The Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested the Fort Pierce City Manager for bid rigging, bid tampering and official misconduct.
After a two-year investigation, FDLE arrested 51-year-old Nicholas C. Mimms on one count of bid tampering and one count of official misconduct. Mimms has held the Fort Pierce City Manager position since 2015.
The case began after FDLE received a complaint detailing inappropriate conduct by a city official in connection with a request for proposal (RFP) to develop surplus property in the Lincoln Park downtown corridor. The property (two blighted vacant lots) is owned by the City of Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency.
During the two-year investigation, FDLE agents found that Mimms initiated the process to have the lots declared as surplus and then intentionally rigged the bid to make sure Lincoln Park Young Professionals (LPYP) received the lease. LPYP, a local nonprofit, was formed by two former city employees, one of them being Mimms’ niece.
Mimms, acting as project manager for the RFP, controlled the bid language and improperly communicated with LPYP providing non-public information. FDLE said he used his influence to ensure LPYP was able to present its idea to the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency prior to the bid going public. Agents said he improperly influenced the criteria for evaluating each bid and concealed his conflict of interest during the bidding process.
FDLE’s Fort Pierce Field Office continues to investigate this case. Mimms was arrested and booked into the St. Lucie County jail with a $10,000 bond pending first appearance. The case will be prosecuted by the Nineteenth Circuit State Attorney’s Office, with help from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
The Fort Pierce City Manager bid rigging investigation is active and ongoing, according to law enforcement.
