Drama Meter: 9.0 – In a story that will likely make many more appearances on the Drama Meter, the City of Key West Florida’s building department went from bureaucratic backwater to true crime podcast over the last month.
The city’s chief building official, Raj Ramsingh, racked up a staggering nine felony indictments for fraud and was still on paid leave until this week. After a hearing, the city finally suspended him without pay indefinitely – a polite way of saying “you’re done here”.
Ramsingh stands accused of an “organized fraud” scheme (a first-degree felony carrying 30 years max) and a slew of related charges for allegedly falsifying building permits and even deleting evidence when investigators came knocking.
In a letter to Ramsingh, the city manager basically said (CYA) they can’t risk him stepping foot in the office given the egregious misconduct outlined. You know your city’s in trouble when the guy approving construction is allegedly running a side hustle in permit forgeries. The public drama in Key West now features perp walks and legal showdowns, undercutting trust in City Hall.
For any business considering investing there, the takeaway is: if even the building officials are getting busted, what does that say about local governance? It’s a black eye for the city’s reputation, and economic growth hates instability and scandal. Key West leaders will need to do serious damage control to show they can clean house – sun, sand, and indictments is not a great tourism slogan.
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