WAFC Local News – October 02, 2026, 8:06 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. The state attorney will not file criminal charges against anyone at Clewiston City Hall. Henry County Sheriff investigators applied for warrants to arrest city manager Danny Williams on eight criminal charges, including bid rigging and official misconduct, but were denied those warrants. They also sought four felony charges against former finance manager Randy Maxson. They allege Williams knowingly hired a convicted felon, Christopher Cooper, once charged with sexual battery of a child, and also a director of operations, Jorge Soto, who was under investigation for allegations he texted sexual messages to a 12-year-old. Cooper served an eight-year term of sex offender probation. Soto later pled no contest to the charges and got four years probation. Williams was also charged with transferring $7 million out of city pension and benefit funds to another firm without city commission authorization, the firm owned by Al Perry, the city manager who hired Williams as public works director in 2012. Williams was also accused in the probable cause affidavit of asking a city lien be removed from the Relax Inn, a property sold with Maxson’s wife making $20,000 as the realtor. Soto is the nephew of Commissioner Molly Gardner. Maxson was also accused of using city computers to access pornography sites on 229 occasions and with offering an unknown woman to produce homemade pornographic movies for him to watch. Henry deputies also found text messages on cell phones they seized that mocked Clewiston residents. They also accused Williams of providing evidence of the criminal investigation to Soto. The allegations say Williams forced out police chief Tom Lewis, city clerk Lakeisha Bursch, cursed at and fired the mother of a Henry detective investing the case who worked at City Hall, and the former Parks and Recreation director Travis Reese. Reese reportedly was let go after not being able to move trailers that Commissioner Gardner wanted removed. Lewis went to the sheriff’s office with his concerns, and Williams allegedly told him afterward it’s time to find a new job and that he could not be trusted. A relative defended Soto, claiming he’s a cocaine addict and only does these things when using cocaine. Williams did refuse an interview request with detectives. In a statement released yesterday, the city said it’s aware of the recent report issued by the state attorney. The recognized concerns may be brought to our community and are committed to addressing the situation with transparency and seriousness. The city and its employees have at all times cooperated with the investigation throughout the process and have provided information requested by law enforcement. The city respects the responsibilities of the sheriff and state attorney and appreciates this matter coming to a conclusion. In the coming days, the city will conduct a comprehensive review of the report to determine the most appropriate avenues to move forward and will provide more detailed updates as they progress. In the meantime, the city of Clewiston says it will continue serving the residents of America’s sweetest town and conducting the public’s business with the transparency and accountability it deserved. At this time, the city of Clewiston will not make any further statements regarding the issue until the commission and staff have a chance to fully discuss and consider all relevant information. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).