There’s the wrong way, and there’s the RICE WAY

By Adam Jofi

It was another beautiful morning in sunny Pinellas County when Everett Rice, or should I say former Sheriff Rice, nah, let’s stick to Everett, walked into our office to sit down and talk to a couple of staffers at Pinellas Scene.

He was sipping from a can of Diet Coke and had a relaxing demeanor. He said he had given up coffee as part of the requirements of the Adkins Diet he was once on, a diet that Rice said he completely failed at, although he did lose over 30 pounds. That’s not called failing, Everett.

First of all, I didn’t know coffee was fattening, and second, I did not see a man that appeared to need to lose weight. To me, the former four-term sheriff of Pinellas County looked to be in damn good shape and in great health.

To my colleague, Everett Rice was just another person walking into our office. But as a former deputy sheriff myself, I know the power that comes with the office of sheriff in any county, let alone a monster of a county the size of Pinellas.

In front of me was the big dog, the man who, for four terms, made sure we all slept safe and sound. For 15 of his 16 years as sheriff, Rice was responsible for decreasing the crime rate in Pinellas County. Not an easy feat, but it is for that reason, and many more, that Everett Rice’s phone is now ringing off the hook, asking the former sheriff to please return to work at the sheriff’s office.

"He [former Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats] was planning on running again and quitting halfway through, then having the governor appoint his chief deputy as his successor, disenfranchising the voters on who the next sheriff is," Rice explained as his reason to run for sheriff again. "Many people were aggravated, including myself, and were not happy about disenfranchising voters. I was totally inundated with phone calls from people wanting me to come back. When I left there, I had no plans on going back. But a lot of people were not happy about what was going on and asked me to come back, so I’m coming back."

Rice started his career at the age of 23 as a Pinellas County deputy sheriff. Over the span of 18 years, he was promoted and served in every rank up through chief of detectives. Because Rice believes so strongly in moving up through the ranks, it is for that reason he has a problem with Pinellas County’s current sheriff, Bob Gualtieri, who was a deputy sheriff before leaving to attend law school and then returning to the sheriff’s office as general council. He was then appointed chief deputy, or under sheriff, by former Sheriff Coats.

"This guy has never had a single promotion the whole time he was there, and I think his lack of leadership is the reason we have had all these reports of scandals at the sheriff’s office," Rice said.

In addition to merging six municipal police departments into the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Rice wrote the "Stop Turning Out Prisoners Act," which requires prisoners to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. Rice was also instrumental in co-writing the Jessica Lunsford Act, creating one of the nation’s toughest penalties for sexual predators.

"This county needs Rice," said one retired deputy, who wished to remain anonymous, while positioning a campaign sign for Rice on Ulmerton Road in Largo with another man who is a current Pinellas County deputy.

"The Times has said that I have jumped on him [Sheriff Gualtieri] and criticized him about the scandals in the sheriff’s office, but I have stood on the sidelines. But if someone asks my opinion, I’m going to give it to them," said Rice.

If elected, which seems likely, as polls show Rice ahead of the incumbent by a margin of 3-to-1, Rice plans to look into why the current morale at the sheriff’s office is so bad and fix it. For starters, they have not had a raise in several years.

"I’m not saying I’m going to go in there and give them a raise, but I’m going to look into it," said Rice, which may be easier said than done, with the current budget for sheriff’s office decreasing every year. When Rice was previously in office, the annual budget was over $220 million, over $20 million a year more than the current budget.

Rice confessed to a dislike of his daily drive to Tampa, where he has been working as a criminal attorney for the past four years with Barry Cohen. We joked with Rice that his reason for running for sheriff is to have a shorter commute to work from his Treasure Island home.

Regardless of who wins the campaign, who remains or becomes sheriff, it is a daily challenge to oversee over 1,000 road deputies and the Pinellas County Jail, which houses over 3,000 inmates and employs another 1,000 correctional officers.

"I generally work from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. but the job requires much more time."

Source: PinellasScene.com   May 2012   Page 14

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 4, 2011

Pam Bondi endorses Rice for Sheriff

PINELLAS COUNTY — Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has officially endorsed Everett Rice for Pinellas County Sheriff.

"As a former prosecutor, and now Attorney General, I've been committed to making our families and communities safer, while protecting the rights and freedoms we enjoy as Floridians — and Americans.

"Everett Rice not only believes we should serve and protect others, he's lived it with a record that stands as a tribute to the best in law enforcement.

"Everett Rice has my support, and others, because he's earned it — every day he wore the badge," Bondi said.

Rice has spent 33 years in the Sheriff’s Department and served as Sheriff for 16 years.

"I am honored to have the Attorney General’s endorsement. My plan to streamline the Sheriff’s Office so we can have fewer deputies behind a desk and more deputies on our streets is being welcomed by residents all over Pinellas," said Rice.

Everett Rice joined the U.S. Maritime Service at 18 years old. During his four years as a seaman, Everett served in Southeast Asia transporting military supplies to Vietnam. At 23 years old, Everett became a Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputy. In 18 years at the Sheriff’s Office, Everett was promoted to, and he served in every rank, up through chief of detectives. Everett left the Sheriff’s Office to attend law school.

Everett was elected Pinellas Sheriff in 1988, he reformed the Sheriff’s Office and it soon gained a reputation for professionalism and advances in technology. He merged six municipal police departments into the Sheriff’s Office — providing huge tax savings to those cities while providing a high level of professional police service. As Chairman of the Florida Sheriffs Association Legislative Committee, and as the President of the Florida Sheriffs Association, Everett earned his reputation for being tough on crime by authoring the popular Stop Turning Out Prisoners Act that would ensure criminals spend at least 85% of their sentences behind bars.

During Everett’s law enforcement career, he served on many boards and received many awards. Everett is a graduate of both the FBI National Academy and the FBI National Executive Institute. In 2004, after four successful terms as Sheriff, Everett left the office and became a member of the Florida Legislature. Everett co-authored and co-sponsored the Jessica Lunsford Act, which created the nation's toughest penalties for sexual predators. In 2006, Everett left the Legislature and for the past four years he has worked as an attorney with Barry A. Cohen at the law firm Cohen, Foster & Romine PA.

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