A fortune that was built in middle of nowhere

By Susan Taylor Martin, Times Senior Correspondent
In print: Sunday, March 30, 2008

Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Leslie Wells to the board of the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority.
	[CHRIS ZUPPA | Times]

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BRADENTON — How does a public servant making $137,000 a year achieve a net worth of $8-million?

Former Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells largely credits his wife's hard work and real estate savvy. But critics say Wells also used his public position to help win approval of a controversial project on which his wife was developer.

In 1997, Leslie Wells formed Cherokee Creek Inc. with friends. They paid $1.98-million for nearly 1,000 acres of the Rutland Ranch, part of the estate of St. Petersburg banker Hubert Rutland.

The Wellses invested no money; Leslie Wells says the other couple made the down payment while she handled development of what would be an upscale community of 301 homes. The site was miles from anywhere, reachable only by a two-lane road from the small town of Parrish.

The county's planning staff and planning commission said the project should be denied. They cited concerns about urban sprawl and incompatibility with surrounding land use. Environmentalists and many area residents also opposed it.

Among them was Linda Tucker, a native of Manatee who had once socialized with the Wellses. She sent out a flier that urged others to speak up, noting that the fact the sheriff's wife was the developer "could substantially increase the pressure'' on county commissioners to approve the project.

Tucker soon got a call from the sheriff himself.

"He said, 'Linda, this is Charlie Wells. I want to know why you're attacking my wife. I've been really good to your family.' I was flabbergasted. In my estimation he was threatening me and made it very clear I ought to back down and not oppose this development if I knew what was good for me.''

Frightened, Tucker spoke with the FBI and the FDLE. She also filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics, but it was dismissed on the grounds there was no evidence Wells "ever used or threatened to use'' his official position to orchestrate support for his wife's development.

By a 4-3 vote in 1998, the County Commission approved a zoning change to permit Cherokee Creek. Records show only three people expressed support for the project: a contractor who later built the Wellses' new house and two deputies who had worked for Wells.

One, Bobby King, had recently retired after years as what Wells called "my right-hand man.'' The other, James Higginbotham, had a work history that included falsifying reports and using department radios for personal business.

A week after Cherokee Creek was approved, Wells promoted Higginbotham to sergeant. He continued to rise through the ranks: Now a major, he runs the jail and makes $110,000 a year. He did not respond to a request for comment.

Wells says he never threatened Linda Tucker or pressured deputies to support the project. Leslie Wells says the County Commission had no choice but to approve Cherokee Creek because it met the criteria for a planned development.

"We were ahead of our time, but we had a right to use our property that way,'' she says. "I'm a little pissy about accusations I have to have my husband to do anything.''

County Commissioner Joe McClash voted against Cherokee Creek because, he says, it wasn't consistent with the county's comprehensive plan and "is one of those borderline areas where growth should be limited.''

How does he feel about it now?

"The same way I felt at the time,'' McClash says. A few years after the vote, he added, Wells "told me he was really ticked about how I treated his wife. He's likeable unless you don't give him what he wants.''

In 2000, as the first phase of the development began under the name of Foxbrook, Charles B. Wells appeared on the plat as one of the owners. By the time he retired last year, financial disclosure records show he had a third interest in a house and 41 lots in Foxbrook and owned another home nearby.

Estimated value: $5.17-million.