BREAKING: Historic preservation chief told FBI city bypassed reviews, alleges bullying and improper permits
The veteran preservation planner told federal investigators she feared unchecked permitting, selective enforcement and political pressure threatened Key West’s historic district.
A longtime City of Key West historic preservation planner warned federal investigators that the city’s entire historic district risked irreversible damage if former Chief Building Official Raj Ramsingh was allowed to continue consolidating control over permitting, inspections and enforcement, according to newly released FBI interview records.
Investigations are part of a wider corruption probe centering on City Hall and the Bubba Bozo Trio consisting of the felony-indicted former City Attorney, former Chief Building Officer and former long-time Code Enforcement Director.
In sworn statements to agents, Enid Torregrosa-Silva, who served in the city’s Planning Department for more than 16 years, described what she characterized as a rogue system in which historic protections were selectively applied, planning staff were sidelined, and politically connected projects advanced without required public review.
Torregrosa-Silva told investigators she feared “the historic district would be completely destroyed” if the chief building official’s approach prevailed, citing repeated instances in which Historic Architectural Review Commission — known as HARC — approvals were bypassed, overridden or administratively closed without inspections.
The interviews, conducted in late 2024 and made public months later as part of discovery in a broader corruption investigation, provide some of the most detailed insider accounts yet of alleged breakdowns in Key West’s development review system.
Alleged bypass of planning and public review
Torregrosa-Silva told agents that architects and attorneys increasingly bypassed the Planning Department altogether, instead going directly to the City Attorney’s Office to seek legal interpretations or approvals that allowed projects to proceed without full planning or HARC scrutiny.
She said that practice created “chaos” inside Planning and undermined the public review process designed to protect the city’s nationally recognized historic district.
According to the interviews, Torregrosa-Silva said she was told by then–City Attorney Ron Ramsingh that if she had concerns about Building Department actions, she should not bring them to him and instead route issues through management or other attorneys.
She also described a broader culture inside City Hall in which women were routinely marginalized or bullied. Torregrosa-Silva told investigators that former City Attorney Shawn Smith was “horrible to all women working within the City” during his tenure, and that senior management repeatedly failed to intervene when female staff raised concerns.
Projects, favoritism and enforcement disputes
Among the projects Torregrosa-Silva discussed with investigators was 218 Duval Street, a Duval Street property owned by the late attorney Michael Halpern. She said applications were structured to preserve the historic main bar and street-facing structure while adding new construction to the rear — a configuration that allowed the project to proceed without reopening broader HARC issues tied to the primary historic structure.
She said the approach exemplified what she viewed as selective enforcement that benefited favored property owners while eroding uniform application of preservation rules.
Torregrosa-Silva also detailed repeated concerns involving properties owned by or connected to the Santiago family, whom she described as close friends of Raj Ramsingh. Above the Fold has previously reported their relationship with sitting City Commissioner Lissette Carey.
The Santiago-linked project at 1301 United Street involved design changes that initially failed to meet HARC guidelines and should have triggered variances. Torregrosa-Silva said revised plans were later approved, but HARC inspections were never conducted to confirm the construction matched what had been authorized.
Demolitions and fatality at La Te Da site
Torregrosa-Silva cited demolitions at 430 Greene Street and behind La Te Da on Duval Street that she said were declared unsafe by the chief building official without adequate documentation or HARC review.
The demolition behind La Te Da, she told investigators, resulted in a worker’s death. The contractor did not notify the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to Torregrosa-Silva, and OSHA initiated an investigation only after another HARC inspector independently reported the fatality.
She said the incident underscored how sidelining historic review created serious public-safety risks in addition to irreversible losses to the city’s historic fabric.
Code enforcement, influence and culture
Torregrosa-Silva also raised concerns about former Code Compliance Director Jim Young, describing a culture of intimidation and selective enforcement that she said discouraged staff from pushing back.
She told investigators that Young, Raj Ramsingh and Ron Ramsingh frequently socialized and exerted outsized influence over permitting and enforcement decisions, reinforcing what she described as a closed, retaliatory system inside City Hall.
Above the Fold has previously reported that Halpern maintained a longstanding, close relationship with the Ramsingh brothers and Young — a dynamic preservation staff believed amplified informal influence over permitting, code enforcement and legal interpretations.
Corradino report and wider probe
Torregrosa-Silva said she provided extensive documentation to the Corradino Group, whose independent process review later concluded that Key West’s development system had become dangerously unbalanced, with the Building Department exercising authority typically reserved for planners.
That report, commissioned under former City Manager Albert Childress, was never openly debated by the City Commission and has since emerged as an early roadmap for federal and state investigators examining potential corruption inside City Hall.
The FBI has said FD-302 interview summaries reflect witness statements and do not represent investigative conclusions.
Commendation amid controversy
Despite her concerns, Torregrosa-Silva continued working in the Planning Department until her retirement. The city later issued a public commendation praising her role in rewriting the Historic Preservation Guidelines and helping thousands of property owners navigate the preservation process.
“The Key West historic district is the largest in the state and is critically important to ensure our history remains intact for future generations,” the commendation read.
Torregrosa-Silva, who also serves as president of the Key West Art & Historical Society, and her husband were later named Honorary Conchs by Monroe County, and the couple is retiring to Spain.
The corruption investigation involving former city officials remains active and further charges could follow.
Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
This is an evolving story. Watch this space.
Thank you for your factual reporting…