According to the News Herald, two Bay County building department officials have been arrested as part of a local and federal public corruption investigation, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office announced on Thursday.
Ross Pritchard, deputy building official and former political candidate in Washington County, Florida, and Crystal Owens, building code officer, were charged with official misconduct, a sheriff’s office press release states.
Both employees are on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case.
During the course of another investigation, it was learned that Pritchard, a licensed contractor and owner of RP Builders, as well as a building inspector for the county, had conducted inspections of work completed by his own company, the press release states. This is a 2nd degree misdemeanor in Florida.
After speaking with witnesses, investigators say they learned Pritchard also altered information in the official public records after the fact to hide his actions and remove his company name from the record.
“We appreciate the work of the Sheriff’s Department,” Bay County Manager Bob Majka said in the press release. “Transparent, open and honest government remains our priority.”
Investigators also discovered that Owens altered an official public record, a Bay County Building Permit, to reflect a different contractor of record, the press release states. She changed the name from Banfield Construction to RP Builders.
