Two men who ran for spots on the Bonita Springs Utilities board of directors claim they lost because the not-for-profit water utility rigs elections.
Two losing candidates for the Bonita Springs Utilities board of directors have sued the not-for-profit water utility in Lee County Circuit Court.
Jude Richvale and Edward FitzGerald, both of Bonita Springs, accuse BSU of rigging elections against them by fabricating votes.
In the lawsuit filed Monday, Nov. 26, Richvale and FitzGerald claim more ballots were counted by BSU than were sent through the U.S. Postal Service. The complaint points to mail records as proof and states that more than 500 votes were likely fabricated in the 2016 and 2017 elections.
"This is a very simple case," FitzGerald said in a phone call Tuesday. "Either the records are correct or there is something that went wrong."
BSU stated in a release that "independent election monitor" and the League of Women Voters handle the vote counts. The lawsuit has no merit, according to the BSU statement.
"We look forward to responding to this baseless suit," the release states.
"The lawsuit is that the election was corrupted, and we believe it was corrupted by BSU," FitzGerald said.
The way BSU counts votes is suspect because of a lack of oversight and transparency, the lawsuit claims.
Only a few officers have control and view of the ballots, according to the lawsuit.
“This presents opportunity for rampant fraud and abuse of counting votes,” the lawsuit states.
Richvale and FitzGerald’s lawsuit accuses BSU of breaching its fiduciary duty, negligence, gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, constructive fraud and violation of the Florida RICO Act, which is modeled after the federal anti-racketeering law.
The lawsuit seeks damages exceeding $15,000, exclusive of attorney’s fees and costs.
A PowerPoint presentation included in the lawsuit as evidence suggests one way to fix BSU's alleged election issues is by appointing FitzGerald and Richvale to an election oversight board immediately.
BSU was founded in 1969 by residents of south Lee County. It is member-owned and operates independently from the city government.
The utility provides potable and irrigation water between Williams Road, in the village of Estero, and the Lee-Collier county line.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Richvale and FitzGerald suggested being appointed to an election oversight board immediately.