KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Osceola County Clerk of Court returned to work early Monday morning following a long suspension.
Malcolm Thompson was reinstated by Gov. Rick Scott shortly after being found not guilty of mistreating his employees. He arrived at work at 8:30 a.m. and went straight into meetings with members of his staff.
Thompson kept a low profile on Monday and his public information officer spoke on his behalf and said most of the office's 160 employees were glad to have their boss back.
"Everything is fine and there's a sense of tranquility in the office," said Rodolfo Celis, Osceola County Public Information Officer.
Celis also said that Latifa Rahmdani, the woman who accused Thompson of assaulting her, welcomed him back to work.
"She welcomed him back to the office?" asked Eyewitness News reporter Nancy Alvarez.
"Yes, I was there," said Rodolfo Celis, Osceola County Public Information Officer.
However, Eyewitness News heard different accounts from other employees.
"At least 90 percent of the people there, no, they're not happy he's back," said one employee who wished to remain anonymous.
The employee spoke on the condition that we hide their identity, and told us some people burst into tears when they found out Thompson would return to his job. This employee said people are working in fear.
"He tends to get set off easily. Is he going to blame anybody for what happened? And what's he going to do to retaliate against people not on his side?" wondered the employee.
Sources told Eyewitness News some moves are already under way. Four people involved in the case against Thompson have been reassigned from offices on the sixth floor, where he works, to the second floor.
An employee Eyewitness News spoke with said the mood is tense and people who do show Thompson support are simply worried about their jobs.
"We've invested part of our lives into this office and a lot of us want to continue," said another employee, who will remain anonymous.
The public information officer confirmed people have been moved to other offices but said it was mostly because of a remodeling project.
When Eyewitness News spoke with Thompson by phone on Sunday, he said he is ready to put the ordeal behind him and focus on his job.
Now, however, some have accused Thompson of lying on his resume. Thompson's biography in the county's citizen's handbook claims he earned both his bachelor's degree and MBA from the University of South Florida.
University officials said the school never awarded Thompson a master's degree.
"And then voters, when they see other kinds of things that don't look on the up-and-up, like fudging resumes, then in the voters' minds these things start adding up and they think, 'Is this the person I want in elected office?'" said Aubrey Jewett of the University of Central Florida.
WFTV found out that while these trials played out, Thompson was suspended from his job for three months without pay. Eyewitness News also learned the county is now trying to decide whether he should receive back pay. Thompson earns around $120,000 per year.
WFTV
