Life and Island Times August 5 2016 – Loose Ends Unraveling

Marlow and W were trekking their way north in two cars towards the Hostess City when certain loose ends in Key West began to unravel. Emails, texts and voice mails described a situation so unbelievably bold and slimy that he almost drove off I95.

He had done his level best to secure these loose ends before they departed. He had filed charges with the local State Attorney Office in early July.

The suspects were initially interviewed by the SAO investigators at the Post to put them at ease. Their faces betrayed a queasiness that was delicious to behold. Employees were next. Then witnesses to the actual thieving.

Concurrently security camera installation in the Post began in mid-June. Those in the lounge area were installed and activated mid-July. What resulted: lounge receipts went up significantly while the cameras were operating and had a clear view.

Marlow had long reported both orally and in writing shrinkage in lounge operations to the Post’s Executive Committee. Several weeks after the lounge cameras were in operation, Post Officers assisted by certain employee(s) began obscuring the lounge cameras’ view. Lounge receipts accordingly went down. No surprise there.

All these people were now exceedingly wary of Marlow.

He had tried to earn their respect by advocating and securing raises and bonuses for the employees and specific charity bequests of Post officers. He never gained it, thus proving once again Machiavelli’s dictum: “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.”

Respect like love is internally based. It’s a feeling one chooses to feel towards another. It can be turned on and off easily. It is fickle. It waxes and wanes.

Fear is predictable and largely externally based. Unlike love and respect, fear does not wear off if one’s character remains the same. It keeps in their minds that if they do wrong, you’ll be a source of hell and misery.

With a SAO case number in hand, the insurance company notified Marlow that they were about to cut and send a check for the American Legion Post’s missing $50,000, less the $2500 deductible.

On the day of departure, Marlow wrote and mailed off checks totaling $100,000 to local charities, bringing the amount donated since September 2015 to $225,000.

On August 1 2016, the American Legion’s Florida Department’s 3rd Vice Commander, Rich Johnson, paid a surprise visit to the Post, ostensibly for a normal Post visit and checkup. What it became was something entirely different. In a word, it was an attempt to intimidate the current Commander Dan Dedeo into resigning. At the end of the third day, Johnson demanded Dan’s resignation. Dan refused much to their surprise.

Johnson then suspended Dan and demanded the keys to ATM, Pulltab machines and office (where the checkbooks and drop safe with cash resided) be given to Gary Decker – one of two prime suspects in the missing gaming machine monies.

Via the Post’s Second Vice Commander Dan provided the above keys to Johnson. They are likely now in the hands of thieves.

Johnson and his superiors at Department cannot claim ignorance of Decker’s involvement with the missing monies, the SAO investigation and a potential future trial, since they were in receipt of numerous written reports in March 2015 on the missing monies issue.

Fear and loathing may be about to move northward as the scope of SAO’s current investigation may broaden to include the Department officials in Orlando. The Department refused to assist the Post when it initially began finding evidence of embezzlement and reported same to the Department.

The Department may now have become, if not all along been, complicit in this matter. At first wishing it go away, now hoping to punish the white hatted Dan who fixed the issues and cast a ark light on one of a Department Executive Committee member Gary Decker.

Marlow is not making any of this up.

Copyright © 2016 From My Isle Seat