Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect a correction. The original story noted that Ms. Hentschel posted a video story about the tortoises being harmed on the Martin Health construction site. The story has been updated to reflect that the video was posted on The Center for Sustainability and Conservation’s public website without her knowledge or consent.
Why did the tortoise cross the road? Oh wait, Toby Overdorf said he didn’t exist.
There are too many opportunities to make jokes about this, but this is one of those “if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry” situations.
Tobin Rogers “Toby” Overdorf, who is the elected representative for District 85 for the Florida House, has been an environmental consultant for over 20 years.
He started out at Kimley Horn with Ed Weinberg (environmental consultant for the Kanner CPUD / Costco project). They left to start up EW Consultants. Mr. Overdorf eventually left EW Consultants to create Crossroads Environmental Consultants, where he worked with his wife, Maggie, who was the director.
Mr. Weinberg was the City of Stuart’s environmental consultant who oversaw Overdorf’s work for the Cleveland Clinic site, which is at the center of this article and a newly filed complaint in Hillsborough County.
Mr. Overdorf is currently a Senior Project Scientist | Senior Project Manager | Florida Environmental Manager for Haley Ward.
This is because Haley Ward just acquired Engineering Design and Construction, Inc, more commonly known as EDC, where Mr. Overdorf had been employed since October 2016. EDC operated out of the second-floor office space at Christ Fellowship in Port St. Lucie.
To break it down in the simplest terms, it could be said that Mr. Overdorf is paid by developers to say that there are as few environmental issues as possible with their projects and present these findings to the City or County Commission.
One of these projects was for Martin Health, now Cleveland Clinic. It was Mr. Overdorf’s job, amongst other items, to identify if there were any gopher tortoises on the property. And if there were, it was his job to develop a plan to move them to a pre-approved site in another part of Florida.
The identification of these gopher tortoises and their treatment on this site has long been an issue of debate. And now there is a formal complaint filed in Hillsborough County by Kristen Hentschel, a former ABC reporter, using this exact situation as support for her case against four defendants whom she alleges engaged in a conspiracy to destroy her career.
The complaint filed by Ms. Hentschel was filed in Hillsborough County yet many involved are residents of Martin County including Representative Tobin “Toby” Overdorf and Tom McNicholas of McNicholas and Associates.
And it all revolves around astroturfing… the deceptive practice of presenting an orchestrated marketing or public relations campaign in the guise of unsolicited comments from members of the public.
First came Cleveland Clinic
In 2018, Martin Health, which would eventually be absorbed by Cleveland Clinic, began developing a medical center on the corner of Kanner Highway and Indian Street.
The initial report from Toby Overdorf stated that there were no gopher tortoises on the site. However there were multiple reports stating that gopher tortoises had been sighted.
In fact, on May 21, 2018, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission observer documented a gopher tortoise carcass near the site that had been hit by a car. Around that same time, FWC discovered a burrow, which was included in the request to remove and relocate any remaining gopher tortoises.
However, in an email dated July 18, 2018, Steve Nicolosi, City of Stuart Building Official emailed Stephen Mayer, amongst others, that no gopher tortoises were found on site.
It is alleged in Ms. Hentshel’s complaint the story of the dead gopher tortoises “originated with City Planner Mayer’s girlfriend Kim Field, who said she observed the 20 dead tortoises and even watched another resident carry a tortoise carcass across the road.”
Then NPR wrote a story
On December 21, 2022, NPR published a story She was an ABC News producer. She also was a corporate operative.
The story was about in July 2018, how a TV news producer, Kristen Hentschel, approached then Republican House candidate Toby Overdorf about 20 dead gopher tortoises that were found on a nearby construction site. (That site is where Cleveland Clinic now stands.)
Ms. Hentschel, while working for ABC News, was allegedly hired by Matrix LLC, an Alabama-based political consulting firm, who was later shown to be hired by Florida Power & Light (FPL). The extent of this relationship has not been fully uncovered but the allegation is that FPL used Matrix LLC and other consultants to publish negative stories about their opponents. Matrix also is reported to have represented the interests of Florida Crystals.
Mr. Overdorf stated as far as he knew there were no dead tortoises.
The complaint alleges that on July 31, 2018, Ms. Hentschel sent a video file of the tortoise story to Mr. Pitts and Mr. McNicholas. She states she was never informed that the video was going to be posted online. Ms. Hentschel alleges that the video was posted without her knowledge or consent on The Center for Sustainability and Conservation’s public website.
