Tamarac Commissioners May Have Broken Ethics Law at Lobbyist Dinner, OIG Probe Finds

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Lobbyist Val Gelnovatch, a lobbyist with the Ferguson Group paid for the meal at Clyde’s at Gallery Place.

The Broward Office of the Inspector General uncovered potential violations of Broward County’s ethics law stemming from a dinner attended by several Tamarac commissioners in Washington, D.C. and arranged by the city’s federal lobbyist, records show.

Val Gelnovatch, a lobbyist with the Ferguson Group, paid the $594.46 bill for the March 29, 2023, dinner at Clyde’s at Gallery Place. The problem, according to an OIG report issued Thursday, was that no commissioners in attendance reimbursed either Gelnovatch or her firm for any portion of the bill, meaning any food or drinks they ordered constituted an improper gift under county law.

Broward County’s Ethics Code prohibits elected officials from accepting any gift with a value of more than $5 – including meals – from lobbyists, vendors, or contractors to their governmental entities, according to the OIG.

The report states that Tamarac Commissioner Kicia Daniel, then-Vice Mayor Marlon Bolton, then-Commissioner Morey Wright, Commissioner Elvin Villalobos, City Manager Levent Sucuoglu, and the city’s chief of staff attended the dinner along with Gelnovatch.

Receipt from Clyde’s of Gallery Place. {OIG}

Daniel was at the restaurant but sat at a separate table because it was her birthday and she was celebrating with her family, according to the OIG.

The OIG’s tally of items ordered at the dinner counted two $24.99 salads, five entrees priced between $24.99 and $49.99, five desserts, and 12 alcoholic beverages on the bill.

Some attendees told the OIG “they were distracted by a disagreement at the dinner between two commission members that almost became physical and could not recall who ate that night or what they ordered,” states the report, which does not identify the two commission members by name.

Wright said he ate dinner, and Villalobos said he drank one alcoholic beverage but left early because of the argument, according to the OIG.

Bolton told the OIG that, because he fasts during Lent, “he believed he did not consume any food during the dinner, but, if he did not fast, the City would have paid for the meal.”

“He also said he did not recall consuming alcohol due to his ‘pastoring,’” the report states.

The report states that the officials who attended the dinner made statements “not consistent about how many people sat at their table.” However, a receipt the OIG obtained from the restaurant indicated nine guests were at the table.

According to the OIG, Tamarac officials travel to Washington annually on a trip arranged by Gelnovatch to lobby federal legislators and agencies to discuss the city’s needs and potential grant opportunities.

The OIG’s closing memorandum states that Gelnovatch organizes the trip and arranges meetings between city officials and representatives from Congress and relevant federal agencies. Tamarac contracts with the Ferguson Group for lobbying services.

The OIG, Broward’s ethics watchdog agency, launched its investigation into the dinners based on an allegation it received claiming commission members misspent taxpayer money during the trip.

The OIG did not substantiate that allegation but said it did discover the potential violations of Broward County’s gift law.

No one reimbursed either Gelnovatch or her firm for any of the $594.46 she paid for the meal, but investigators said it was not clear whether commission members knew Gelnovatch had paid the bill.

“The alcoholic beverages and food constituted gifts from a City vendor or contractor valued at over $5,” the report states. “But because the City Manager was in attendance and often used his City-issued credit card called a ‘procurement card’ or ‘pro-card’ to pay for group meals when dining out with City elected officials, we were not able to conclusively determine that any of the elected officials who attended the dinner knew – at the time – that the City’s Federal Lobbyist paid for the dinner.”

According to the OIG, Gelnovatch had joined Daniel, Bolton, Sucuoglu, and the chief of staff for dinner at Founding Farmers and Distillers Restaurant the previous evening.

Sucuoglu told the OIG that, while alcohol was served at that dinner, the alcohol bill was kept separate from the food bill. He said he paid the alcohol bill with his personal credit card and the food bill with his city pro-card, the report states.

His pro-card statement for March 5, 2023, through April 4, 2023, showed a charge for $326.95 at Farmers and Distillers, indicating the city paid for the March 28 dinner, records show.

It was unclear whether Villalobos or Wright attended the March 28 dinner, according to the OIG. The outing did not violate the county’s ethics law, the report states.

As for the March 29 dinner, “the Ethics Code’s Statement of Policy makes clear that it is the elected official’s responsibility to avoid even the appearance of impropriety,” the report states.

“Thus, while we did not find that any of the commission members committed misconduct here, we write to remind all Broward’s elected officials to be cognizant of gifts they may be receiving, as to not run afoul of the gift prohibitions in the Ethics Code.”

The OIG report said that while the agency did not find misconduct in the case, “we are recommending that the City and the elected officials who accepted [the lobbyist dinner] determine the portion of the gift they are responsible for, pay that portion, and report their payment(s) to the public.”

The potential violations of Broward’s ethics law by commission members mark the latest example of questionable ethical decisions—and allegations of wrongdoing—made against Tamarac officials.

The commission earlier this year was considering strengthening the city’s ethics law, including a proposed change aimed at increasing transparency about meetings with lobbyists.

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Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.