Is Florida The Most Corrupt State in the US?

In my last article about the corruption in Citrus County, I mentioned proof to support my claims. Now, comes the time for me to start introducing the evidence I have collected. I will introduce it in intervals because there is too much to add it all in one setting.

Even now, the Citrus County Sheriff Office (CCSO) has several lawsuits pending against them due to corruption and incompetence (Jamie Seeger,* Lelia Tarantino,* Derrick Vaccianna)*, But Sheriff Dawsy is so certain of his stronghold, it is just still business as usual. Why follow the very laws you enforce, when you can break them without consequence?

Earlier, I “Barely” touched on the allegations of the “Outrageous” misconduct that has been ignored for years in Citrus County. The corruption has been ignored by the federal government, state government, and the media. The cries of the people were falling on deaf ears. I say no more!

This week I will focus on one case in particular. It is a case I have been investigating for months. I am honored I have the chance to help Kenneth’s family get justice.

When I started helping the Ritchie family, my focus was only on the Ritchie family. However, since I have uncovered so much corruption involving the CCSO, I realized they are not the only family that need to be liberated from the tyrannical law entity that is better known as the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.

The corrupt officers working for the CCSO are worse than the criminals they arrest. The criminals at least for the most part have to answer to the law (unless they are criminal informants). The CCSO behave as if they are a law unto themselves!

Kenneth J Ritchie “Disappeared” on September 8, 2012. Kenny was going through a rough patch around the time he went missing. He had an addiction, that he was working to overcome.

Kenny, however had 3 very good reasons to fight. Two young daughters Summer (8) Kaylee (3) and a baby on the way, little Kenleigh who is now 7 months old. Kenneth turned to the local methadone clinic to regain control of his life, so he could be the father his girls deserved.

Kenny knew what it was like to grow up without a dad. His father, Richard Ritchie, died at the age of 28, when Kenny was only 3 years old. Richard, burned to death when his rig crashed. Then at the age of 15, Kenny also lost his stepfather to a heart attack while Kenny watched helplessly.

Although Kenny hadn’t fully kicked his habit, his family had high hopes for him. They knew how hard he was working to get his life together, to give his kids what his dad was unable to give him.

On the morning of September 8, 2012 at 6 am, Eddie a friend of the Ritchie family arrived at 8903 N. Mendoza Way and proceeded to knock on the window of the room Kenny was renting from, John and Roberta Silvestro, to prevent waking them, as was their custom.

On that morning however, when Eddie knocked, Kenny didn’t answer. As Eddie was heading back to his car, Roberta, came to the door and asked who was there. Eddie informed her that he had come to pick Kenny up for his appointment but, Kenny didn’t answer. Roberta, then told him to wait and she would try to wake him. Eddie waited for 10 minutes and then John, came to the door and said “Kenny is tired and wants to sleep another hour. I will take him.” so Eddie left.

Around 8:35am Cindy, Kenny’s mother got a phone call from Kenny, from Roberta’s phone. He asked for a ride to the clinic for his appointment which he could not miss. Withdrawal symptoms from methadone can be as severe as death.

Cindy, felt the phone call from Kenny was strange. She knew Eddie had already gone to pick him up that morning for his appointment. She also noticed Kenny was behaving oddly during the call. She heard what she thought was an altercation in the background, then she heard Kenny saying “This is f’ed up!” right before the call disconnected. Sadly to say, Cindy’s fear was spot on. This, was the last conversation that she and Kenny would ever have.

Cindy called Eddie to ask why he hadn’t taken Kenny to his appointment. Eddie explained what happened earlier that morning on his first attempt to pick up Kenny. After Eddie explained why he hadn’t taken Kenny to his appointment, he also mentioned that The Silvestros were acting strangely. He then headed back over to the Silvestros’ home, to attempt to pick up Kenny for his appointment for the second time that morning.

Eddie showed up at the Silvestros’ home for the second time at 9:05 am. This time he didn’t even have a chance to get out of the car, because Roberta came out of the house, and told Eddie that Kenny had left walking.

It was raining and Kenny had just called for a ride, so why would he leave? Due to this Eddie didn’t believe Roberta’s story. Eddie told Roberta thank you, and that he would just call Kenny on his cell. Roberta in turn, told Eddie that Kenny had lost his phone.

Eddie thought both interactions with the Silvestros that morning were very strange, so he called Cindy, and told her Kenny was gone, and that he felt something weird was going on. After, notifying Cindy, Eddie went looking for Kenny. While his mom did what any concerned mother would do; she called the police. That is when things really got interesting to say the least!

John and Roberta Silvestros’ criminal records,*are very extensive, yet, neither of them have ever been charged for a single crime. With John in particular, it seems that men by the name of Kenneth disappear while in his company. John went fishing with a man by the name of Kenneth Norton,*who also was never seen again.

Ex-golfer, John Silvestro

We know now, that at least one of them is/was a criminal informant for the CCSO. John’s CI# is 5839174. We now also believe, John being a CI, is the reason that very little was done to find Kenneth. It is obvious, the CCSO are covering their lack of care regarding this case to save themselves from professional embarrassment, failure, and sanctions.

