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Pinellas Employees Demoted For Roles In Land Flap

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By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 19, 2007

CLEARWATER - Two employees of the Pinellas County public works department involved in a grand jury investigation into a controversial land deal were demoted Friday.

John Holt and John Amaro will be reassigned to other departments, said interim County Administrator Fred Marquis. Holt and Amaro are accused of misrepresenting the extent of the work the county performed on Property Appraiser Jim Smith's private land north of Pinellas, Marquis said.

Holt and Amaro did not give a complete report about the county's work on Smith's land to public works Director Jan Herbst, who was interviewed by a grand jury in August, Marquis said.

Because Herbst felt she was not fully briefed, she "didn't feel comfortable she could trust" Holt and Amaro, Marquis said.

The actions of Holt, a former division engineer, and Amaro, a former drainage maintenance manager, were "not strong enough to warrant termination," Marquis said. Both men had good records prior to the incident with Herbst, Marquis said.

Smith's attorney sent Pinellas officials a letter in May that accused county workers of ruining Smith's property by cutting down trees and clearing debris after the 2004 hurricanes.

The county purchased Smith's vacant land in August for $225,000, four months after Smith's attorney contended that workers ruined the property. The site was valued at $59,000. The transaction raised questions about whether Smith received favorable treatment.

The grand jury did not issue indictments.

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