Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the legExclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
Credit: WINK News. A federal investigation into the Fort Myers Police Department began after the City of Fort Myers hired the Freeh Group International Solutions to look for problems within the department. In early 2017, the Freeh Group released an audit report that included a recommendation to have an outside agency investigate potential misconduct at the police department. The same day, the department placed Sergeant Rick Notaro, Sergeant Michael Forbes, Officer Jason Jackson and Captain Melvin Perry on paid administrative leave. FMPD continues to claim the officers are under investigation but will not link the ongoing federal investigation to the officers. The United States Attorney’s Office will not confirm the existence of any investigation into the officers. However, in a follow-up report issued by the Freeh Group in May 2018, it stated the department had achieved a recommendation by allowing for an outside agency to conduct a criminal investigation into the police department. Notaro retired in August 2017, and Forbes retired in March 2018 amid the ongoing investigation. Perry and Jackson are still collecting salary and benefits, totaling more than $360,000 as of April 26, 2019. “(The amount of money spent on paid leave) does beg the question that maybe we should just move on, dismiss the officers, set that aside and move on, hire some others,” Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson said. “We may get to a day when that is recommendation for us.” Henderson said if the council were to get sound legal recommendation that it was appropriate to remove the officers, they would consider it. He also said he had no indication of what was being investigation by the U.S. attorney. An internal investigation conducted after the release of the Freeh Group report details problems within the department’s special investigations group. The SIG was responsible for conducting drug enforcement in the city and often used confidential informants. All four men placed on leave were involved with SIG operations at one point or another. Perry and Notaro were actually at the top of it before the department restructured in 2017. Forbes was at one point a detective as part of the SIG, but his personnel records show that he asked to be moved to patrol in 2010. He was promoted to sergeant of patrol and seemed to excel. A recent evaluation showed that he was eligible for promotion. Jackson assisted in drug operations with the SIG several years ago and was eligible to become a detective in the team at one point, but his file shows he was also part of patrol when he was suspended. A few months before that suspension, Chief of Police Derrick Diggs named Jackson as one of the officers of the month. Notaro and Perry were subjects of an internal investigation into the SIG in the months after they were placed on leave. A report conducted between April and October of 2017 found problems with how the SIG handled dealings with confidential informants. The IA found that the department was not following Rachel’s Law, which was set up to protect police informants after a young college student was murdered after acting as an informant. FMPD was not keeping a log of who accessed informant files. When Notaro was confronted about this, the agency said he was untruthful and claimed there was a log. Captain Perry ultimately took the blame as Notaro’s superior for relying on Notaro to keep the log but never verifying that one existed. The city agreed with the police department to demote Perry from captain to lieutenant in January 2018, and his salary while on leave was decreased. In March, City Manager Saed Kazemi wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney Maria-Chapa Lopez asking for an update on the investigation into the police department, citing concerns over the amount of time the officers remain on paid suspensions. Chapa-Lopez wrote back in early April, stating that federal policy prohibited her from commenting or even confirming the existence of an investigation. Diggs and Kazemi told us they had no comment. Mayor Henderson emphasized the need for patience in the situation. “We’re talking about people’s lives here,” Henderson said. “We’re talking about getting to the truth and doing the right thing. There’s no future in rushing through that.”