Does anybody now feel like the Villages is a safer place to live?
 

Now that Oren Miller is a convicted felon and is off the streets of the Villages does anyone feel safer? Let’s see, a harmless senior citizen whose trivial crime was misremembering (that’s a Roger Clemens term) the details of some telephone conversations is now behind bars. Meanwhile, wife beaters, drug dealers, drunken drivers, golf cart thieves, and many other dangerous criminals we should all be afraid of are walking around freely on our streets.

Something is seriously wrong with this picture. The moral of the story is that it’s not the crime one commits, it’s the people in high places that one rubs the wrong way that really matters.

I looked at the stuff in the paper lately. I mean theVillages Daily Sun and its coverage of the Oren Miller lying under oath case.

There is something very off about it-- both the case and the coverage.

He did lie under oath. First about talking about donuts and then talking about other stuff in places where the stuff said was in shadows. It seems though that the coverage hardly fits the crime. We will see what kind of sentence he gets.

I have met Oren Miller while he and his wife were out looking for a neighbor's missing pooch. They found it in the house of neighbor on the south side of our house. The neighbor who lost the dog was on the north side. It was the pet of a chef visiting his parents from Atlanta. They lived next door so there was a lot of confusion as the dog tags showed an owner in Atlanta. The Millers were making many calls trying to get the dog home. The chef was out to dinner with his parents and the dog must have slipped out the front door. The neighbors to the south did call the radio station about the dog they had found in their front yard. He had scratched at their front door.

:shrug: What I take away from this post is #1.Oren Miller is a convicted felon. #2. Someone's hatred may be showing again.

And

I don't have a degree in Law but I don't think he was convicted of lying about donuts. :rolleyes:

He lied about their talking about some other stuff. I would be very interested though in how much this happens in real life and the culprits are never caught. And if equity would find that throwing the book at Owen Miller was really worth it? Selective prosecution in other words.

A minnow taken by a shark.
The charges, however spurious, were not the point.
The point being made, was who really holds the power in The villages.
Point proven!

whether right or wrong I find it amazing how quickly an investigation, trial and verdict can be done. Yet politicians that are being investigated by the federal gov't take multiple years for far more supposed serious crimes ... just 1 example (matt gaetz)

And, maybe I missed it, but I still haven't seen the Fire Dept results reported in that "paper". Wonder why??

Well its always been that way, unfortunately. The people in high places have the power. I too was shocked at the sentence, though. Way over the top.

:ohdear: HAS NOT BEEN SENTENCED YET.

I feel safer knowing he can’t build his wife her own personal multi million dollar animal rescue facility with our tax dollars.

It is not her personal rescue facility. There were and are many people fighting for a no kill shelter in Sumter County. Things might have changed though with all the news coverage. Maybe that policy changed? They have been at this for years. I mean the Millers and their supporters. So I am not sure when Sumter County became a no kill shelter.

Sad story for sure. Why’s grandpa in jail? Child molesters walking around freely, druggies and he’s locked up. God help us please.

He is not a shrewd politician with an army of lawyers. His approach to doing business was not well done. He has not been in the game long. The Villages Daily Sun did a real number on him though with multiple front page articles going over the same "facts".

I’d be very surprised if he got much time if any. Probably community service and probation.

This whole thing would have been a big nothingburger if he would have simply admitted that he made a mistake by secretly talking about county business. But instead he decided to lie under oath. That has proven to be a stupid decision.

That's true.

Correct, I mis-spoke. I meant the fact that he is behind bars is over the top. And faces 5 years in prison. Seriously?

I was surprised too that they are holding him until sentencing. I figured they’d just pull his passport. Maybe put an electronic leash on him.

I know very little about the case—but this is the way our system works. The judge didn’t find him guilty. A randomly-selected jury of his peers did that, and as I understand it, it took that jury something like twenty-seven minutes to arrive at that verdict.

Oh—and about whether or not we feel safer with “wife beaters, drug dealers, drunken drivers, golf cart thieves, and many other dangerous criminals” allegedly walking around freely on our streets—well, dunno about the rest of the folks here, but for a good ten years living in my former residence near Minneapolis - St. Paul, I never went into the cities without carrying personal protection. Here in TV, even though I am qualified to do so under Florida law, I haven’t done so even once.

The law seems to be doing an exceptional job here.