As previously stated, the City of Stuart said that not only did they find no tortoises but there wasn’t even any evidence of tortoises ever existing on the site.
NOTE: THIS DENIAL BY MR. OVERDORF AND THE CITY OF STUART IS IMPORTANT TO MS. HENTSCHEL’S CASE.
Mr. Overdorf himself claims on his resume to have done “gopher tortoise survey & relocation” at this exact site. This resume with the scope of work for the Martin Health site was shared by Martin County Watchdog on Facebook as part of a January 6, 2023, post.
Overdorf declares he was vindicated.
The article was published on December 21, 2022 and it was immediately shared by Mr. Overdorf on social media declaring he was “vindicated.”
His assertion of “vindication” was addressed by many on social media.
He had shared an article that mentioned the allegations of his lack of oversight in providing the required protections for gopher tortoises and NPR did not investigate the claims against him.
When questioned about his self-declared vindication by Martin County Watchdog, Mr. Overdorf stated, “… 2. read and listen to the article again, there never were any GT’s on the site, 3. your innuendos and assertions are baseless, 4. you are just as bad, or worse, than the “reporter” exposed by NPR, 5. I am happy to meet you any time to discuss your assertions, but you will probably continue to hide behind your screen name, throw insults, and never really accomplish anything, 6. as demonstrated by the article, the truth always comes out.”
For verification, here is the memo from Ed Weinberg at EW Consultants to Stephen Mayer at the City of Stuart stating the gopher tortoises found on the project site will need to be relocated.
And the truth coming out in and amongst this “astroturfing” by some is where Ms. Hentschel’s complaint comes into play.
Kristen Hentschel's Complaint
The initial complaint filed by Kristen Hentschel was filed on October 31, 2024, with Ms. Hentschel filing suit against Jeffrey Pitts, former CEO of Matrix LLC.
There was an amended complaint filed December 18, 2024, to also include McNicholas & Associates, Inc., National Public Radio, Inc. and Floodlight, Inc.
Mr. Overdorf is not listed as a defendant however it is his name that is littered throughout the complaint as proof that Ms. Hentschel was targeted as the story’s main character while ignoring facts she claimed as part of her story.
Per the complaint:
- The SB-10 project (Martin Memorial Hospital expansion project) hired Toby Overdorf, a Florida House of Representatives member, to work as the environmental consultant on the project.
- On May 31, 2018, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (“FWC”) observer documented a gopher tortoise carcass near the SB-10 site that had been hit by a car. Around the same time, FWC excavated a gopher tortoise burrow on the SB-10 site. This information was attached to the gopher tortoise removal permit for SB-10.
- Stephen Mayer, City of Stuart Senior Planner, was involved in this gopher tortoise issue and communicated with various entities and individuals about it via email. Mayer also requested assistance from Overdorf for the gopher tortoise issue. All of these events occurred prior to Plaintiff’s investigation and reporting on the matter.
- On July 18, 2018, responding to a local NBC reporter inquiring about alleged tortoise deaths near SB-10, the City of Stuart, via email, stated only that it was investigating and offered little real information on the deaths.
- Pitts, working with McNicholas, then assigned Plaintiff to investigate the gopher tortoise issue because disrupting the SB-10 project benefited Pitts and McNicholas’ shared client Florida Power & Light. At the time, neither Pitts nor McNicholas disclosed to Hentschel which Matrix client they were acting on behalf of.
- Pitts and McNicholas also provided Hentschel with a comprehensive “shot list” that detailed recommended footage and specific questions to be posed to relevant individuals.
- Overdorf was one of the individuals listed on the “shot list” provided by Pitts and McNicholas. Before this assignment, Hentschel was entirely unfamiliar with Overdorf and his political and environmental positions.
- Pitts and McNicholas identified Overdorf as a key individual to be questioned regarding the protected gopher tortoises because of his company EDC, Inc.’s role as the environmental consultant for the SB-10 project.
- In July 2018, McNicholas met Plaintiff and her videographer in Stuart, Florida, and showed them specific sites to film. Hentschel asked McNicholas if he had video footage of the horrific scene of 20 dead tortoises and McNicholas said he was “working to get it.”
