A circuit court judge said Friday he will not stop prosecutors from obtaining electronic communications from the work computers and cell phones of Schools Superintendent Randy Acevedo and his wife, former Adult Education Coordinator Mo- nique Acevedo, because that evi-dence already had been turned over to the Monroe County State Attorney's Office.

Monique Acevedo is charged with theft and fraud in connection with the alleged theft of $180,000 in Adult Education tuition and related course fees. Randy Acevedo is charged with official misconduct in connection with an allegedly falsified document he submitted to finance officials justifying his wife's purchase of a satellite radio subscription with district funds.

Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones said the defense's motion to block release of electronic communications was moot, but instructed prosecutors not to release the material to the press before its admissibility is determined.

Assistant State Attorney Mark Wilson told the judge that about 10,000 e-mails are among the material he wants to investigate; perhaps "7,000 are from Mr. to Mrs. Acevedo and the reverse."

Randy Acevedo's attorney, Catherine Vogel, argued unsuccessfully that the e-mails involve communication between a married couple, and that the two cannot be compelled to testify against each other.

The Acevedos' attorneys also asked Jones to order prosecutors to comply with Florida Bar rules governing professional conduct.

Those rules prohibit attorneys from making public comments intended to damage the other side's case.

Vogel and Public Defender Patricia A. Docherty, who represents Monique Acevedo, cited comments in which Wilson called Monique Acevedo a "fugitive from justice" after she failed to turn herself in to investigators at a time her then-attorney, Nathan Eden, had agreed to bring her in.

Docherty also criticized Wilson for a photograph in The Citizen that showed Monique Acevedo being handcuffed before entering the Monroe County Detention Center, alleging that it was staged for the press.

"The press was there, waiting," Docherty said.

She also cited comments by Wilson and State Attorney Dennis Ward that she believes suggested the couple were guilty of the crimes for which they were charged.

Vogel cited one such comment from a news story describing credit card purchases by Monique Acevedo that match amounts listed on her husband's re-election campaign expense reports.

Wilson told The Citizen at the time that it would be "the mother of all coincidences" if the matching expenditures weren't the same purchases recorded in two places.

Wilson, who denied that his past comments to the press were out of bounds, told Jones he did not object to the motion, and said he would continue to follow Florida Bar guidelines governing statements to the press. Thus, the motion was granted without objection.

Responding to a third motion, Wilson also provided Vogel with details supporting the state's charge against Randy Acevedo.

Vogel had filed a motion to compel Wilson to provide the information, but Wilson willingly handed over supporting documentation without challenging the motion.

The charges against Randy Acevedo are based on a letter on Monroe Association of ReMARCable Citizens letterhead that says an XM Satellite Radio subscription was purchased by Monique Acevedo so MARC House residents would remain calm during trips between Key West and Marathon.

MARC is a nonprofit organization that teaches life skills to developmentally challenged children and adults.

MARC Executive Director Diane Flenard told investigators in April that no one from the agency had written the letter.

Wilson alleges that Randy Acevedo gave the falsified letter to Finance Director Kathy Reitzel to justify the subscription purchased on his wife's school credit card, thus obstructing the investigation.

jguerra@keysnews.com