Florida Keys News
Friday, August 21, 2009
Acevedo to stand trial Monday
BY JOHN L. GUERRA Citizen Staff

Monroe County's suspended schools superintendent will stand trial Monday -- coincidentally the first day of school -- on three third-degree felony charges of official misconduct, court officials agreed Thursday.

Randy Acevedo's attorney, Catherine Vogel, said she is ready to go, despite having two of the three charges filed on Aug. 12, an addendum to a June 10 grand jury in...

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Citizen

Submitted on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 7:15am by 50 year resident of Marathon and voter
I thought for sure we'd see something from the Citizen about Acevedo's day in court. What happened?

trial day 1

Submitted on Mon, 08/24/2009 - 7:49pm by 4:25am by N. Sane
Why no pics of the defendant entering the courthouse? We can't all be there in person like the "breakfast club." Could some of you post something? Please...with guava jelly on top?

Get a life.

Submitted on Sat, 08/22/2009 - 1:05am
I'm what u people call a bubba, born and raised in this town. And if you don't think for one minute that we want justice in this trial, sorry to say but go back to where ever you came from. Don't forget our kids are in this school system as well as yours. So do us all a favor and get a life and leave the " Bubba's " out of this.

Ahhh! Typical. You people don't have the courage to post

Submitted on Sat, 08/22/2009 - 12:29pm by *.*
when an article is live and hot. You wait a few days.

So you admit to being a crook, huh? You wait a few days then do your whiney, Pro-criminal posts. You must not be one of the smarter Bubbas to publicly admit that you're a crook. It's one thing if you're a Conch but to admit that you're a Bubba? Man you must be dumber than a big ole coral rock.

Now I'm waiting for the inevitable bully comments. Wait for it.....

I am convinced the internet

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 5:35pm
is going to bring down every low life in this town. Including Judges and elected/appointed leaders who do not start acting responsible. The governor appointing an outside person to run the county school system is a perfect example of this. EVERYONE is watching, there is no hiding anymore. You can feel the change coming.

Don't hold your breath

Submitted on Sat, 08/22/2009 - 7:54am
the locals are going to chew up and spit this guy out. We will soon have another professional doubting why they ever came to this county to work.

This Should Be Entertaining...

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 11:59am by Igotmine
Will Monique be called to the witness stand? Will anyone cited in the financial report be called to the witness stand? Who's going to be selected as a jury? Is there going to be a Court version of this streaming on the internet so we can all watch the drama unfold?

trial by judge

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 9:13pm
doesnt have to be a jury

Bubba System

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 11:29am
If this quick Bubba trial finds him inocent, as I smeel a Rat in the wood pile, they need to get the rest of the Bubba's to answer for their aldeged crimes, Hooper, and the Habitat house he claims the kids built and that they did not build next.

Re: I smeel a Rat

Submitted on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:52pm
Whats a smeel ?

Good timing. First day of

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 11:26am
Good timing. First day of school. Who picked that one? When is jusry selection done because i just got called in.

I hope Vogel is being smart

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 9:27am
I hope Vogel is being smart about this representation -- these people are not above turning around and suing her for malpractice if they don't have a victory in the trial.

Lets see

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 8:40am
Rush to trial, expecting 3-days to choose a jury, no request for a venue change by the prosecutor, sounds like the bubba system is circling their wagons to protect one of their own. How disgusting.

Catherine Vogel wants to be the Key's version of Johnny Cochran

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 8:40am by KP
For the trial of the Century I can hear Ms. Vogel practicing her version of "if the gloves don't fit, you must acquit." I think it goes like this, "Randy was lied to by Mo, you must let him go. Randy was lied to by Mo, you must let him go!" OK OJ, I mean Randy, sure you're innocent. Let's pray the jury is smarter than OJ's

Now he is being compared to

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 12:08pm
Now he is being compared to OJ? Just listen to yourselves maybe you will see how ridiculous you sound. Yes Monique stole money, yes alot of people did half-assed jobs and missed it but to compare this incident to OJ is ridiculous.

In Key West He Will Walk

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 10:05am
You can pray the jury is smarter than OJ, but Randy is still popular with old Key Westers. Bubbas protect their own. Remember the Bubba Bust of 80's? The police chief busted for drug trafficing is now alive and well, running his own security company in Key West, employed by one of Key West's wealthiest families--and didn't we read in the Citizen Randy went to work for him? Hello!!! Randy will walk if there is a trial in Key West. Especially if the Judge limits testimony to only those items discussed by Reitzel and Acevedo in February. Those items are not the tip of the iceburg--they are two hairs on the tail of a very furry dog! The big picture includes years and years of thieving --not just a couple instances that can be debated convincingly by a smart lawyer like Vogel before a jury of Bubbas. Only chance for fairness is a change of venue.

I hope he gets Burned

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 8:05am by buba
I hope after the jury finds him guilty, which is going to happen, Mark Jones does the right thing and throws him in jail for the maximim amount of time. This theft has affected allot of people in this town, kids, teachers, employees of the school board, conchs in general and even the way people look at government in key west.

