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SRC Commissioner says integrity is still intact, 'No one twisted my arm'
Cole says feds asked him about private land sale and private prison
Santa Rosa County Commissioner Bob Cole said Thursday that FBI agents had asked him Wednesday about a private land sale in 2009 and the county’s sale of land to build the Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Milton.
“It was all the same things over again,” Cole said during a brief telephone conversation about the search of his home and business. “They threw so much out there I didn’t know what they were focused on.”
FBI and IRS agents searched Cole’s home in East Milton and his Pensacola business, Bob Cole’s Automotive.
No arrests were made and the agents declined to say what they were seeking.
Cole, who has been a commissioner since 2002, has maintained his innocence of any wrongdoing.
Although his County Commission offices were not searched Wednesday, Cole focused his comments on his actions as an elected official.
“No vote was bought and I did not better myself because of a vote,” he said Wednesday. “I am comfortable in my votes of the past on issues and no one twisted my arm. Everything I have done is on the record and I feel good to go.”
Cole confirmed Thursday that agents asked specifically about his sale of land to a business known as Beannacht Properties LLC.
On April 17, 2009, Cole sold 9 percent of a five-acre parcel on Welcome Church Road to Beannacht Properties for about $50,000.
Beannacht Properties is managed by Nina Roche Cobb and her husband, Donald Cobb. Nina Roche Cobb is the daughter of John and Deborah Roche, Gulf Breeze residents who own Lifeguard Ambulance Service, which holds a contract with Santa Rosa County to provide emergency services.
A federal warrant was issued in August for documents pertaining to several Santa Rosa County land transactions and material related to discussions regarding the county’s Lifeguard Ambulance contract.
It is not clear whether the records request in August and Wednesday’s search of Cole’s home and business are related.
Calls to Beannacht Properties have not been returned.
Cole also acknowledged Thursday that the FBI has also asked him about the county’s $2.65 million sale of land to a south Florida company known as the GEO Group.
The GEO Group bought the property so that it could build a $120 million private prison in Milton.
