By Leo Coughlin

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Feb. 18 – An interesting turn has taken place in the Grieshaber case, the former city manager who is being sued by the city for the return of money the city claims should not have been paid.

Grieshaber has been gone for more than a year, but these things linger for a long time and the case is full of interesting tidbits – some of which are speculated on but have not turned up yet.

Tom Gonzalez, the Tampa lawyer who is handling the case for IRB, has issued subpoenas duces tecum for full and complete copies of records related to Grieshaber’s application and interview with Sun ’n Lake where he is now employed as manager.

Also sought are copies of any rental agreements and payment records for an apartment rented by Grieshaber in this area from February 1, 2006 to January 31, 2007 when he was working at IRB.

Additionally, and of some significance, is the request by Gonzalez for Sun ’Lake to produce copies of two vouchers and checks for mileage reimbursement to Grieshaber.

These last two items tell you in a nutshell something about how Grieshaber operated.

While working as Indian Rocks Beach city manager, Grieshaber made a couple of trips over to Sun ’n Lake, an improvement district in Sebring which is a quasi municipality. He went there in pursuit of a job because his gig in IRB was reaching the end.

Of course, Grieshaber spent the bulk of his time when he was supposedly working in Indian Rocks Beach traveling all over central Florida seeking another job, an activity fully known to Mayor-Commissioner Bill Ockunzzi and other commissioners at the time.

Grieshaber put as many as 5,000 miles a month (A MONTH!) on the city vehicle he was allowed to use without limitation in his travels seeking a job. The deal was that Al Grieshaber could do what he wanted and this gave Ockunzzi a free hand to run the city.

In two of those trips to Sebring to get lined up with the new job, Grieshaber appears to have collected mileage. 

That is, he was collecting mileage from the Sun ’n Lake folks while driving an IRB vehicle which was using gasoline, oil, tires, upkeep, insurance and all the rest paid for by the taxpayers of Indian Rocks Beach.

In other words, Grieshaber was a double dipper.

Many in Indian Rocks Beach are wondering who was watching the store in IRB.

Of course, one of the most interesting aspects of the Grieshaber case (which certain parties wish would go away and get settled and get swept under the rug, so to speak) is the famous check for more than $15,000 issued by the city to Grieshaber in August of 2005.

That is so rich with mystery and magic that it worth repeating.

Grieshaber was on a quest for months to get relocation money from IRB. That story itself is full of so many twists and turns and took so much attention from Grieshaber when he was not on the road in the IRB vehicle seeking other employment one wonders when he actually did any work for Indian Rocks Beach (insiders say Ockunzzi was taking care of everything, thank you).
Finally, in August the relocation money gambit came to a crescendo and climax.

Grieshaber got his check.

There was a famous e-mail from Grieshaber to Marty Schless, the city treasurer (some say now that his days are numbered), in which Grieshaber asserted that Andy Salzman, the city attorney (who has just been fired), authorized the payment of the money.

(Salzman denies ever giving the go-ahead and says he never saw the e-mail which was directed to his law office.)

That was in the morning. That afternoon Grieshaber met with Ockunzzi.

Keep this in mind – not a sparrow falls in Indian Rocks Beach that Ockunzzi is not aware of. He is in on everything.

But Ockunzzi has asserted, claimed, insisted, swore on a stack of Bibles that he knew nothing – NOTHING! – about the $15,000-plus check given to Grieshaber.

Go figure.

It doesn’t stack up, does it?

The mystery of the Grieshaber case goes on. 

What is needed is to get everyone in court – including Ockunzzi and Salzman – under oath and let some vigorous questioning ensue.

By then, Ockunzzi may be gone as a result of the election less than two weeks from now, and

Salzman has been given the boot.

But the full story needs to be told.