Firings continue in HCSO academic cheating probe; 2nd captain let go

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Another captain has been fired from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office amid a recent upheaval at the agency.

Capt. Marvin Johnson is the second official to be let go from the sheriff’s office this week in relation to an internal investigation into academic cheating allegations.

Johnson served as the deputy commander for District 2, according to the sheriff’s office website.

A spokesperson for the agency said Sheriff Chad Chronister will not be making any comments until the investigation is complete.

So far, six people have either resigned or been fired from the agency due to the ongoing probe into academic integrity.

The investigation began with former Chief Deputy Anthony Collins, who over the summer, admitted to academically cheating while at the National FBI Academy.

Emails obtained by 8 On Your Side show Collins corresponded with a man named Robert Roush to complete his coursework. Collins submitted his resignation just fourth months after his historic promotion.

Jill Stillman is a retired supervisory special agent with the FBI, who was involved in counterintelligence and undercover criminal investigations. She was awarded by the director of the FBI for her work on decrypting Osama bin Laden’s hard drives and obtaining actionable intelligence from that effort.

She is not involved in the investigation into the cheating scandal at the sheriff’s office, but says she is troubled by it.

“We are held to a higher level and if you go in and you cheat, cheating is cheating,” Stillman said.

Multiple other top officials are accused of hiring the same man to write their research papers and other reports.

Capt. Zuly Stearns was terminated Wednesday, and Col. Christopher Rule, Col. Michael Hannaford and Capt. Lora Rivera all have since stepped down.

Major James Jackson, who was the district commander of court operations, also resigned earlier in October. However, the sheriff’s office said the investigation into Jackson is “unrelated to any cheating on FBI coursework.”

Stillman says it’s also troubling because of the large number of command staff officers who have been forced to resign or be terminated as the result of their involvement in this.

“I think it’s a rationalization, maybe in the minds of some of these officers that go through that think that well, if I don’t get caught and I get through it, so and so did it, then why don’t I do it,” Stillman said. “I just don’t understand that thinking.”