Victor Ortino

Kevin Rambosk

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• Read a letter from Chris Jordan, the president of Collier Deputies Lodge 14 with the Florida Fraternal Order of Police, endorsing Collier County Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Kevin Rambosk for sheriff.

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One of three candidates in the mix for Collier County sheriff is calling the recent endorsement of a rival by a local lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police unfair.

Private investigator Victor Ortino says leaders of the lodge declined his request to speak to their group and then moved the endorsement vote up three weeks because of his request.

But the leaders of Collier Deputies Lodge 14 say they needed to move up the date of the vote because Ortino was meddling in the lodge’s private business, and they believed he would continue to do so until the endorsement was made.

On Feb. 22, the lodge announced its endorsement of current Undersheriff Kevin Rambosk for sheriff.

The endorsement came about five months after the state FOP, the largest union for law enforcement officers in Florida, announced it was backing Ortino.

Lodge leaders now say that the state FOP’s endorsement of Ortino was premature and came about because of a secret, unilateral recommendation by former lodge president Chuck Smith, who was voted out of the post in November.

According to a Feb. 16 e-mail obtained by the Daily News from FOP President Chris Jordan to lodge members, they had until a 9 a.m. meeting on March 13 to either e-mail their choice for the endorsement to Jordan, or to cast an anonymous ballot in person at the meeting.

Instead, the date was changed, members notified, and votes were tallied around 3 p.m. on Feb. 22, Jordan said. The endorsement was released an hour later.

The date change came following e-mail correspondence between Ortino and Jordan on Feb. 18.

On that date, Ortino sent an e-mail to Jordan’s personal account requesting to speak to the lodge before the vote. More than 20 other people were copied on the e-mail.

“Now that you are President of this lodge, I would like an opportunity to speak with your group, prior to the lodge endorsing a sheriff candidate,” Ortino wrote in the e-mail. “It would be very hypocritical of you to endorse someone prior to giving them (an) opportunity to speak, words that came directly from you.”

In his response that afternoon, Jordan wrote, “before I do anything I must know where you obtained our members’ e-mail addresses. Failure to answer will be addressed.”

Ortino replied to Jordan, saying his response was “less than cordial, and gives the appearance of abuse of authority.”

He wrote that Jordan is not the only person who knows the lodge members. Ortino wrote that many of his friends and acquaintances know the members, and expressed to him that the lodge membership should be addressed.

“His response was very nasty, almost a threatening response, which I took offense to,” Jordan said.

Instead of allowing Ortino to speak, lodge leaders chose to move up the date of the vote.

In a letter to Jordan on Feb. 19, lodge secretary Jake Walker wrote that Ortino’s chastising of Jordan and calling him hypocritical “is an example of him trying to force his personal political will on the membership of the F.O.P.”

“Due to the unexpected intrusion into our Lodge’s private business and the likelihood that the inappropriate disclosure of private Lodge 14 business will continue between now and our endorsement decision, I request that you seek the approval of the other Lodge 14 officers to have the vote for sheriff’s endorsement moved up to this Friday, February 22, 2008,” Walker wrote.

“I am willing to staff a balloting site for a prolonged period of time if necessary to give our membership a convenient opportunity to formally express their choice.”

The decision to move the date was unanimously approved by the lodge’s executive board, Walker said.

Jordan said he phoned those members he couldn’t reach by e-mail.

When the votes were tallied, Rambosk received 32 votes to Ortino’s one, Walker said.

“We believe it is simply the democratic process,” Jordan said. “Each member gets a vote. The members spoke for themselves.”

Ortino disagreed, and called the vote unfair.

“It would be like me calling you up and telling you to vote for president tomorrow morning,” Ortino said. “What is the rush? What is the priority with regards to taking a vote when you have a willing candidate that wants to talk to your group?”

Ortino provided copies of e-mails he said came from lodge members, who wrote to Jordan expressing their disapproval of the date change.

“Your objection is duly noted,” Jordan wrote in response to one of the writers at 7:28 am. on Feb. 22, more than seven hours before he said the votes were tallied. “If you need any info on the candidates, attend a forum and find out who has 20+ years as a police officer ... starting from the bottom and working his way up ... his support for the FOP in the past.

“Now look at the other candidate ...1 1/2 years as a cop ... no management of officers ... kinda like the current sheriff ... he has NO IDEA how it is at the bottom of the barrel so to speak.”

Jordan said there are a few “members of the old regime” who have been in cahoots with Ortino and objected to the date change.

“It just so happens that two of the three were voted out of office at the last election,” Jordan said. “Now they’re trying to make waves.”

In a letter to the state FOP asking that it rescind its endorsement of Ortino, Walker wrote that a candidate forum was unnecessary because lodge members are “law enforcement professionals who are very well educated on the issues ... and the candidates seeking the Office of Sheriff.”

He also accused Ortino of being the hypocrite, because his endorsement by the state FOP didn’t involve a candidate forum.

Ortino said that at the time of the state FOP’s endorsement, he was the only announced candidate, and it was assumed at the time that he would be running against the incumbent, Don Hunter. Hunter decided not to run for re-election, and is backing Rambosk.

“If there were other candidates, I would only imagine they would want to interview all the candidates involved,” Ortino said. “The only reason those other candidates jumped in the race is because Hunter announced his retirement.”

Vinny Angiolillo, the owner of Class Act Limousine in North Naples, also is an announced candidate.

James W. Preston, president of the state FOP, reiterated that he has no intention of rescinding his organization’s endorsement.

“We still think Victor is the better candidate in that race,” Preston said. “We still support him.”