Phony inspector pestered grocery stores, state says
She had a clipboard, an ID card and a brisk, professional manner as she walked the aisles of ethnic grocery stores in Palm Beach County.
Grocers said they thought she was a food inspector with the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Some said they feared if they didn't listen to her, she might shut them down.
Lee Ann Kennedy was no government inspector though, officials say. She was posing as one to plug the services of a Delray Beach pest control company, a state investigation found.
"This is the first time we've had something like this happen in my tenure [since 2004]," said Michael Page, chief of the Florida Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control. Because Kennedy, 45, is accused of soliciting for a pest control company, that puts the case under the bureau's jurisdiction.
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The state has asked an administrative law judge to level a $ 1,600 fine against Kennedy, accusing her of pretending to be a state food inspector as well as advertising pest control services without proper licensing. She had been criminally charged with a misdemeanor count of illegally advertising pest control services, but the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office dismissed the charge.
Kennedy, of Wellington, did not return phone calls from the Sun Sentinel, but in court papers, she has argued she did nothing wrong.
"I am a certified food and safety manager and carry my ID with me," Kennedy wrote. "I present my ID to the customer if I see a potential hazard...I did not portray myself as an employee for (the) Department of Agriculture or any other state official."
As part of her defense, she submitted the identification card she apparently wore on her belt during her visits to grocery stores. It is a card that can be obtained by completing a five-hour online class from a food safety organization and taking an exam, the Sun Sentinel found.
Word of a rogue food inspector started filtering back to the state last summer. A genuine state inspector would visit a market and be told that someone had already been there. Kennedy is believed to have visited at least six Palm Beach County markets, state records show.
Steven Ortiz, manager of El Bodegon in Lake Worth, said a woman came into his store, claiming to be an inspector with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. She said the store had a fruit fly problem and asked to see the store's pest control treatment records. Ortiz said he showed her the paperwork and that she recommended Outside In Pest Control in Delray Beach.
Kennedy warned him that if the fly problem wasn't fixed, there would be consequences, Ortiz said. The next day, he said, he was contacted by Outside In Pest Control. He declined the company's services.
David Chiang, owner of Fortune Cookie Oriental Supermarket in West Palm Beach, said that when Kennedy stopped at his store, she walked around for a half hour and told him he needed to remove food items from the floor. She mentioned there were flies around a Dumpster behind the store, but didn't mention a pest control company, he said.
"As a small business, when inspectors come in, we treat them like kings and queens," Chiang said. "We just do whatever they say."
He told state investigators that just a few days before Kennedy came to the store, the owner of Outside In Pest Control had come by and tried to sell him pest control services.
State records show that at least two markets did hire Outside In Pest Control based on Kennedy's visits, with one owner dropping his contract with another exterminator. Both owners said they felt their businesses were at risk if they didn't do what Kennedy said, according to state records.
When state investigators contacted the owner of Outside In Pest Control, Dennis O' Rourke, he said he knew Kennedy from when they worked together at another pest control company. He said she referred clients to him with her getting a 10 percent commission, state records show.
O'Rourke said he had no idea Kennedy might be acting like she was a food inspector, according to state records.
In September, Kennedy was confronted by state investigators, who found she was driving a car with a magnetic sign for her company, Kenco Industries, which listed "pest control" on it. Kenco was not a licensed pest control company, according to state records.
"Ms. Kennedy stated she is friends to a number of store owners/managers and was only trying to help them out by pointing out pest problems," according to state reports.
Page said Kennedy received credentials from the state in December to work for Outside In Pest Control. State records indicate she is currently employed there, Page said.
But when the Sun Sentinel contacted O'Rourke this week, he said Kennedy is not employed by his company. He said he had "nothing to do" with her alleged activities.
The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services filed an administrative law case against Kennedy on March 20. A hearing is scheduled for May 29.
"We take this very seriously, that's why we're taking this to a formal hearing," Page said.
jburstein@tribune.com, 954-356-4491 or Twitter @jkburstein
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