Taxpayer-funded assets of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, including a helicopter ride, marine patrol unit ride and gun range-shooting experience, have been used to raise thousands of dollars for a nonprofit run by a handful of LCSO employees.

Home Front Heroes is scheduled to have a rezoning hearing March 13 in front of Lee County’s hearing examiner. The nonprofit hopes to change a 10-acre, mostly vacant riverfront property off Moody River Road in the Moody River Estates Community Development District from residential to commercial. This would allow Home Front Heroes to build a “youth ranch,” including a private, 10-slip boat ramp, outdoor recreation areas and about 50,000 square feet of commercial uses. The project would have two homes for caretakers of the property, where LCSO deputies and their families would live. The charity lowered the proposed number of homes from four to two since Gulfshore Business first reported the nonprofit’s plans on Jan. 6.

Using public funds for the private gain of two North Fort Myers riverfront homes and a private boat ramp could run afoul of Florida law, said Caroline Klancke, executive director of the Florida Ethics Institute.

“These facts would be ripe for scrutiny by the Florida Commission on Ethics were a complaint to be filed concerning this issue,” Klancke wrote in an email. No such complaint has been filed.

LCSO Cmdr. Daniel Cote, vice president of Home Front Heroes, said everything about the charity has been above board.

“Is it allowed?” Cote said of LCSO assets being used to support nonprofits, including Home Front Heroes. “Yes. The sheriff’s office can donate anything they want. That happens several times throughout the year. We’ve done these community events hundreds of times throughout the year.”

Bicycle donations, summer youth programs, Boy Scouts of America and LCSO’s summer camp for children are just some of the other beneficiaries of Home Front Heroes funding, Cote said, besides the organization’s own endeavors.

“The last two years, we have donated over $10,000 to the Shop with a Cop program, so we can take kids who are not as fortunate to do some Christmas shopping,” Cote said.

Home Front Heroes also bought Christmas lunches for children with developmental challenges enrolled in the LARC Inc. program, Cote said.

“After the storm Home Front Heroes donated close to $50,000 to families and deputies who lost houses,” Cote said, referring to Hurricane Ian. “We’ve gotten gift cards for them to help them with living expenses.”

But lately, the rezoning project has required the most focus, Cote said.

“We’ve gone through quite a bit of that money in the zoning process,” Cote said. “That’s where it’s all gone to.”

Home Front Heroes, founded in January 2022 by LCSO Undersheriff John Holloway and a few of his colleagues, hosted a silent auction fundraiser party on private property Jan. 18 at Gulf Harbour in south Fort Myers with publicly funded items on display. Organized by Elise Starr, a Gulf Harbour resident and area real estate agent, the auction raised about $110,000 for Home Front Heroes, she said.

All new funds are going toward the charity’s planned rezoning project, Cote said. Rezoning land that size requires paying for work done by multiple engineering companies, a traffic study, environmental study, land-use attorney, etc., public records show.

Florida Statute 112.313 (6) states: “Misuse of public position: No public officer, employee of an agency or local government attorney shall corruptly use or attempt to use his or her official position or any property or resource which may be within his or her trust, or perform his or her official duties, to secure a special privilege, benefit or exemption for himself, herself or others.”

The key word, Klancke said, was “corruptly,” as she has seen other examples in which “incidental use of public property for the benefit of charitable organizations by law enforcement personnel is not “corrupt” as defined in Florida Statute 112.313 (9), which states: “done with a wrongful intent and for the purpose of obtaining, or compensating or receiving compensation for, any benefit resulting from some act or omission of a public servant which is inconsistent with the proper performance of his or her public duties.”

Holloway was too busy to comment, said Cote, who discussed Home Front Heroes during a phone interview.

Annmarie Reno, who oversees LCSO’s $315 million annual budget as executive director of support services, is the nonprofit’s treasurer and point of contact on its IRS form, but she has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Jill Jones, who reports to Reno as budget and administrative services director, volunteers as Home Front Heroes’ secretary, while Matthew Sands, LCSO chief of support services, volunteers on the nonprofit’s board.

Former state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, now a registered lobbyist, has been working behind the scenes on the charity’s project as part of her LCSO contract that pays her $108,000 per year.

Although the contract, funded by taxpayers, shows her annual salary, it does not describe Benacquisto’s duties, but Cote said they included work on behalf of the charity.

“I’ll tell you what, she has been an amazing partner,” Cote said of Benacquisto, who did not return multiple emails, phone calls and text messages left by Gulfshore Business. “With all her experience in talking to people, members of the county, she has been, as an adviser, really been giving us a lot of guidance on how these things work. She’s been heavily involved. She meets with the county representatives. She’s very involved with this. She does a lot of things for LCSO. This is one of the things. I’m not privy to all of the things.”

Home Front Heroes began as a way to collect more funds from people who called LCSO asking how they could help the community, Cote said.

“We had people continuously contacting the sheriff’s office wondering how they could donate this, that or the other thing,” Cote said. “That’s when the decision was made to where we needed something else. That’s how Home Front Heroes began.”

Asked about the deputy homes, Cote said the property would need on-site caretakers.

“The intent is to have employees of the sheriff’s office living on the grounds like we do in other parts of the county,” Cote said. “We don’t even have the approval yet from the county as far as the zoning. It’s very premature to say who’s going to be living there. Our hope is that we’re going to have a couple of caretaker residents there who will have a presence.”

The LCSO experiences that were auctioned were just three of about 40 items donated by businesses from across the region. A sampling of other items includes a $995 watch and a $387 bar stool donated by Porsche of Fort Myers. Dr. Stephen Prendiville donated 60 units of Botox. Marriott Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa donated a two-night stay valued at $600.

Starr, the organizer, said she submitted the winning bid of $5,500 for a day trip lunch trip for two on LCSO’s helicopter to Boca Grande.

“We’re so blessed in Lee County,” Starr said. “We wanted to give back. This is going to be an annual event.

“The money is still coming in. From what I have been told, the Home Front Heroes — all the money stays in the community. It goes to first responders, their families, children.”

Starr and her husband, Tom Starr, form Starr Team, affiliated with John R. Wood and Christie’s International Real Estate, specializing in luxury waterfront home sales.

“After Hurricane Ian, my husband and I wanted to do something to give back to this community,” Elise Starr said of why they chose to get involved with LCSO’s nonprofit. “We saw all the first responders, police and their families were in need while they were away or were extended themselves and had damage to their homes.”

Home Front Heroes received the land as a gift from the Huether family of Fort Myers. Lee County recently purchased the parcel just south of it, also on the riverfront and along Moody River Road, for the county’s Conservation 20/20 program.

“When the property was donated to the charity, the donors were very clear that they wanted it used for youth-related activities,” Cote said of the Huethers, who have declined interview requests. “We’re honoring that. Our vision is to have a facility and grounds where we can hold youth-related events. We’re looking at a center where there will be classes for children. Disabled veterans will get involved. Our boxing program keeps expanding. There’s a lot of things on the wish list.”