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Director of Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority Resigns Over Gay Porn Connections
Posted On 14 Nov 2006
TAMPA, FL – Executive director of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, Ralph Mervine resigned on Wednesday after an investigation by the Tampa Tribune revealed that he is listed as the owner of a gay porn production company.Coast Productions, based in San Diego, CA operates adult websites and has an adult Yahoo membership group, according to the Tribune. All three sites “advertise and display young men, ages 18 to 21, offering photos and video clips of explicit sexual activities.”.
Mervine resigned just hours after being contacted by reporters inquiring about his ties to Coast Productions. Mervine worked as the expressway authority’s interim executive director from November 2004 through last July, when the board voted to make Mervine’s position full time and remove the “interim” from his title.
Mervine offered his resignation to board Chairman Thomas Gibbs last Wednesday, according to expressway authority spokesman Mathias Bergendahl.
“In his resignation, Mr. Mervine says that it is time for the authority to seek new leadership,” Bergendahl told the Tribune. “An appointment of an interim acting executive director will be forthcoming.”
Bergendahl added that the board will hold a special meeting to begin their search for a new director.
Board members expressed surprise at the revelation and opined that resignation was the appropriate course for Mervine.
“This is unbelievable,” expressway authority board member Tom Scott told the Tribune. “This is unreal; I’m just shocked, man. I am shocked.”
After a reporter contacted Gibbs to talk about Mervine’s connections to Coast Productions, Gibbs said he sought out Mervine to talk about the situation.
“I didn’t know what to say [to the reporter],” Gibbs said. “I tracked Ralph down and asked him about it. He didn’t want to discuss it. But he said it was just going to go on and on, so he said, ‘I’ll tender my resignation.’”
“It’s always something,” Gibbs added.
Mervine refused to discuss the issue with reporters, saying only that “If you have anything dealing with the expressway authority, I’ll be glad to talk to you.”
“My honest to God feeling is these things do not affect his ability as a construction person,” said board member Robert Clark Jr., according to the Tribune>/i>. “But they do affect the image of the expressway authority.”
“If all of this is a fact, he should just go ahead and resign,” Clark added.
Board member and Tampa city councilwoman Gwen Miller observed that there was not a formal search for the position when Mervine was tapped to fill the job.
“They just brought him in,” Miller said, adding that this time around “we need to do a real search.”
According to the Tribune, a document filed with the San Diego County Recorder in 1999 names Mervine as the sole proprietor of Coast Productions, and Mervine is listed in a variety of business reports and certified documents filed in San Diego County as the sole owner, business contact, and the domain administrative contact for Coast Productions.
Coast Productions videos are focused on the ‘twink’ niche, and feature such titles as My Guy, Twink Town and Forever Boys.
Mervine refused to answer questions about why he hadn’t listed Coast Productions on his financial disclosure form.
When asked by the Tribune why he hadn’t listed the company in his financial disclosure form, a form which Mervine filed in August to the Hillsborough County supervisor of elections, Mervine refused to answer.
Mervine did list one other company, Carter Construction and Development, which builds houses in Marion County, according to the Tribune.
Mervine also refused to disclose whether anyone else at the expressway authority knew of Coast Productions or his association with it.
“I’m trying hard to do my best to deal with expressway issues,” Mervine said, “I’m not dealing with anything of a personal matter.”
