Former Mayor Denied Bail; Port Richey Prepares To Elect New Mayor

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL -- The beleaguered former mayor of Port Richey will remain in jail.

On Monday, Pasco County Judge Mary Handsel denied Dale Massad bond for the second time despite a plea from family members who said they were willing to hire a private security firm to monitor Massad at home 24 hours a day.

Massad has been in the Land O' Lakes Detention Center since his arrest on Feb. 21 following a Pasco County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team raid on his home. The sheriff's office was attempting to serve a warrant from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on charges that Massad was practicing medicine without a license.

During the raid, SWAT Team members said Massad shot at them. Massad was subsequently charged with attempted murder.

A former doctor who relinquished his medical license following the death of a patient, Massad is accused of performing medical procedures at his home using illegal drugs and drugs purchased over the Internet.

Charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice were added three weeks later when Massad made a recorded jailhouse call to acting Mayor Terrance Rowe. In the call, Massad discussed retaliating against an undercover Port Richey Police officer who posed as a patient needing Massad's medical services.

Rowe was charged with conspiring to interfere with an active criminal investigation.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended both Massad and Rowe from their elected duties. Massad ultimately resigned as mayor.

Massad's trial on the conspiracy charges is scheduled to begin June 24.

In the meantime, Port Richey residents are preparing for a special election to choose a new mayor. On April 15, the city council voted to make Councilman William Dittmer acting mayor until the special election on June 18.

Wednesday is the last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot for the Port Richey Municipal and House District 38 special general elections, according to Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian E. Corley. All ballots must received at the election office by 7 p.m. June 18.

Candidates to replace Massad are current Councilman Richard B. Bloom, William M. Colombo, Todd Maklary, Gregory Smithwick and Scott S. Tremblay.

At its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m., the city council will discuss replacing Rowe on the council. The agenda item was requested by Bloom following a citywide petition to recall Rowe. Although suspended by the governor, Rowe has not resigned from his position on the city council.

The first round of signatures on the recall petition was validated on May 6 by the Supervisor of Elections Office. That round required 179 valid signatures (10 percent of registered voters).

Rowe responded with a statement of defense, saying, "These petitions claim that I wrongfully exercised my lawful authority, and as an official, committed misconduct via the misuse of confidential information. The statements in this petition have not been proven in a court of law; they are accusations and therefore have no merit."

Petitioners have until July 19 to gather a second round of signatures. Under state recall procedures, petitioners must gather signatures from 15 percent of the voters -- of 269 voters -- for the second round.

Lisa Burke, one of the recall organizers, said they are aiming to obtain at least 280 signatures.

“We need that council seat to do city business. We’ve had problems with not having a council member there, which means no quorum,” said Burke.

However, the city council could forgo this process by voting to forfeit Rowe's seat and removing him from office.

See related stories:

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Gov. DeSantis Suspends Port Richey Mayor Following Arrest

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