The Answer is Challenge Day

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 7:03am by Not a bozo
Instead of having a trial why not have all the lawyers, defendants, witnesses and jurors be herded into a Challenge Day. Look at all the good Challenge Day has done so far in the Keys, teen muggings are on the rise. Besides maybe that couple from California might need another $10,000 which is what they get each time they come. The other benefit is that anything spoken during a Challenge Day is supposed to be kept quiet. Then when the day is over they all hug each other and everything can go back to the way it was.

Challenge Day is a joke

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 2:30pm
This is Sunny Booker pushing touchy feely BS. How about spending the money on sports teams or afterschool programs instead of the heart pouring stupidity that has done nothing to help this community. This is another way for money to be pushed around without any consequences. Schools are cutting after school programs and this will continue to waste money.

Is Sunny certified to teach?

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 4:38pm
Well is she?

this is Sunny Booker's certification on record at FLDOE

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 6:30pm
Booker, Sunny Antoinette 836870 Monroe School Principal, (all Levels) Professional 7/1/2008 - 6/30/2013

She only has that one?

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 8:33pm
She had to be a teacher before she became an administrator with that certification? I wonder why she took off her academic certifications? She must fear that should would be sent back to the classroom. Why does this person make nearly 100,000 a year?

You'll love this

Submitted on Sat, 08/22/2009 - 9:39am
My recollection is that she was a drama teacher. Big surprsie, eh?

Why does Challenge Day scare

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 12:34pm
Why does Challenge Day scare you so much? Are you afraid of what your children might reveal about you?

This is bull. Do you think

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 9:24pm
This is bull. Do you think it is appropriate or safe for anyone to publicly reveal deeply personal issues/problems to their peer group? Do you honestly expect all social problems that exist in schools -- bullying, teasing, kids going for the jugular, segregation of children by socioeconomics/family background, tracking of kids based on performance as well as on perceptions of that child's family....etc., etc., to be suspended and even eradicated because kids go to some dumb conference for a day???? Okay, so I'm a kid and I reveal deeply troublesome things -- abuse, parental problems, etc., in front of my peers and people from the school district. You really think that information isn't going to somehow get used against me??? If not by my own peers talking about me and teasing me to my face, what about by teachers judging my family, and other parents deciding I'm too trashy for their kids to hang out with? Kids need to be treated with dignity and respect. They need to be taught to discuss their problems in socially appropriate settings -- to adults who can respect their confidentiality and actually take steps to protect them (i.e., a police officer, a guidance counselor, a trusted teacher or neighbor). If Sunny had a problem in her life, don't you think this is how she would handle that problem? Would she actually stand up in front of her peers and "challenge" herself by divulging something deeply intimate and personal? People need to stop treating kids like social experiments and give them the basic dignity we give ourselves. Children are not characters in after school specials. And for all these hypocrites in the challenge day program, how dare you emotionally manipulate and entice children, in a fabricated social setting that only lasts 8 hours (at most) to stand up and share such upsetting things. This is not any different from a cult. You are voyeurs and you collect these stories so that you can pat yourselves on the back and pretend you saved these children.

Challenge Days???

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 12:08pm
They didn't prevent teen muggings in Key West, nor the filmed sex party in the Upper Keys. It's a "keep a job" program for Sunny Booker.

What the Shell is a Challenge day?

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 6:03pm
I've lived here for over ten years and have no children, so I am apt to believe it has something to do with a school program? Why would a school program have anything that would challenge the most challenged already?

Challenge Day is an all-day

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 10:18pm
Challenge Day is an all-day event to "challenge" students to change, to become more tolerant and understanding of others, to try and eliminate hatred and make the kids try to understand their own feelings and behavior. It involves bringing together adult volunteers from the community and students from the school. Usually, the kids are predominantly 9th grade students and students deemed in need of help and support. The morning starts with a registration and a snack and a drink. Everyone then gathers in a large circle while music is played and the facilitators try to get everyone "in the mood". They get to play with a large beach ball, meet and greet each other and play a hugging game along with a few other games. (The facilitators believe everyone should be hugged at least ten times a day.) Generally, the morning is to make everyone feel at ease and help break down the barriers that some of the students have. They also work on trying to get everyone to work on understanding the feelings of the others in the group and the school and understanding that they are not the only ones with problems. After lunch they break into smaller groups, and each group with an adult volunteer. After a little session within the groups, it usually goes back to games and music all with the idea of trying to get the kids to be more tolerant and understanding of others and care about the feelings of others. At the end of the day the adults meet with the facilitators to discuss some of the events of the day and fill out paperwork. Paperwork is also filled out for recommendations for follow-up counseling or visitation with the students deemed in need of it. Overall, not a bad idea, just a little too much huggy-feely for some. To some, it seems like they are trying to convert these kids into the "flower childen of a new millenium"; all peace, love and happiness. Contact the school board to be an adult facilitator and check it out for yourself this year. It's definitely a trip, one way or another!

Key west needs a good house cleaning

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 4:47pm
Its time you do the crime you do the time it plain and simple

How can you be so critical of challenge day

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 12:07pm
when it was brought here by our angel Sunny Booker the protector of our schools! I can't believe they took her blackberry from her! She single handidly protects us from bad children, hurricanes, terrorist attacks, sunami's, fire, drugs, Godzilla , Obama's health care scham... I could go on for ever! She is our angel and for less than a hundred grand.

Swine Flu

Submitted on Fri, 08/21/2009 - 8:35pm
Dont forget about the swine flu!
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