Neil Carson Claimed To Be HOA President At Delray Beach Meeting. He Was Jailed. Now Says “Sorry.”
Charged With Perjury. Swore Under Oath At Public Meeting.
BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Delray Beach resident Neil Carson claimed to be the president of the “Andover” Homeowners Association during a Delray Beach City Council meeting in August. He is not the president. He never has been the president. And now he is facing criminal charges for perjury. Carson was arrested by the Delray Beach Police Department earlier this week.
BocaNewsNow.com is publishing the arrest report, below. We have edited it just slightly for brevity, but it details what can happen if you lie about your role in a Homeowners Association in Florida:
DELRAY BEACH POLICE REPORT NARRATIVE
The following incident occurred in the City of Delay Beach Palm Beach County, EL: On August 9, 2022, a City of Delray Beach Regular Commission Meeting occurred at 1600 hours, taking place inside City Hall, located at 100 NW 1st Avenue.
The commission meeting was attended by the City Manager, Mayor, City Commissioners, City Clerk, other city representatives, and civilians. During a certain section of the meeting, which is described as a quasi-judicial proceeding, certain items are presented for discussion Civilians and representatives are then allowed to provide statements and testimonies about those certain items. At the beginning of every quasi-judicial proceeding, Mayor Petrolia advises that the meeting is a quasi-judicial proceeding. City Clerk Katerri Johnson then asks everyone who wishes to provide a statement in the room to stand up and raise his/her right hand to confirm that he/she is under oath.
In addition, anyone who wishes to provide a statement must acknowledge that they have been sworn-in once he/she takes the podium to speak.
The commission meetings are video recorded and later uploaded to the official YouTube channel for the City of Delray Beach.
During this commission meeting and on the agenda, there was a discussion reference Item #7B: RESOLUTION NO. 122-22: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA APPROVING A MASTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND GRANTING FOUR RELATED WAIVER REQUESTS TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS FOR DELAY CENTRAL LOCATED AT 1615 AND 1625 SOUTH CONGRESS AVENUE AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED HEREIN; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES (QUASI JUDICIAL). “Delray Central” is located at 1615 & 1625 South Congress Avenue, associated with the addition of an eight-story building containing 1,095 suite feet of non-restaurant, commercial use and 271 residential units, including amenities and an attached seven-level parking structure.
During the meeting at 3:25:52 (time stamp on the recording), a white male subject who identified himself as “Neil Carson” approached the podium and stated that “I am the president of the Andover HOA” (homeowner’s association). “Andover” is a gated residential community, consisting of approximately 150 single-family residences located at 2300 Hampton Bridge Road; 0.6 miles from the future site of “Delray Central”. The Andover Association, Inc is represented by the law firm Sachs Sax Caplan of Boca Raton.
On August 12, 2022, Attorney Leonard Wilder of Sachs, Sax, and Caplan, drafted a letter to the Mayor and City Commissioners of Delay Beach advising of the fact that Mr. Carson misrepresented himself during the commission meeting and in fact, is not the president of Andover or even on the Board of Directors of Andover.
On this date September 12, 2022, at approximately 1045 hours. I contacted Attorney Wilder via telephone, and he informed me that his law firm has been representing Andover Association since 2010 and confirmed that Mr. Carson is not the current president of the Andover HOA. Further, Attorney Wilder informed me that he had never heard of Mr. Carson. Attorney Wilder provided me with a current list of the HOA president and Board of Directors and Mr. Carson is not listed as the president nor is he on the list of directors.
On this date September 12, 2022, at approximately 1500 hours, I made contact with Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore at City Hall who provided a recorded sworn statement (the following is a synopsis, refer to BWC for complete statement): Mr. Moore confirmed that he was present at the above-mentioned commission meeting and recalls Mr. Carson representing himself as the president of Andover HOA. In addition, Mr. Moore testified that the City received a letter from Sachs, Sax, Caplan affirming that Mr. Carson was not the president of Andover HOA.
Mr. Moore stated that the City wished to pursue charges against Mr. Carson for making untruthful statements while under oath.
On September 18, 2022, I made contact with Mr. Carson at his residence at 2593 Hampton Cir S and he was placed under arrest. I read Mr. Carson his Miranda Warnings (to which he stated he understood and waived). Post Miranda, (the following is a synopsis). Mr. Carson admitted to being present at the commission meeting on August 9, 2022, and remembers making a statement. He also stated that he remembers being sworn in by the City Clerk and he understood that he was under oath. Mr. Carson stated that he made a mistake when he presented himself as the president of Andover HOA. Mr. Carson stated that it was his first commission meeting and he was nervous about going in front of the commission and speaking in public. In addition, Mr. Carson stated that he was tired because he had a long day. Mr. Carson stated that he was in the process of drafting a letter to the City Commission and Andover HOA to apologize for his mistake.
Based on the above-stated facts, Probable Cause exists to charge Neil Jay Carson with Perjury in Official Proceedings, a3 Neil Carson did make a false statement to wit: stating he was the President of the Andover Homeowner’s Association, which he did not believe to be true, under oath in an official proceeding in regard to any material matter, contrary to Florida Statute 837.02 (1)
ARREST, JAIL
Mr. Carson was booked into the Palm Beach County at 3:40 p.m. on September 18th. He was released on September 19th on $3,000 bond. He faces a court date later this year.
