Write Into Action

    Crime News   Interviews   Bio   Media Samples   You Tube   My Space   Contact   Crime Songs

Putnam County Sheriff’s Department denies investigatory relationship with Kim Picazio

Florida attorney claims privileged access in HaLeigh Cummings investigation

06/15/09

by Timothy Charles Holmseth

Lt. Johnny Greenwood, spokesman, Putnam County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD), said his department shares no investigative relationship with Kim Picazio, attorney for Crystal Sheffield, biological mother of HaLeigh Cummings.  Picazio has stated to the media on numerous occasions she enjoys a special relationship with the department and has been privy to information most people don’t know.

“Kim Picazio is not a part of our investigative team,” Greenwood said. “She hasn’t gotten any information that anybody else hasn’t gotten.”

The possibility that Picazio is receiving preferential treatment from law enforcement in Putnam County has become a growing concern to many.

Picazio boasted on the May 8th airing of the Jane Valez Mitchell show that law enforcement had never been to her client’s residence because her client is not a suspect. “And I can say that with regard to my client, who is a parent (of the missing child), the cops haven’t even gone out to investigate her house. They haven’t even done a thorough investigation. So, I don’t think that they are looking at her side of the family as the bad guy,” Picazio said, on air.

Greenwood said the PCSD is making no comments about the HaLeigh Cummings investigation and could not confirm or deny whether they had been to Sheffield’s residence at any time to search for HaLeigh.

Picazio reiterated her claim to Write Into Action (WIA). She said law enforcement had never visited Sheffield. “A month after me getting in the case I had to give [the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department] the address of [Crystal Sheffield’s] house [because] they hadn’t been there yet,” she said.

Picazio’s assertion that the police did not know Sheffield’s address has created questions.  

Rebecca Thomas, child advocate, West Palm Beach, FL said Picazio’s statement that the PCSD didn’t know where Sheffield lived is concerning. “The police automatically take down your name and address and relationship to HaLeigh before they even begin talking to you,” she said.

Thomas said Picazio’s assertion that Sheffield has never been of any interest to the police was equally alarming, because the department’s official position to the media is they have ruled no-one out in the disappearance and everyone is a suspect. “It’s standard procedure to look at both parents,” she said, pointing out that Sheffield had received a letter instructing her to appear in court because of overdue child support, putting her liberty and driver’s license at risk shortly before the child’s disappearance. “That alone is reason to ask her where she and her family were that night and to search her house,” Thomas said.

During the May 24, 2009 airing of a radio talk show on the Blogger News Network (BNN) featuring the HaLeigh Cummings case, Picazio called in and made similar claims. “I know what [law enforcement] is doing and they can only give that information to the parent of a missing child,” she said.

Picazio continued praising the PCSD on air and used the word “we” when speaking about the investigation, implying there have been times when law enforcement missed something that she caught. “They’ve done an amazing sophisticated forensic job,” she said. “Every time I call them and say ‘hey, I was just thinking of this – did you do that’ – they were all over it. Rarely have I mentioned a person or item of evidence that they had not done thoroughly – even by the FBI.”

Picazio told WIA she is a valuable resource to the PCSD. “What’s great is I get to get those leads on the missing child’s case so I get to assist law enforcement. Call Peggy Cone and ask her what she’s thinks of me. You can call anyone you want in law enforcement” she said.

“Would you like to know the great leads we're investigating,” she said. “I'm trying to maintain a case with DCF and to coordinate really great leads, etc. with law enforcement regarding finding HaLeigh.”

“There's so much fantastic and interesting news about the search for HaLeigh, witnesses, dangerous meetings with POI's (persons of interests.) Wouldn't you rather report about the real stuff,” Picazio said, responding to a question.

William ‘COBRA’ Staubs, private investigator, said Picazio approached him one day and said, “Guess what?” Picazio had just learned some sensitive information about the inside of the home (crime-scene) on the night of the child’s disappearance. “She made me play a little guessing game,” he said. She then provided him with extremely sensitive information that WIA is not going to publish. 

