A report from Acting City Building Dept. Director Charles Stephenson appears to clear former Building Dept. Director Catherine Harding of allegations that she may have had illegal construction work done at her home. Those allegations emerged last month when a letter from City Manager Julio Avael to Stephenson was leaked to the press.
In that letter, dated April 23, Avael told Stephenson that "Mr. Jesus Zepero informed me last week that he was hired by the City Building Official, Catherine Harding, to wire her home and accessory unit, and that he performed the work as an unlicensed contractor. Furthermore, although he informed Mrs. Harding that he was unlicensed, she instructed him to perform the work."
Avael went on to order Stephenson to conduct a complete investigation of Harding's construction project, including interviewing contractors and inspectors.
Avael wrote the letter— and copied the mayor and city commissioners— in the midst of a controversy during which he had abruptly fired Harding, then rescinded the firing pending a hearing. His letter to Stephenson came just days before the scheduled hearing.
Avael finally fired Harding— again— on May 3.
"There was never any Foundation for any allegations that I may have violated any building codes in the remodeling of my home," said Harding— who confirmed this week that she will be challenging Avael's actions in court. "The only purpose of that letter was to try to poison any support I may have had among the city commissioners."
At the heart of the allegations was the admission of Zepero that he had illegally done electrical work for Harding without a license. However, when Key West The Newspaper faxed Avael's office asking for Zepero's phone number, Avael did not respond.
A Key West Citizen reporter did track down a Jesus Cepero, who was quoted as saying that he and partner Felix Palaciox had wired several rooms for Harding.
Harding said she never heard of Cepero— or Zepero, the name Avael used— but that she did know Palaciox.
"He was recommended as a licensed contractor and he represented himself as a licensed contractor," she said. "I would not have knowingly have hired anybody without a license."
In Stephenson's April 27 report to Avael, he, too, refers to Cepero as "Zepero," which would seem to indicate that neither Stephenson nor his staff talked directly to Cepero during the investigation— or, if they did, they didn't check the name spelling.
In any event, although Stephenson noted that "Mr. `Zepero' should not have engaged in work that should have been performed by licensed contractors"— he reported to Avael that he had found no irregularities in Harding's construction project file concerning permitting or inspections.
City Manager Avael did not send copies of Stephenson's report to the mayor and city commissioners. And he has not responded to this question: Will the City prosecute Jesus Cepero— or Zepero— for performing electrical work without a license?