Exclusive: Hendry County Sheriff says “solid” evidence backs City of Clewiston investigation

CLEWISTON, Fla. (WINK) — The Hendry County Sheriff is speaking publicly for the first time about an investigation into the City of Clewiston.

WINK Investigates first broke this story in October, when the Hendry County Sheriff's Office conducted a search on Clewiston City Hall.

For months, the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office remained tight-lipped about the investigation — until now.

“There were thousands and thousands of documents that we have to go through," Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden said. "There are hundreds of hours of recordings that we have to go through."

In an exclusive interview with WINK Investigates, Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden said the case began with a complaint from a former city employee. 

He said complaints from former employees don't always lead to action, but this one did.

“The residents of Clewiston deserve this," he said. "They need to know what’s going on within the city, and that’s what we’re doing."

According to Whidden, the complaint included "factual evidence." 

As detectives followed up and issued a subpoena, he said the evidence they uncovered was "solid," leading to search warrants at city buildings.

“I hope they have faith in what we’re doing, because we’re doing it right, and I want to make sure that it is correct for everyone,” he said. "Please be patient."

In November, deputies also searched the city's Community Development Building.

WINK Investigates obtained copies of both search warrants on Monday, which cited allegations of bid tampering and official misconduct. 

Whidden says the warrants were sealed prior to being released to prevent the potential destruction of evidence.

"If the targets in the investigation know what we're looking for, then they could easily destroy evidence," Whidden said.

Whidden described the scope of the evidence seized, calling the review process time-consuming.

Whidden said detectives gathered physical equipment, like phones and computers and called this an "electronic investigation."

Following the visible law enforcement presence at two city buildings, many Clewiston residents said they were confused and concerned.

During a special city commission meeting in October, some Clewiston city officials publicly criticized the investigation, calling it a “joke” and a “smear campaign.”

"I'm really appalled. I'm very appalled," Commissioner Mali Gardner said in October. "It is more than a joke. It is a smear campaign."

City Manager Danny Williams in October said to the crowd, "Everything that went down, you don't think this is a joke?"

Whidden pushed back on those claims.

“I’m not targeting anybody. I don’t do that. I'm a resident here," Whidden said. "I live among everyone else. I apply the law equally and fairly across the board."

Whidden went on to say, “They don’t know what we’re looking at. They don’t know what we have as far as evidence, but yet they’re going to say the sheriff is targeting them or that the sheriff is corrupt. It kind of makes you wonder why they're, you know, yelling so hard about this."

Whidden confirmed his office is preparing to submit its completed investigative findings report to the State Attorney’s Office.

No arrests or charges have been made.

WINK News will update you as we learn more.