There’s nothing that bothers me more than when a person is elected to a position of power, but then chooses to abuse that power instead of actually doing something good with it. And that’s the case with Kissimmee, Fla., Mayor Jackie Espinosa, who has reportedly defrauded a large number of people with, of all things, a COVID-19 scheme.
According to this report from ABC News, Espinosa was arrested earlier this week on charges of theft and fraud, with her and family members running some kind of COVID-19 business relief program – under her own administration.
Charges include grand theft, a second-degree felony, as well as an organized scheme to defraud, which is a first-degree felony.
This comes from a case where she reportedly utilized $50,000 in funds through the city’s Business Boost 2.0 program for her own personal use.
“This is the local government equivalent of insider congressional stock trading,” noted Blaise Ingoglia, who serves as Florida’s chief financial officer.
Espinosa has been charged, posting a $70,000 bond and pleading not guilty to the charges.
But the details get more disturbing. According to the report, the money, provided through grant funds in the program, went towards businesses including a dance studio, a diner, and a real estate company, all owned by Espinosa’s family.
“The evidence makes it very clear that there was intent to engage in this conflict of interest that ultimately abused her office to enrich herself,” said Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in a statement. “Mayor Espinosa demonstrated an intent to create, streamline and simplify, reduce oversight of, and more easily enable a process where by herself and immediate family could apply for and receive city funds to which she was not entitled.”
There are two disturbing things to look at here. The first is the abuse of power. If true, Espinosa used her position to line the pockets of herself and her family members, rather than taking care of the very people that elected her into office. That’s the worst level of mistrust I can think of, especially if others were potentially abused while she was taking money from the Business Boost 2.0 program.
And before you go, “Well, it was only $50,000,” hey, theft is theft. That leads us to the second thing. This was a program built within a government under Espinosa’s control, and she abused it. Money that could’ve gone towards businesses that actually need to survive – something that a lot of owners, I think, feel in this market – instead went right into the accounts of Espinosa and her kin.
It just goes to show that if you’re put into a position of leadership, you actually need to lead. Not pretend that you’re leading and hurting the very community you’re sworn to protect.
And the sad part is this isn’t the only example we’ve seen of someone being an awful mayor. A while back, I discussed the situation surrounding Mayor Kaohly Her, the Mayor of St. Paul, Minn. Apparently she abused her power in her own way, making police chief Axel Henry and several of his cadets uncomfortable with sexual candor and blackmail. As a result, Henry is suing Her for damages, though there’s no update to that case just yet.
I just don’t get it. If you’re sworn in as mayor of a city, then you need to be the Mayor of that city. End of story. Don't run something on the side where you take money here and there out of the city’s wallet. But instead, actually practice where you take care of your citizens.
I’ll be paying close attention to Espinosa’s case, but with so much proof built up against her, I don’t think she’ll be getting away. I can’t imagine what kind of excuse she has for bilking money out of a government account for her own use and her family’s.
But I hope this serves as an example for other leaders out there. Conflict of interest is never a good thing. Especially when it eventually becomes a conflict of duty. Do your job, and do it right. Because I assure you, if you slack off, steal, or treat people like garbage, you will be found out.