Picazio also shared sensitive information about the crime-scene with Paula Andrews, Staubs’ significant other. “She told me about the (details withheld). I don’t think in Orlando, police were taking George and Cindy Anthony in and saying ‘hey let me tell you this,” Andrews said.

Picazio also discussed investigative strategy on the BNN radio program and gave accounts of her dual role as a detective.

“Going behind the scenes is exactly the right bit for Putnam County,” she said. “Otherwise witnesses would run scared. Every time we even wanted to find a witness we we’d hear they were in a safe-house. So we’d have to find the safe house.”

Picazio told WIA she spent time with drug dealers in drug houses, as well as counseling youth and gathering information from underworld figures who wouldn’t talk to the police. She said she talked to a youth named Christina Prevatt. “That’s a valuable thing to talk to this teenager who is around Misty’s (Croslin-Cummings) age - hanging in that teenager ‘I do drugs’ crowd – that’s an invaluable resource. I don’t think she’s going to be too up front with the police, but she will be with me,” Picazio said.

Picazio said she would report her investigatory information to the police.

Picazio assured the listeners of BNN that she and the PCSD are on top of everything.

“The search for HaLeigh is still ongoing – full force – including leads that I assist with every single week,” she said. “We are working diligently.”

COBRA Staubs was a guest on the May 24 BNN program, and expressed concern at Picazio’s claims. “I’m trying to figure for the life of me how come a tight-lipped police agency such as Putnam County Sheriff’s Office would share forensic details with a civil attorney,” he said.

Picazio told WIA she was on the inside and described a room she said contained piles of folders, and then explained how some of them contained people’s cell phone records that dated back one month from the day HaLeigh Cummings went missing.

Picazio said she knows a lot of things that most people don’t know.  “I’ve got some new leads I can’t tell you about now but I’ll tell you what happened when they’re over,” she said.

Picazio said she has information only known by herself, Putnam County Detective Peggy Cone, and Bonnie Warner, Department of Children and Family Services (DCF). “There were a lot of things that were so hot that I couldn’t tell anyone,” she said. “Law enforcement and DCF asked me not to.”

Picazio said WIA should contact DCF who would attest to her importance.

Picazio’s claim to be well connected to the PCSD, and the questions it raises, do not stop at the investigation into the whereabouts of HaLeigh Cummings.

On May 21, 2009 an arrest warrant was issued for Staubs with the charge of false imprisonment - stemming from a March 20, 2009, bond revocation he executed.

In early March, Staubs met with Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy, Travis Smith, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, John Merchant, lead detective/Cummings case, PCSD, and the assistant state’s attorney at the Bi-lo store in Satsuma and reviewed several files he was working on; namely the file of Daniel Snodgrass.

Snodgrass was free on bond, charged with capital sexual battery on a minor. Staubs executed the revocation with PCSD officers present and observing.

Hardy did not respond to WIA’s questions.

Over two months after the incident Staubs was charged with a crime.

Picazio, by her own admission, made a myriad of telephone calls regarding Staubs to various officials in Putnam County, right around the time of his arrest.  

The barrage of telephone calls made by Picazio to authorities during that time window has created questions about the integrity of the PCSD and state’s attorney’s office.

Although the relationship between Staubs and Picazio had once been professionally friendly, it had ended due to Staubs’ refusal to say only good things to the media about Picazio’s client. Staubs stated publicly Sheffield was taking medication not prescribed to her and was not a suitable candidate for physical custody of a child in her present condition. He had also witnessed, he said, very embarrassing things regarding Picazio and Jeremiah Regan, 26, the administrator of the Haleigh Bug Center, Satsuma.

Staubs also possesses information about Picazio that is listed in a complaint to the Attorney General of the State of Florida filed by Timothy Charles Holmseth (WIA owner). The information is highly sensitive and Rev. Al Sharpton and the NAACP are being sought to address it appropriately without incident. 

