Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 1-23-18

Features
Rights Restoration Proposal Clears Latest CRC Hurdle
Business Owner Remorseful:
Pleads Guilty In Tax Fraud Case
NATALIE ‘RENE’ BROWN PANKO
Last Thursday, the owner of an East Tampa business pleaded guilty to charges re- lated to tax fraud. A sentenc- ing date has not been set.
Mrs. Rene Brown Panko, 57, has pleaded guilty to one count of con- spiracy to commit theft of government funds; three counts of theft of government property; three counts of ac- cess device fraud; and three counts of aggravated identity theft.
Mrs. Brown Panko was arrested and charged in July 2017.
The indictment was un- sealed in July, and she was charged with knowingly and willfully conspiring with Ms. Mazie Hill and Rico Sim- mons to convert govern- ment funds obtained through
RICO SIMMONS
fraudulently-issued tax re- funds for their personal use.
According to the court documents, between August 22, 2012 and November 28, 2012, Mrs. Panko, Ms. Hill and Simmons used the restaurant to extract tax fraud proceeds from debit cards.
They are accused of filing more than 60 fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service using the identities of both living and dead tax payers. Investigators allege that tens of thousands of dollars in tax refunds were issued in the names of the identity theft victims and loaded onto the debit cards.
Simmons brought the debit cards, loaded with the fraudulently obtained funds to Mrs. Panko and Ms.
MAZIE HILL
Hill at Ladies of the Sea. They then devised a plan to retrieve the funds by swiping them in the restaurant and claiming the transactions were for legitimate purposes, such as catering, officials said.
After the cards were swiped at the restaurant, the money was deposited into the bank accounts of Ms. Hill and Mrs. Panko. The women then made large cash withdrawals, kept a portion of the money for themselves and shared some with Sim- mons.
Simmons and Ms. Hill have both entered guilty pleas in the case for their roles in the scheme. Ms. Hill is scheduled to be sentenced on February 21, 2018.
Simmons is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22, 2018.
Mrs. Brown Panko is a well-known Tampa native and businesswoman. She has owned and operated Ladies Of The Sea Restaurant, for more than 20 years. Since opening the restaurant it has been located in Plant City, Ybor City, and was located at the corner of Cass and N. Ne- braska Avenue. She relocated it to 2705 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., in East Tampa in 2007.
When contacted by the Sentinel, Mrs. Panko said, “Mazie Hill was operating my restaurant from 2011 until 2014 and that is when all of this occurred, during the time when she was in management.
“When I go to court, I will tell the judge that I am very sorry that this occurred. I’m very sorry this happened in my family-owned business that I’ve had for more than 20 years.”
She further stated that she couldn’t comment more based on the advice of her at- torney. However, she did state that she would tell the whole story when she could.
ATTY. ARTHENIA JOYNER
TALLAHASSEE – A pro- posal by two members of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission to allow auto- matic restoration of non-vio- lent ex-felons’ voting rights cleared a key committee vote on Thursday, 6-2.
Sponsored by CRC com- missioners and former Sen- ate Democratic Leaders Arthenia Joyner and Chris Smith, the measure won the support of the CRC’s Ethics and Elections Commit- tee. It has one more commit- tee stop before it comes before the full commission for a vote.
If successful, Smith and Joyner’s proposal would bring Florida in line with most of the states in the na- tion that already allow for au- tomatic restoration of rights following completion of felons’ sentences and repay- ments of any outstanding fines.
Currently, anyone con- victed of a felony is required to wait at least five years, and then appeal to the governor and Cabinet to regain their rights, a cumbersome process that was begun shortly after Governor Rick Scott began his first term of office. His predecessor, former
CHRIS SMITH
Governor Charlie Crist
had been the first governor to allow automatic restoration of ex-felons’ rights, with the exception of violent offend- ers, ending a practice many saw as a continuation of the Jim Crow era.
Since ending Crist’s au- tomatic restoration of rights, the waiting list of Floridians seeking restoration of their rights has reportedly grown to more than 20,000. That number is part of the more than 1.6 million residents of the Sunshine State disenfran- chised as a result of prior con- victions, more than a quarter of the total nationwide. Only Iowa and Kentucky join Florida in banning former felons from voting.
If the full CRC signs off on the measure, the proposal next moves to the voters for approval on the November 2018 ballot and 60 percent are required to add automatic restoration to the state Con- stitution.
The measure mirrors an initiative begun by the citi- zens of Florida which re- quires the collection and verification of roughly 700,000 signatures by Febru- ary 1st in order to appear on the November ballot.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018