In yet another in the series of "guess the missing party label" we once again present the case of imprisoned former Broward County (Fla.) sheriff Ken Jenne. As we have seen before, the South Florida news media is extremely reluctant to apply a party label to the disgraced Jenne, who was convicted of mail fraud and tax evasion while in office, despite the fact that the Broward sheriff office is most most important political post in the county. A hint as to what is Jenne's political label is the fact that if he had been a Republican, we would have seen that fact in almost every news story about him.
Let us now watch the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reporter, Vanessa Blum, give us a somewhat tender account of inmate No. 77434-004:
As Broward Sheriff, Ken Jenne ran one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the state. As inmate No. 77434-004, Jenne spends his days tending the fields of a federal prison in Lee County, Va.
That's what Jenne, 61, stated during a three-hour deposition in April at the minimum security prison camp where he is serving a year-and-a-day sentence for federal tax evasion and mail fraud.
"I work in what is called the garden ... planting various vegetables," Jenne answered in response to questioning from Fort Lauderdale attorney Barbara Heyer.
So where is the party label? Its very absence gives you a very strong clue as to what it is. The article concludes with the future plans of ex-sheriff Jenne with still no hint as to his political affiliation:
Jenne, whose scheduled release date is Sept. 29, is fighting to save his license to practice law and his six-figure state pension after pleading guilty last fall.
A disbarment hearing is scheduled for June 27 in West Palm Beach. His pension hearing has been set for Oct. 14-15 in Fort Lauderdale.
Well, at least we learned that the former sheriff has developed a green thumb while in prison. My feeling is that we will more easily learn from the protective South Florida media if Jenne grows watermelons or tomatoes in the prison garden than what his party label is.
