor Jackie Espinosa and Commissioner Janette Martinez.

The vote officially authorizes a formal request to the Ninth Circuit’s Chief Judge to appoint an independent special prosecutor to lead the investigation.

Ethics complaint against Mayor Espinosa

The primary complaint, a 109-page document, alleges Espinosa spearheaded a federal grant program known as BOOST 2.0 and then three businesses she’s connected to received $50,000 in grants.

According to the filing:

• Three businesses owned by Espinosa and her husband allegedly received a combined $50,000 in taxpayer-funded grants.
• The complaint alleges the mayor spearheaded the sudden firing of former City Attorney Olga Sanchez de Fuentes on February 3. The filing claims this was a retaliatory move after the attorney warned the mayor that accepting the grant money constituted a "prohibited conflict of interest."
• The document also accuses Espinosa of using her position to silence citizens during public comment portions of meetings when they attempted to raise questions about the grant money.

Espinosa defended her actions during Tuesday's meeting, calling the allegations a political witch hunt.

"I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to clear up all the misnomers and all the false allegations that have been stated by several people that have absolute political gain," Espinosa said.

Ethics complaint against Commissioner Martinez

Just 48 hours after the initial filing against the Mayor, a second complaint surfaced against Commissioner Janette Martinez.

The complaint alleges Martinez misused her power to benefit a "best friend" and business associate. The filing claims Martinez "threatened" city staff to push through a permit for a food truck at a location where Martinez’s own food truck business, Coqui Kitchen, also operates.

Commissioner Martinez stated she welcomed the scrutiny to ensure public trust is maintained.

"I hope that the consequences for whoever is breaking the rules is impeached and removed from office," Martinez said. "Public office is a trust and if you can’t trust and protect our citizens, you don’t deserve this seat."

What's next:

If a judge appoints a special prosecutor, the prosecutor will have 30 to 60 days to investigate.

The final report will lead to one of two outcomes: formal articles of impeachment or a decision to drop the charges entirely.