Former W. Melbourne councilman to pay restitution as part of museum fraud deal

Tyler Vazquez, Florida Today
·3 min read
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Prosecutors Thursday agreed to drop theft and fraud charges against former West Melbourne Deputy Mayor John in exchange for Tice agreeing to pay $7,000 to the Liberty Bell Memorial Museum.

Tice was accused of diverting a $7,000 check written to the muesum and spending the money on Miami Dolphins season tickets, pro football memorabilia, restaurants and personal debt payments.

The deal came after the unrelated deaths of multiple key witnesses would have made the case more difficult to prosecute in open court, according to the State Attorney's Office.

Tice faced multiple charges, including scheme to defraud under $20,000, depositing an item with the intent to defraud, and grand theft.

John Tice of West Melbourne the Founder & President of the Brevard Hall of Fame at the Liberty Bell Memorial Museum in Melbourne would like to get the remains of the late rock star Jim Morrison who was born in Melbourne and died in Paris on July 3, 1971 his grave site at Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris is one of the most visited tourist attractions.

Arrest records showed how Tice was able to reroute funds attended for the Liberty Bell Memorial Museum to his own personal account. Tice, who operated the Brevard Hall of Fame, an exhibit located within the museum, was in charge of securing roofing repairs for the museum itself.

As part of the contract, the City of Melbourne and the museum would split the cost of those repairs. The roofing company also chipped in, making a monetary donation of $7,000 to the museum. Tice then asked the roofing contractor to rewrite their check, only this time, make it out to Brevard Hall of Fame, the museum exhibit he himself controlled.

Investigators said at the time that the Brevard Hall of Fame was not a legitimate non-profit and Tice was later removed from the executive director position at the museum for unrelated reasons.

For reportedly using the $7,000 for his own personal purchases, Tice was arrested in March of 2018. Shortly after, Tice resigned from his position on West Melbourne City Council after pressure from local and state elected officials and the public.

Todd Brown, spokesman for the State Attorney's Office, explained the difficulty of prosecuting this type of case in an email Thursday.

"In cases of this type, the line between the lawful exercise of administrative authority and unlawful actions intended to defraud an organization can be difficult for the state to prove, and a jury to distinguish. With the unfortunate passing of three key witnesses, prosecutors were left with an insurmountable burden," Brown said. One of those key witnesses was Lewis Barnhart, the owner of the roofing company hired by Tice to conduct the repairs.

"This resolution, while unable to hold the defendant criminally liable, did result in a significant financial responsibility for his actions," Brown added.

Tice had already paid the $7,000 in restitution ordered by the court before the end of day Thursday. When reached for comment, he described feeling vindicated by the result of the case.

“I feel good that everything was dismissed. The bottom line is I never pleaded guilty to begin with. I still don’t think I did anything wrong,” Tice said.

“There was a perceived conflict of interest… I don’t think it was,” Tice added that he believes he was well within his rights to spend the money donated by the roofing company. “They had no case to begin with. I stepped down from being deputy mayor, not because I was guilty but because I didn’t want to put the city through anything,” he added.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Former W. Melbourne councilman to pay restitution in museum fraud deal