An ethics complaint filed against Lee County Commissioner Mike Greenwell was dismissed by the Florida Commission on Ethics as being legally insufficient.  

Mike Greenwell

The complaint, sent June 28 by Lee County native and Greenback, Tennessee, resident Carl Poole, alleged Greenwell used his self-nomination as the county’s liaison for the Lee Civic Center to benefit his personal gains. 

Greenwell, a longtime Alva real estate investor, stepped away from the civic center liaison role Aug. 15.  

The civic center, built in 1978, has fallen into disrepair and is less than a mile south and across the street from Greenwell’s 76-acre homestead that was rezoned from agricultural to mixed-use commercial June 21, allowing up to 400,000 square feet of commercial use and up to 122 apartment units.  

Greenwell didn’t respond to request for comment Wednesday.  

“No factual investigation preceded the review, and, therefore, the commission’s conclusions do not reflect on the accuracy of the allegations of the complaint,” the commission’s report stated.  

The nine-member commission didn’t find any evidence in the complaint that Greenwell broke state law prohibiting elected officials from voting to achieve personal financial gains.  

Greenwell formally recused himself from voting on the rezoning of his personal property.