I have included the CCSO’s missing person protocol,*because it is very important to see just how poorly the CCSO followed their own protocol during the course of Kenneth’s missing persons case. I would like to add that Sheriff Dawsy is the person that signed off on the protocol involving missing persons, which you can also see in the above link.

It is one of the reasons that I reached out to Sheriff Jeffery Dawsy as you can see here.* I contacted several of the detectives that had a hand in the mishandling of Kenny’s case. Dawsy and DeCarlo are the only ones besides the media relations personal that even replied to my emails.

When I spoke to Captain DeCarlo, he all but came out and said that Cindy was crazy. You can see the callous disregard that DeCarlo showed here.* Even though DeCarlo was callous, he still wasn’t as bad as Detectives Santiago or Carreras! That speaks volumes.

Santiago hadn’t even entered Kenny’s DNA or Dental records into the missing persons database until I tried to have them entered, in March, of 2013. Kenny went missing in September, of 2012. This is also not inline with their missing person protocol. Detective Carreras threatened to have anyone who inquired about Kenny’s case, fired.

Detective Carreras lied to me and others several times regarding Kenny’s case. Cindy sent the CCSO a signed consent form for the CCSO to correspond directly to me regarding Kenny’s case. Cindy wanted this because the CCSO had mislead and misinformed her constantly, and she did not trust them anymore. Yet, both Carreras and Santiago still continued to ignore her wishes.

The Missing Persons protocol states, when applicable, a search of the immediate area or residence (within the appropriate legal restrictions) will be made. Because Cindy heard, what she thought was an altercation in the background when Kenneth called for a ride, the fact no one could reach him, and the strange behavior of the Silvestros Eddie spoke of, Cindy suspected that the Silvestros may have been involved in some way. She notified the CCSO of the altercation, the phone call, the strange of both Kenny and the Silvestros and yet, the CCSO told Cindy they could not search the Silvestros’ home due to “Lack of probable cause” even though the Silvestros admitted that their home was the last place Kenny was seen alive.

Protocol states that a physical description shall be listed in the missing persons report. It is to include at a minimum: height, weight, eye color, hair color and length, tattoos and marks. As you can see in this missing persons flyer, several crucial identifying marks as well as tattoos that Kenneth had were not added. This was not corrected until “I” contacted the FDLE in June 2013 and told them the info was not correct.

Also, note there is no description of the clothing Kenny was last seen wearing. The last place that Kenneth was seen alive was at 8903 N Mendoza Way ( The home of the Silvestros’ home). Yet, in Namus it states that Kenneth was last seen in Dunnellon, FL. Where in Dunnellon was he last seen and by whom? This info is missing.

The missing persons protocol also requires that any significant medical need or disability be listed, but there is none listed. If you recall, Kenny had to go the methadone clinic daily to help wane him from his drug addiction. The CCSO listed Kenneth as “Missing Endangered.” yet, they claimed no foul play was suspected, nor did they mention his medical needs. So why was Kenny listed as missing endangered?
Protocol dictates any suspect/abductor information needs to be listed if applicable. Cindy suspected the Silvestros for multiple reasons, Yet, they are not listed as people of interest.

Protocol also demands that the deputy will initiate and appropriate a search based on the circumstances. The Patrol supervisor will be notified and decide if an area search is warranted, the best method to utilize, and the scope of the search. There was no search initiated for Kenny by the CCSO.

If a missing person* is listed as missing endangered (as Kenny was) the supervisor is to also “Ensure” an immediate broadcast of a BOLO and initiate search procedures. The CCSO did not initiate any search parties or procedures for Kenny of any kind. If not for his friends and family there would have been no searches for Kenny at all. If you notice in Decarlo’s email , he claimed that they treated each case with the same amount of care. All I can think was, OMG I hope not! The way Kenny’s case was handled is shameful to say the least. Now, CCSO is in charge of training other officers at the local police academy, that is a very discomfiting thought indeed.

As far as the Be On the Look Out is concerned, the CCSO did not issue a BOLO “UNTIL NINE DAYS” after Kenny went missing, even though, he was considered endangered. In fact it took so long for a BOLO to be issued, Cindy tried going to the local media to have them air the BOLO, but had no luck because the local media told her they could not do so without Sheriff Dawsy’s consent.

To give you an example of how big of a discrepancy there was between Kenneth’s BOLO and another missing endangered adult, look at the example below;

This is Kenny’s BOLO it was posted 9 days after Kenny went missing. Kenny was never found, This young man who went missing on April 1, 2013, his BOLO video was made on April 2, 2013. He was found on April 3, 2013 Daniel B’s BOLO

I would love to hear suggestions regarding this grave injustice and also any contacts of people that may be able to help Kenny’s family get justice. This case is one of many the CCSO has failed the very people they are Oath Bound to protect. So it begs the question, who are the real criminals? Criminals with badges are worse than an average street thug any day. A street thug can’t hide behind a badge unless he/she is a CI. So why is Dawsy still the sheriff? I have covered much in this article, the next week article I will include the pictures of blood splatter as well as the DNA evidence we collected so stay tuned!

The * indicate links to the evidences and stories I have listed

Investigative Journalist

The Polygraph News

Maryam T Bennett

[email protected]