- On July 30, 2018, following the “shot list” instructions, Plaintiff visited the City of Stuart offices and asked Mayer if he had any information regarding the tortoise deaths. Mayer advised her that Overdorf, in his capacity as the environmental consultant on the project, would have pertinent information regarding the gopher tortoises and was aware of the “tip.” Mayer also suggestedto Plaintiff that Overdorf would be at city hall for a public debate scheduled for later that evening.
- Also on July 30, 2018, following Mayer’s suggestion, Plaintiff located Overdorf at the public event and asked him about the report of 20 dead gopher tortoises. On camera, Overdorf stated that he had not heard anything about the dead tortoises – an assertion which was later shown to be false.
- Plaintiff did not “flash an ABC business card” as Overdorf also told Floodlight/NPR reporters. She did not have any ABC business cards in 2018.
- On July 31, 2018, Plaintiff sent the video file of the tortoise story to Pitts and McNicholas. Plaintiff was never informed that the video was going to be posted online.
And who is McNicholas?
McNicholas and Associates is a PR company owned by Tom McNicholas.
Corporate clients of McNicholas and Associates include US Sugar, FPL, Lennar Homes, and Waste Management, amongst others.
Martin County residents may be most familiar with McNicholas and Associates because of their representation of many developers and their projects in Martin County and the City of Stuart. In fact, in a since deleted post, Mr. McNicholas commented that Commissioner Stacey Hetherington was “a great leader and an even greater friend.” Commissioner Hetherington was the deciding vote to approve the Rural Lifestyle text amendment for Martin County.
Most recently, McNicholas and Associates represented the highly contested project of Calusa Creek, a Rural Lifestyle applicant whose project is outside of the rural services boundary. Commissioner Hetherington was the deciding vote for this project.
Per the complaint, Ms. Hentschel is pursuing action against McNicholas and Associates for “invasion of privacy and false light.”
The allegation is that Mr. Pitts (of Matrix LLC) in partnership with Mr. McNicholas hired Ms. Hentschel to investigate the gopher tortoise issue in the City of Stuart providing her a “shot list” of people to approach in her investigation to ask questions, including Toby Overdorf.
According to the complaint, McNicholas is alleged to have stated that if Ms. Hentschel could obtain an interview with Congressman Mast, it would be distributed for public viewing.
But the complaint against Mr. McNicholas is mainly that his actions and dissemination of information was false, invasive, and injurious.
The complaint goes on to list the following items:
- McNicholas framed Plaintiff to protect its own interests and the interests of its powerful clients, including Florida Crystals and Florida Power & Light.
- McNicholas also provided knowingly false information about Plaintiff to Floodlight reporters acting as a “source”.
- McNicholas lied to Plaintiff and set her up with the intent to invade Plaintiff’s privacy and interfere with Plaintiff’s employment with ABC News and her other clients. In short, McNicholas intended and did in fact destroy Plaintiff’s career.
She then goes on to assert that “Defendants Pitts and McNicholas invaded Plaintiff’s privacy by disclosing private, sensitive, and personal information about Plaintiff to third parties, including media outlets.”
It is important to note that Tom McNicholas’ brother, Michael McNicholas, is a former real estate attorney with the law firm McCarthy, Summers, Wood, Norman, Melby, & Schultz, PA and a current judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit. He is the judge who signed the order for META to release the identification of Martin County Watchdog to Stephen Leighton, Brian Mast’s chief of staff. The civil case filed by Stephen Leighton is ongoing and pending trial.
So now what?
Based on the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court site, this case is scheduled for a hearing on May 7, 2025.
Regardless of what happens with this case, the activities of Mr. Overdorf and Mr. McNicholas should be viewed under the guise of “what if…”.
What if Ms. Hentschel is right? What if Mr. Overdorf provided false reports to the City of Stuart to create an opportunity for his client’s project to be approved? What if the City of Stuart did not do its job to the extent it should have? What if Mr. McNicholas worked in concert with Jeffrey Pitts at Matrix LLC to create news stories that may have been manufactured, even if in part?
Should the Commissions and public question the reports they submit as “experts” with a greater level of scrutiny than is currently being done? And should we start giving a greater voice to others who have valid concerns about development projects who aren’t developer-paid consultants? Shouldn’t they also be deemed credible?
And how do we avoid the pitfalls orchestrated PR campaigns?
Ms. Hentschel’s case is, at its core, a defamation case.
But the impact her case will have, if she wins, will have a much greater impact than just what happens to her.
We reached out to Ms. Hentschel’s attorneys for a comment. We were advised, “When the time comes for comment we’ll certainly be in touch.”
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