Picazio said the police knew that she and Staubs were no longer friends.

After the relationship between Picazio and Staubs dissolved, Picazio said she spoke with State’s Attorney Joseph Boatwright on the telephone and discussed Staubs and his pending arrest. She said Boatright assured her he would keep her apprised by telephone about things. Because Picazio is not Staubs’ attorney it is unknown why she was speaking to the state’s attorney office about him.

Boatright did not respond to WIA’s questions.

Rev Richard Grund, Windermere, FL, is the father of Jesse Grund, one time boyfriend of Casey Anthony, Orlando, and is familiar with high profile cases. He said something seems very wrong with all of this. “How is Kim Picazio discussing Bill’s arrest, and the conditions of his arrest with law enforcement, when she is not his attorney,” he said. “That’s a tremendous problem right there. She’s not his attorney – that’s very clear, yet she’s privy to when he gets arrested.”

The arrest of Staubs came two months after the actual alleged crime, and, after the state’s attorney office originally returned the complaint as being too weak to charge out. Mike Picazio, husband of Kim Picazio, knew the details of the state’s position on the first attempt by the police to charge Staubs. Mike Picazio said the State didn’t have enough to charge Staubs, but if they got some more information the police were supposed to send it back and they’d look at it again.

That Staubs would be arrested at some point seemed to be predicted in advance by Kim Picazio and Cone.

Andrews said she received ominous telephone messages from Kim Picazio in the time before Staubs’ arrest, wherein Kim Picazio communicated to her something might happen to “Bill” and noted how terrible it would be if his career was ruined. Kim Picazio telephoned Andrews upset that she had received a set of questions from WIA. She advised Andrews to tell Staubs he needed to tell that “reporter to ‘fuck off.’”

Cone also seemed to possess ominous foresight about Staubs’ grim fate. Staubs said Cone told Regan he better stay away from COBRA or end up in jail with him. Staubs said he confronted Cone about her statement and she admitted to making it.

Cone did not respond to WIA’s questions.

Kim Picazio’s inside information also leads to Putnam County Detective Ken Taylor who pursued the false imprisonment (felony) charge against Staubs, despite the documented fact Staubs held qualifying power of attorney for C.E. Parrish at the time he detained Snodgrass – a qualification that debunks any testimony that said Staubs had no authority to do so.

“Detective Taylor called me,” Kim Picazio said. She said Taylor was extremely mad at Staubs because his actions with Snodgrass might place the State in a position where they will have to reach a plea deal, or, be subject to lawsuit by Snodgrass.

“Now, since [Staubs] called in police officers (who witnessed the entire event without intervening) - Snodgrass’ attorney can allege the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is allowing people to harass [Snodgrass],” Kim Picazio said, recounting what Taylor told her.

Kim Picazio’s statement about Taylor gives rise for concern about the integrity of the felony charge Taylor relentlessly pursued against him.

Taylor did not respond to WIA’s questions.

When Greenwood was told that the Pentium Silent Witness recordings in Staubs’ vehicle would prove Cyril Parrish had complete knowledge of Staubs’s actions and intentions in advance, and exonerate Staubs, he immediately said Staubs could be charged again because the recordings would be illegal. He did not express any interest as to the substantive content of the recordings or Staubs’ possible innocence of the false imprisonment charge.

Staubs said the recordings are legal, posted with nomenclature, and are for his protection as well as any prisoner he transports.

“I’m appalled at the way the police, the sheriff’s department, and the state’s attorneys office have handled this,” Thomas said. “What’s wrong with this police department, sheriff’s office, and prosecution?”

Thomas answered her rhetorical question. “I think it’s because Cobra will be able to find [HaLeigh and they can’t.]”

Grund said the Putnam County issue needs to be investigated. “I think that’s an avenue Bill (Staubs) really needs to pound on. I told him he needs to contact the Attorney General of the State of Florida and specifically ask for a formal investigation into what has taken place because this is so off the charts wrong.”

  go back