Kenneth C. Jenne II (born December 1, 1946) is a former Democratic member of the

Florida State Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

and a former

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Broward County Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

(

Broward County Sheriff's Office The Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) is one of the nation's largest full-service public safety agencies with over 5,400 employees, including nearly 3,400 sworn law enforcement officers, detention deputies, and fire rescue personnel. Sheriff ...

), which encompasses

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

. He resigned as sheriff in September 2007, after having

pleaded guilty In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...

to federal

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

and

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

. On November 16, 2007, he was sentenced to a year and a day in federal

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

Education

Jenne was born and raised in Lake Worth Beach,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. His father, Kenneth C. Jenne Sr., was employed by a utility company, and his mother worked for the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Court. He attended

Palm Beach Junior College Palm Beach State College is a public college in Lake Worth, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. Palm Beach State College enrolls nearly 25,000 students in over 100 programs of study including bachelor of applied science, associat ...

, where he was

student government A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. In 1968, he earned his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

, where he served as student body president. He subsequently earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

. He later served in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

. He retired at the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

as a public safety supervisor. He graduated from the FBI's National Executive Institute, as well as the National Sheriffs' Institute.

Career

Politics

By 1972, Jenne was a prosecutor for the Broward County State Attorney's Office. Following his time as a

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

, he was elected to the Broward County Commission and served as commission chairman in 1976. Jenne was elected to the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

in 1978 to represent District 32. He would remain in this position until 1988. Jenne was subsequently elected to the

in 1990, this time representing District 29 and he would stay in this position until 1998. Jenne is credited with holding a majority of the top committee chairmanships in the Florida Senate, including the position of Senate Democratic Leader. In January 1998, Florida Governor

Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician and military officer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States senator fr ...

, a fellow Democrat, selected him to become Broward County sheriff to succeed the late Ron Cochran.

Law enforcement

As sheriff, Jenne directed a 6,300-member organization with a $638 million budget. Under his direction, the organization was responsible for law enforcement and fire rescue duties in 14 cities and towns, as well as all unincorporated areas of Broward County. He resigned on September 4, 2007 in light of federal corruption charges.

Corruption

Jenne resigned in September 2007, after agreeing to plead guilty to federal tax evasion and mail fraud charges after a corruption investigation uncovered crimes in his outside business dealings, federal prosecutors said. Jenne faced a possible

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

indictment on more serious

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

charges. Several of Jenne's long-term Democratic allies, including former

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected Florida Cabinet, cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is ...

Bob Butterworth Robert A. Butterworth Jr. (born August 20, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Florida. Early life and career Butterworth was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and moved to Florida with his family as a child. He received a ...

and former Florida Senate President Jim Scott, pleaded for leniency. Jenne pleaded guilty to three counts of tax evasion and one count of mail fraud

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

and was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.

Incarceration

Before being assigned to prison, Jenne resided in the Federal Detention Center, Miami. In December 2007, he was transferred to the

United States Penitentiary, Atlanta The Federal Correctional Institution, Atlanta (FCI Atlanta) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Atlanta, Georgia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Just ...

. Later that month he was moved to the penitentiary in Lee County, Virginia. Jenne served most of his sentence in the Virginia prison. By September 2008, he was moved back to FDC Miami, as he was a possible witness in a civil case against the

Broward Sheriff's Office The Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) is one of the nation's largest full-service public safety agencies with over 5,400 employees, including nearly 3,400 sworn law enforcement officers, detention deputies, and fire rescue personnel. Sheriff ...

(BSO) involving a jail beating.Reich, Judith and Robert Nolin.
Broward's fallen sheriff freed from prison
, ''

South Florida Sun Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, and ...

''. September 29, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2009. Jenne was released from FDC Miami on September 29, 2008. He now reportedly lives in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

and is a business consultant.

References

External links

The BSO - Official WebsiteThe BSO - About the Sheriff's Office
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenne, Ken Living people Florida Atlantic University alumni Florida State University alumni 1946 births Florida sheriffs Florida lawyers Florida Democrats American people convicted of tax crimes People from Lake Worth Beach, Florida Florida politicians convicted of crimes 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century Florida politicians 20th-century Florida politicians