Ken Jenne

Ken Jenne
Sheriff of Broward County
In office
1997–2007
Preceded byRon Cochran
Succeeded byAl Lamberti
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 29th district
In office
1993–1997
Preceded byPeter Weinstein
Succeeded bySteven Geller
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 30th district
In office
1991–1993
Preceded byTom McPherson
Succeeded byMatthew Meadows
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 32nd district
In office
1979–1989
Preceded byWilliam G. Zinkil[1]
Succeeded byHoward Forman
Minority leader of the Florida Senate
In office
1994–1998
Preceded by???
Succeeded byBuddy Dyer
Personal details
BornDecember 1, 1946
Lake Worth Beach, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseCaroline M. Jenne (m. circa 1976-2011; divorced)
RelationsEvan Jenne (son)
Alma materPalm Beach Junior College
Florida Atlantic University (BA)
Florida State University (JD)

Kenneth C. Jenne II (born December 1, 1946)[2] is a former Democratic member of the Florida State Senate and a former sheriff of Broward County (Broward County Sheriff's Office), which encompasses Fort Lauderdale. He resigned as sheriff in September 2007, after having pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion and mail fraud. On November 16, 2007, he was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.[3][4]

Education

Jenne was born and raised in Lake Worth Beach, Florida.[5][6] His father, Kenneth C. Jenne Sr., was employed by a utility company, and his mother worked for the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Court. He attended Palm Beach Junior College, where he was student government president. In 1968, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, where he served as student body president.[7]

He subsequently earned a Juris Doctor from Florida State University in Tallahassee.[8] He later served in the United States Army Reserve. He retired at the rank of sergeant as a public safety supervisor. He graduated from the FBI's National Executive Institute, as well as the National Sheriffs' Institute.[8]

Career

Politics

Jenne as Sheriff of Broward County

By 1972, Jenne was a prosecutor for the Broward County State Attorney's Office. Following his time as a prosecutor, he was elected to the Broward County Commission and served as commission chairman in 1976.

Jenne was elected to the Florida Senate in 1978 to represent District 32. He would remain in this position until 1988. Jenne was subsequently elected to the Florida Senate in 1990, this time representing District 29 and he would stay in this position until 1998.[9] Jenne is credited with holding a majority of the top committee chairmanships in the Florida Senate, including the position of Senate Democratic Leader. In January 1998, Florida Governor Lawton Chiles, a fellow Democrat, selected him to become Broward County sheriff to succeed the late Ron Cochran.[8]

Law enforcement

As sheriff, Jenne directed a 6,300-member organization with a $638 million budget. Under his direction, the organization was responsible for law enforcement and fire rescue duties in 14 cities and towns, as well as all unincorporated areas of Broward County.[10] He resigned on September 4, 2007 in light of federal corruption charges.[11]

Corruption

Jenne resigned in September 2007, after agreeing to plead guilty to federal tax evasion and mail fraud charges after a corruption investigation uncovered crimes in his outside business dealings, federal prosecutors said. Jenne faced a possible grand jury indictment on more serious money laundering charges. Several of Jenne's long-term Democratic allies, including former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth and former Florida Senate President Jim Scott, pleaded for leniency.[12]

Jenne pleaded guilty to three counts of tax evasion and one count of mail fraud conspiracy and was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.[3]

Incarceration

Before being assigned to prison, Jenne resided in the Federal Detention Center, Miami.[13] In December 2007, he was transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta.[14] Later that month he was moved to the penitentiary in Lee County, Virginia.[15][16][17]

Jenne served most of his sentence in the Virginia prison. By September 2008, he was moved back to FDC Miami, as he was a possible witness in a civil case against the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) involving a jail beating.[18] Jenne was released from FDC Miami on September 29, 2008. He now reportedly lives in Hollywood, Florida and is a business consultant.

References

  1. ^ "Florida Senators". Jan 13, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-01-13. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  2. ^ Profile, nuwber.com. Accessed August 14, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Anderson, Curt (2007-11-16). "Fla. Sheriff Gets Prison for Corruption". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 19, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  4. ^ Curt Anderson, "Fla. Sheriff Gets Prison for Corruption", foxnews.com, November 16, 2007.
  5. ^ "Your Move, Ken". floridatrend.com.
  6. ^ "Ex-Broward sheriff jailed year and a day". Sun Sentinel.
  7. ^ "Florida Atlantic University - Alumni Hall of Fame 1985". Florida Atlantic University Office of Alumni Relations. Archived from the original on 2007-03-03. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  8. ^ a b c "About Sheriff Ken Jenne". Broward County Sheriff's Office. Archived from the original on 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  9. ^ "The Florida Senate Handbook 1996-1998" (PDF). The Florida Senate. 1998. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  10. ^ "Broward Sheriff's Office - About the Broward Sheriff's Office". Broward County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  11. ^ Aguayo, Terry (Sep 5, 2007). "Florida Sheriff Set to Admit Guilt in a Corruption Case". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  12. ^ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. "Former Broward sheriff sentenced to prison in corruption case". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  13. ^ McMahon, Paula and Tonya Alanez. "Rothstein's dive from Bahia Drive: Miami detention center humbles lifestyle of disgraced attorney." The Palm Beach Post. Tuesday December 8, 2009. Retrieved on December 30, 2009.
  14. ^ Blum, Vanessa. "Jenne moved to Atlanta prison", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, December 6, 2007; retrieved December 30, 2009.
  15. ^ Nolin, Robert. "Ex-sheriff moved to Virginia prison", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, December 20, 2007; retrieved December 30, 2009.
  16. ^ USP Lee Contact Information, Federal Bureau of Prisons; retrieved December 30, 2009.
  17. ^ "Lee County Industrial Park Hickory Flats" Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, virginiascan.yesvirginia.org; retrieved December 30, 2009.
  18. ^ Reich, Judith and Robert Nolin. "Broward's fallen sheriff freed from prison", South Florida Sun Sentinel. September 29, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Fire Marshal of Florida
1988 		Succeeded by
Florida Senate
Preceded by
William G. Zinkil
 Member of the Florida Senate
from the 32nd district
1979–1989 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Florida Senate
from the 30th district
1991–1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Florida Senate
from the 29th district
1993–1997 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Ron Cochran
 Sheriff of Broward County
1997-2007 		Succeeded by