Three Key West city officials were indicted and taken to jail Tuesday evening, April 15, for tampering with evidence by deleting text messages before a pending investigation.
All three men — Key West City Attorney Ron Ramsingh; his brother Raj Ramsingh, who is the city’s chief building official; and Jim Young, the city’s code compliance director — face third-degree felony charges of tampering with evidence. Attorney Ron Ramsingh faces two additional charges for allegedly illegally intercepting electronic communication and allegedly disclosing that illegally obtained information.
“This investigation is ongoing,” Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward told the Keys Weekly Tuesday evening, just 30 minutes after the three men were taken into custody.
Bond was set at $25,000 for Raj Ramsingh and Jim Young, and $75,000 for Ron Ramsingh given the two additional charges. If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in state prison for each count. The charges may also carry serious professional consequences, including potential disbarment and removal from public office, according to the state attorney’s office.
The indictments and arrests were the results of a “months-long joint investigation conducted by the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office in close partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” states a press release from the state attorney’s office. “The indictments stem from allegations that the three officials attempted to obstruct an ongoing law enforcement investigation by tampering with physical evidence, specifically text message communications sent and received during June 2024.”
“The City of Key West is in full cooperation with the investigation and recent arrest of three city officials,” city spokeswoman Alyson Crean said in a statement released Tuesday evening. “The city will continue to provide the community with professional and dedicated service.”
The indictments state that between Aug. 23 and Sept. 16, 2024, the two Ramsingh brothers and Young “did alter, destroy, conceal or remove text messages” that they had sent amongst themselves in June 2024 “knowing that an investigation was pending or about to be instituted.”
The indictments state that Ron Ramsingh in May 2024 allegedly intercepted a Zoom conference call without prior consent of the other participant. The indictment further states that a day later, Ron Ramsingh ‘intentionally disclosed the contents” of that Zoom video to another individual.
The deleted text messages, which were sent among the three men between June 1 and June 28, 2024, coincide with the timing of the contentious firing of former city manager Al Childress, which occurred just days after Childress had officially reprimanded chief building official Raj Ramsingh for legally questionable actions he had taken within the building department.
Days before Childress filed disciplinary action against Raj Ramsingh, his role and actions in the city’s building department had been criticized in a 55-page investigation and review by planning consultants from the Corradino Group.
Corradino’s review revealed that Raj Ramsingh reportedly approved scores of development applications and permits without review or approval from the planning department, which is the department tasked with approving or denying permits, development applications and variances. The report stated that Raj Ramsingh also had issued variances that had previously been denied by the planning department and issued permits without requiring development plans.
State Attorney Dennis Ward told the Keys Weekly on Tuesday evening that the investigation and subsequent indictments stemmed from the Corradino Group’s review of Raj Ramsingh’s actions in the building department, the contentious firing of Childress and the text messages that were exchanged among city employees and elected commissioners prior to the vote to fire Childress.
Ron Ramsingh, Raj Ramsingh and Jim Young did not immediately return messages seeking comment Tuesday. Their mugshots were not posted on the sheriff’s office website as of 7:40 p.m. Tuesday night. Ward said they had not been taken into custody until after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15.
“These are deeply troubling allegations involving multiple public officials in positions of trust and authority,” said State Attorney Dennis Ward. “When public servants interfere with investigations or misuse their access, they betray the very community they are sworn to serve. I want to extend my gratitude to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to our team of state attorney Investigators, who worked side by side to build these cases. I also want to personally recognize Major Crimes Assistant State Attorney Colleen Dunne, whose legal skill, diligence and integrity were essential in preparing these indictments and leading this prosecution effort.”
Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield added, “Tampering with evidence and illegal interception of communications strike at the core of our legal system. These coordinated acts of obstruction would not have come to light without the persistence of our investigative team and our federal partners. The integrity of the justice process demands that we hold even the highest officials accountable when the law is broken.”
