BREAKING: Clewiston council member speaks out about government building raids

CLEWISTON, Fla. — Fox 4 is now hearing from a Clewiston council member about the two raids at two government buildings. Vice Mayor Hillary Hyslope released a statement to Community Correspondent Austin Schargorodski on Wednesday, hours before she went public with it.

As a City Commissioner, a taxpayer, and a resident of both the City of Clewiston and Hendry County, I want to be very clear about where things stand from my perspective.

Like many residents, I am learning about the ongoing investigation involving the City of Clewiston facilities primarily through media reports. To my knowledge, the City itself has not received any substantive updates from law enforcement beyond what has already been publicly released.

The City of Clewiston has fully cooperated with all lawful requests made by the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office. In addition, the City undergoes an annual audit conducted by an independent agency, and that audit did NOT identify any findings of misconduct within city operations.

In November, the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office stated that this investigation was expected to be completed in the “upcoming weeks.” We are now nearing the end of January, and residents continue to have unanswered questions. At this point, the lack of clarity and transparency is understandably creating concern and frustration within our community.

I want to be clear: I respect the need for law enforcement to conduct thorough investigations and to protect the integrity of active cases. At the same time, transparency, and timely communications matter – especially when public buildings, public employees, and taxpayer resources are involved.

The residents and taxpayers of Clewiston and Hendry County fund not only our local government but also our law-enforcement agencies. They deserve to understand, at a minimum, where an investigation stands procedurally and whether there is a realistic timeline for resolution.

I am respectfully calling on the appropriate law-enforcement authorities to provide the community with an update on the status of this investigation, consistent with the law and without compromising its integrity. Clear and timely communication is essential to maintaining public trust, both in government and in law enforcement.

My priority remains serving our residents, protecting taxpayer dollars, and ensuring that public confidence in our institutions is upheld.

Schargorodski has been covering this investigation since the beginning.

The investigation stems from two raids last year — one at City Hall and the other at the Community Development Building.

The Sheriff’s Office sent Schargorodski the second of the two warrants on Monday. That warrant said a judge found probable cause to believe there was official misconduct, but it does not go beyond that.

The other warrant states that the same judge found probable cause to believe bid tampering laws were being violated. Bid tampering refers to illegally manipulating the bidding process for a city project to favor a specific contractor.

The warrant allowed investigators to collect evidence. However, the documents do not provide details about what bids were possibly tampered with.

Schargorodski went up to city leaders after the council meeting on Monday and asked if the city manager or attorney had a moment to speak about the raids. City Manager Danny William refused to comment on them.

Aside from the warrants, little information has been released since November. At that time, the Sheriff’s Office said, quote, “Detectives are working to close this case in the upcoming weeks.”

Now, nearly two and a half months later, the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office says the investigation is still ongoing. Schargorodski will continue pushing for answers and bring updates as soon as he gets them.

RELATED COVERAGE: