Ex-county employee found guilty of misusing position

Rowan Hughes to get a letter of reprimand in repair shop incident.

WEST PALM BEACH — A former analyst for Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management was found guilty Monday of misusing his position when he sought a discount for repairs on his Dodge truck through intimidation at a Riviera Beach repair shop.

The five-member Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics unanimously ruled that Rowan Hughes intentionally misused his position in June 2015 when he falsely identified himself as a well field inspector and said he might have to conduct an inspection.

The case was the first full hearing of an ethics complaint since the commission was formed in 2009.

The commission voted to issue a letter of reprimand for Hughes, but decided against fining him $500, saying they “didn’t want to rub salt in his wounds.” Hughes was fired on Dec. 21, 2015, after evidence that Hughes falsified logs for county car use and later admitted driving to the repair shop in a county vehicle, ERM director Rob Robbins testified Thursday.

Hughes was found not guilty of another allegation, “corrupt misuse” of his position, which commissioners said required a higher threshold for a guilty finding.

Before reaching their decision, each commissioner weighed in on the testimony they heard from five witnesses about events that began when Hughes took his dilapidated 1999 Dodge Ram to Ron Cheston’s Automotive in Riviera Beach on June 12, 2015.

Commissioner Sarah Shullman, who presided over the hearing held Thursday and Monday, said she didn’t find Hughes’ testimony to be credible and that his story changed.

However, t he t e s t i mony o f Ron Che s t o n S r. a nd hi s s o n Ron Cheston Jr., as well as that of ERM’s Robbins and deput y director Dan Bates was consistent, Shullman said.

Several commissioners said there was miscommunication between the Chestons and Hughes, but that something happened between them at the shop to drive the Chestons to take the time to report the incident for no reason other than “public service.”

Commissioner Michael Loffredo said the biggest problem he had with Hughes’ testimony was his assertion that a number of conversations surrounding the incident never happened, when it had been proven through sworn statements from other people that they did.

The Chestons contacted the Palm Beach Count y Office of Inspector General’s office June 23 to report the troubling encounter with Hughes, saying they felt he was threatening retaliatory action if his truck’s repairs were not discounted. The Ethics Commission cited Hughes after a November 2015 OIG report.

Hughes stopped payment of the bill on his credit card three weeks after the Chestons filed the complaint, but MasterCard rein- stated the charges after conferring with the Chestons.

Commission Chairman Michael Kridel said: “The motivation for the Chestons was distaste, disappointment, nothing to protect them, but rather they were considering their expectation of public service. The motivation for filing a contest of a credit card is to not pay the bill.”

Monday, Ron Cheston Jr., the firm’s lead mechanic, testified t hat a f t e r Hughes’ t r uck was towed to the shop, he discussed the repairs with Hughes. After the repairs were completed, he showed Hughes the new parts that had been installed.

Hughes looked at the shop’s oil containment systems, and then said he wondered what wellfield the shop might be in. Hughes then said he was “head of EPA for Palm Beach County,” and pulled out a business card bearing the county emblem, Cheston Jr. said.

Cheston Jr. said, “I thought it was kind of odd that Mr. Hughes brought up the wellfields. My father explained to me what his ultimate intent was of using his position to get a discount.”

Ron Cheston Sr. testified Thursday that Hughes asked him to lower the $3,622 bill by $400.

Hughes testified Monday that he told the Chestons he worked in the same office as the guys who do fuel station and wellfield inspections, and he didn’t intend to intimidate anyone.

Hughes also testified that conversations about a discount never happened.