NEWS

Key witness details allegations in BlueWare corruption case

Wayne T. Price
FLORIDA TODAY
Nicholas Geaney, former BlueWare Inc. chief operating officer, waits to  testify at a hearing at the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford in a political corruption case involving former Brevard County Clerk of Courts Mitch Needelman.

SANFORD — The key prosecution witness in the corruption case against former Brevard County Clerk of Courts Mitch Needelman and two officials connected with technology company BlueWare Inc. on Tuesday outlined allegations of a series of payments meant to ensure that the company received a multimillion-dollar contract, while also pouring money into Needelman's re-election campaign.

Former BlueWare Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Geaney, who prosecutors flew in from Michigan to testify at a hearing at the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford, described an alleged shakedown for payments that began in early 2012, just as he and BlueWare CEO and President Rose Harr were preparing to move the company's operations from Cadillac, Michigan, to Melbourne.

Judge sustains corruption charges against Needelman

At one point, at a meeting at Needelman's Melbourne home in early 2012, Geaney met with the clerk and Matthew Dupree, a former business partner of Needelman and manager of Needelman's 2012 re-election, in which Needelman lost in a Republican primary.

Geaney, a citizen of the United Kingdom, testified that he, Needelman and Dupree gathered at a wooden table between the kitchen and living room in Needelman's house. He said he was told by Dupree that an agreement could be worked out for BlueWare to get the county's business to scan records, but "there's going to have to be 'come-back' to us."

Needelman didn't say much, but nodded in agreement, Geaney said.

The next day, Geaney spoke via Skype with Harr, who was in the United Kingdom, about the meeting at Needelman's house. Asked by State Attorney William Respess if Harr understood what that all meant, Geaney testified: "She knew exactly what I meant. She said: 'I guess we're going to have to pay the man.'"

Tuesday's hearing took place in Sanford before 18th Judicial Circuit Judge Marlene Alva, where two prosecution motions will be argued. The outcomes are likely to be critical factors in how the case will proceed and how soon the trials will begin.

Needelman, Harr and Dupree — who later became a BlueWare executive — were arrested and charged in August 2013.

Prosecutors allege that the three defendants engineered a scheme under which BlueWare would make campaign contributions to Needelman's 2012 re-election campaign in exchange for BlueWare receiving an $8.52 million contract to digitize court records. It is among the biggest public corruption cases ever in Brevard.

All three face multiple felony charges.

Key hearing nears in Needelman/BlueWare corruption case

Respess and Assistant State Attorney Laura Moody are arguing a prosecution motion seeking a ruling allowing certain out-of-court statements, including those of Geaney, to be admitted during the trial. Geaney is alleged to be a "co-conspirator" in the case, although he was not charged.

Needelman and Dupree attended Tuesday's hearing, as did the lawyers for all three defendants. Harr did not attend.

Geaney said, when he and Harr first came to Melbourne and were looking for places to relocate the company, a real estate broker advised them the company would need a lobbyist to help them meet key contacts, as well as assist in getting state and local economic assistance. They met with Jason Steele, and didn't find him to be a good fit, Geaney said. They then met with Dupree, and agree to pay him $5,000 for his services.

Dupree quickly set up meetings with city and county officials. It was at a subsequent visit to the area that Geaney and Harr met Needelman, at a lunch at the Yellow Dog Cafe in Malabar set by Dupree. It was there that the scanning of county court records was initially discussed.

"He was very cordial, very jolly," Geaney said of Needelman.

Geaney and Harr then went to Titusville to meet with clerk employees, and visited the gymnasium where hundreds of thousands of documents were being stored.

"Rose said we could definitely do something with the records," Geaney said, noting that their focus had been on medical records, not those kept by government agencies.

Also brought up, Geaney said, was the company's "digital pen," which was used by some traffic enforcement in the United Kingdom and helped reduce paper usage.

The meeting at Needelman's home was about two weeks after that.

BlueWare initially received consultancy work for a $10,000 for a two-day audit of the clerk's records, Geaney said. As soon as the money was paid to BlueWare, $5,000 of that went to Dupree for his monthly lobbyists payment and the other $5,000 was to help with a mailing for Needelman's campaign, Geaney said.

Other payments followed — one for an information technology audit and other for a "cost-containment" contract. The latter is where a company can receive a percentage of payment for money they're able to save taxpayers.

The audit contract was for $100,000, and $30,000 went to Dupree, while the other money went to BlueWare for company expenses, Geaney said.

The cost containment portion was supposed to be paid annually, but instead was paid up front, Geaney said, and that $150,000 payment went to BlueWare expenses, including missed payroll.

Geaney said, because Needelman was so concerned about people accessing clerk files, BlueWare also was able to sell him antivirus software for $10,000. That same software cost $150 if purchased over the internet.

"And he bought it," Geaney said with some disbelief

When it came to the $8.52 million BlueWare contract to digitize court records, Geaney said he and others at BlueWare were involved in putting together the contract and made sure it was worded in a way that only BlueWare was the viable candidate. It included items like the "digital pen," which only BlueWare was using.

When two other companies submitted questions about the contract, Geaney said BlueWare individuals were the ones that replied.

Geaney said he and Harr had a falling-out in May 2012 over nonpayment, and he admitted he would go public with how the contract work had transpired.

He was later contact by Scott Ellis, who defeated Needelman in the Republican primary, and then by law enforcement.

Attorneys for the three defendants did not ask Geaney any questions.

Geaney's three hours of testimony ended Tuesday afternoon.

Also testifying Tuesday were:

• An AT&T security compliance analyst, who talked about phone calls involving the three defendants.

• Callie Rhoads, government analyst of public corruption for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Rhoads testified about phone calls and  banking transactions from the clerk's office to BlueWare-and connected entities and also payments to Dupree and the lobbying firm he controlled, Eligere Strategies LLC.

The hearing will continue on Wednesday.

Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Fla2dayBiz.