Retired crisis responder tells FBI former Key West building chief reviewed own permits

Records and documents compiled by Robert Jensen and first reviewed by the FBI later drew in prosecutors and sparked the “Bubba Bozo Trio” corruption probe at City Hall.

Original interviews conducted by the FBI led to a joint investigation with the MCSAO that led to the felony indictments of Raj and Ron Ramsingh and Jim Young.

A retired crisis responder and Key West resident told federal investigators that former city Chief Building Official Raj Ramsingh reviewed permits tied to his own personal businesses while overseeing the city’s permitting system and routinely mistreated permit applicants, according to an FBI interview summary.

Robert Jensen was interviewed on Sept. 23, 2024, in a telephone interview memorialized in an FBI FD-302 report. Jensen was initially interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation before the involvement of the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office. Information developed during Jensen’s early interviews later drew the interest of state prosecutors and helped prompt a joint corruption investigation into City Hall.

He was first interviewed by the FBI on Aug. 9, 2024 and told federal agents he would continue investigating after their initial contact.

Jensen is the former CEO of Kenyon International, a long-established disaster management firm with more than 118 years of experience responding to crises worldwide. He oversaw hundreds of incidents, including aviation and maritime accidents, natural disasters and mass-fatality events. Kenyon provides disaster response and crisis-management services to local, state and national governments, as well as major private-sector clients such as airlines and energy companies, focusing on restoring order while ensuring compassionate care and preserving dignity.

In the second interview, Jensen told investigators he had been reviewing permits that Ramsingh applied for within the City of Key West simultaneously serving as the city’s top building official, a role that gave him excessive authority over permitting decisions, inspections and enforcement.

According to the interview summary and records reviewed by investigators, Ramsingh owned and operated his own construction firm and inspection company at the same time he was serving as chief building official — a dual role that placed him in a position to oversee, influence or benefit from permitting and inspection activity tied to private business interests.

According to the FD-302, Jensen also described Ramsingh’s conduct toward other permit applicants, including a dispute involving a medical office project for Dr. Jerry Jackson.

Jensen recalled that when Jackson sought to install chambers at his medical facility, Ramsingh’s interaction with the applicant was “awful,” and that Ramsingh at one point asked, “What can you do for me?”

He further told investigators that he heard allegations involving a permit application connected to Crazy Buddha, a commercial business located at 1124 Keys Plaza.

According to the interview summary, Ramsingh allegedly sought improper concessions while the permit was under review. The FD-302 does not state that Jensen personally witnessed those interactions or identify any individual contractors associated with the project.

As part of his account, Jensen also described recurring Friday morning breakfasts at Goldman’s Deli, where he said city officials, building department personnel and others regularly gathered informally. Other witnesses have corroborated those accounts in their statements.

According to Jensen, those gatherings provided opportunities for discussions about city business, including permitting and enforcement matters, outside formal public meetings. The interview summary does not characterize the breakfasts as illegal but notes them as contextual background examined by investigators.

In addition to his interviews, Jensen supplied investigators with a substantial collection of documents, records and research materials he compiled through extensive public-records requests submitted to the City of Key West under Florida’s Sunshine Law. According to the interview summary and people familiar with the probe, those records focused on permitting activity, enforcement actions and internal communications and were reviewed as part of the broader inquiry.

Investigators also followed leads developed during Jensen’s interviews to Brandon Celli, a former city building inspector who later became a subject of investigative interest, according to people familiar with the matter.

Investigators now view Jensen’s cooperation — including his interviews, document production and public-records research — as a likely early tipping point that helped expand the scope of the probe, which later evolved into the so-called “Bubba Bozo Trio” corruption scandal involving former city attorney Ron Ramsingh, his brother Raj Ramsingh, and former longtime code enforcement director Jim Young.

As a result of the ongoing investigation, the Ramsinghs and Young, along with several local contractors who did business with the former chief building official, have been charged in felony indictments, according to court records. Prosecutors have said the investigation remains active, and additional charges could be forthcoming.

As a reminder, all suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

This is an evolving story. Watch this space.