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Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)
April 7, 2009
3 Bunnell employees fired after complaints
4th worker resigns amid allegations of misconduct
Author: HEATHER SCOFIELD - STAFF WRITER
BUNNELL - Internal investigations concluded in the last two months have resulted in the firing
of three city employees, including the public works director, and the resignation of another.
Eric Crandall, Bunnell's public works director, was fired March 27 after an internal investigation
found he yelled, used profanities and created a hostile work environment. One of his employees
also was fired that day for lying to investigators, documents show.
Earlier in March, another city employee was fired following an internal investigation into the
theft of a car battery.
And in February, an employee resigned amid allegations of misconduct and filing a false police
report.
"You don't plan these things, they just happen. Coincidentally there were a few (investigations)
back-to-back this time," said City Manager Armando Martinez, regarding the quantity of
investigations in the past few months.
Martinez said the city's Police Department typically handles internal investigations but he can
and will bring in other agencies, if warranted, to ensure a fair and unbiased investigation.
Discipline is left up to the city manager after the investigation is completed, Martinez said.
The eight-day investigation that led to Crandall's firing began with a March 19 incident
witnessed by two information technology employees from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office employees said were working on some nearby computers when they
overheard Crandall yelling and swearing at a female employee who started crying.
The woman, Ines Alonso, confirmed the incident, adding that Crandall has yelled at her and
others in the past, documents show. Alonso also told investigators that some employees are so
afraid of Crandall they installed a mirror in the break room so they could see him coming and
escape.
According to the report, an investigator also found a sticker on a bulletin board in Crandall's
office that read: "The beatings will continue until morale improves."
Crandall denied the claims against him and one of his employees, Sheila Bevacqua, backed up
his account. But the "preponderance of evidence" to the contrary led the investigator to conclude
that both Bevacqua and Crandall had lied, documents state.
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