Seriously! And I'm sure he knew the possible punishment before going to trial. I also bet the other one did too...... he copped a plea. :oops:

Law, police, crime is interesting. I recall a cub scout trip to the FBI in Washington DC. Yup it was a long, long, long time ago. I still recall being told they solve 20% of the cases. The good criminals-crimes- they never know about. Most crime that is prevented is prevented out of fear of being caught. They do not catch everyone.

Selective prosecution is always so. They do not catch everyone. Real life? Caught once, it is on your record making you a suspect in other crimes. REALITY - LIFE IS NOT FAIR.

Agree. Life certainly is not fair. I think of someone like Roger Stone who was found guilty of felony charges of obstruction, making false statements and witness tampering, and he was sentenced to 40 months in prison. And then he was pardoned - completely got away with it. Quite the double standard. The law may do and exceptional job, but the powers that be can easily override the law to suit their whims.

The powers that be pretty much put a watermelon ������ on the scales of justice ⚖️ against Oren Miller.

That pretty much sums it up

For the most part, I hope the sunshine law is widely dis-regarded. I can't imagine any responsible leaders not talking with each other outside of formal meetings. It seems business would grind to a halt if they didn't.

Now why Miller didn't take a plea bargain if offered the same as his partner in crime is beyond me especially when he knew he was going to testify against him. But then again, maybe the pleas deal wasn't really offered to him.

And I'm disappointed about the tax payers dollars spent on this case. I sure hope he doesn't get sentenced to more jail time for his crime. I think the stress he's already gone through will keep him from taking on politicians in the future.

And I agree to throw him in jail awaiting sentencing is over the top. It reminds me of how many high level convicted folks are out on appeal - why not Miller.

One thing I can be almost glad for is the reporting on this case is hopefully almost done. It's been embarrassing.

I would also will be surprised, when sentenced, if he gets additional prison time. I agree that he should have just admitted to the issue in the first place. Because he lied and, he did create his own problem! Apparently, his lawyers had no defense to the proof presented by the prosecutors since the jury was only out 23 minutes for deliberation. It takes that long to take a rollcall and fill out the paperwork. The jurors obviously saw no reason to discuss the case.

Yup. Our tax dollars at work, supplying Mr. Miller with food, clothing, shelter, and medical care (if needed) until sentencing. When he /could/ be at home, paying his own way. He's not exactly wealthy enough to fly to another country to live, to avoid sentencing. And if there was even the -hint- that he might do that, just strap an anklet on him and pull his passport.

It's a law that all elected officials in Florida must adhere to. I personally believe the Sunshine Law is too restrictive and should be modified. I suggested to staff that we should have a board meeting in December. Staff then has to contact the board chair to pass my suggestion on to him to have him decide if a board meeting is needed. My suggestions as to why I would like to have a board meeting in December are not conveyed as I don't want to use staff as an intermediary. What the heck??

Every state has those laws, just under a different name. You are correct, the laws can be so restrictive it makes doing one’s job way more difficult and time consuming than necessary. I used to volunteer for several boards in the small town we live in up north, but not any more primarily because of those requirements (and that we spend about half our time in the Villages). It’s a big reason many towns are struggling to find people willing to volunteer their time to serve on municipal boards.

Are sunshine laws only at the town/municipal levels? Doesn't seem to be at Federal/State levels.

They do but with a lot of limitations-- Government in the Sunshine Act | GSA

So, they can't meet privately with activists or lobbyists?:icon_wink: :icon_wink:

https://fsne.org/when-it-comes-to-lo...laws-are-dark/

I did find this for Florida.

The real moral of the story is that if you do stupid things, you suffer stupid consequences.

What was the adage from the 70's or 80's? If you can't do the time don't do the crime.

No honor among thieves. One rat ratted out the other rat.

Oren Miller is a very good person as far as I can tell.

Be careful Tal, you’ll get called a hater for saying that.

Absolutely the most brilliant idea I've ever heard of, eliminate the Sunshine Laws. Yeah!!! Let the politicians get behind closed doors and work out all kinds of back room deals that financially/politically benefit them and screw the taxpayers. I've got a news flash, politicians don't do anything behind closed doors that benefits the public. The only politician you can trust is the one you have with your gun to his head.

Good people don't violate the law and lie under oath.

yes they do

:confused: Are we talking out of all the people you know or just the convicted felons you know? What's the old saying?

"If a man builds a thousand bridges and commits one felony , they don't call him a bridge-builder... they call him a felon." or something like that.

I'm sure he was a very nice person..... not so sure that is how he will be remembered. And that is a shame but something he did to himself. :sad: