Headline Surfer photoHeadline Surfer photo / Lynne Plaskett's storied political life, including her tale of being cured od cancer by aliens, earns her the 500th spot on Headline Surfer's countdown of the 'Top 500 Newsmakers of Central Florida' (greater Daytona Beach-Orlando) as part of the 24/7 internet newspaper's 5th snniversary celebration.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Lynne Plaskett opted to retire rather than seek another term on the New Smyrna Beach City Commission, but her final motion and vote has certain sparked controversy. Then again, controversy is nothing new to this politician who, in the mid-1990s claimed she was cured of lymphoma by an alien spaceship the size of a dinner plate that levitated and scanned her body.
She and fellow outgoing Commissioner Jim Hathaway teamed up to motion and second a revised retirement contract for outgoing Police Chief Ronald Pagano that provided him with an extra $60,000 he otherwise was not entitled to.
Pagano's contract was not noticed in writing on the agenda to give the public a head's up, instead coming up under the listing for city manager comments with City Manager Pamela Brangaccio evasive about the whole thing and a subsequent unanimous vote being taken that had Pagano's contract re-dressed without dollar amounts discussed. Plaskett, Hathaway, along with fellow Commissioners Jack Grasty, Judy Reiker and Mayor Adam Barringer, voting in for it.
Six months would pass before Headline Surfer broke the story of a major scandal in the police force under Pagano's watch in which $8,000-plus in cash was either stolen or missing from the police evidence room, along with more than 940 other items, including guns, ammo, narcotics, jewelry, electronics and as many as 30 automobiles.
While all of this was under wraps, Brangaccio orchestrated a national search for a new police chief, eventually hiring George Markert. And while the Pagano pay-out situation may be bizarre, though perhaps more so an issue of Sunshine Law violations or even state ethics (the mayor and city manager are already facing unrelated multiple ethics complaints), Plaskett's tenure in government has been bizarre to say the least.
But nothing compares to Plaskett's revelation in 1996, during the heat of a re-election campaign for the Volusia County Council: Then 46, she made national headlines claiming she was cured of cancer years earlier by aliens. And if that wasn't bad enough, she took her story directly to the TV tabloids.
But nothing compares to Plaskett's revelation in 1996, during the heat of a re-election campaign for the Volusia County Council: Then 46, she made national headlines claiming she was cured of cancer years earlier by aliens. And if that wasn't bad enough, she took her story directly to the TV tabloids.
Photo for Headline Surfer / Lynne Plaskett is shown in this snapshot from Wiki highlighting the TV show, "Unsolved Mysteries," hosted by actor Robert Stack.
That September, Plaskett appeared on "The Maury Povich Show," claiming a flying saucer the size of a dinner plate came to her house, levitated her from her bed and scanned her from head to toe. She later apppeared on "Unsolved Mysteries" with host and actor Robert Stack.
As a result, her deadly lymphoma was in complete remission, she claimed.
Suffice to say, the voters that November were not impressed.
Plaskett was not re-elected. However, she did win election to the New Smyrna Beach City Commission in 2003, when the Daytona Beach News-Journal decided her alien fame was old news and didn't bother including it in the campaign coverage.
Plaskett was not re-elected. However, she did win election to the New Smyrna Beach City Commission in 2003, when the Daytona Beach News-Journal decided her alien fame was old news and didn't bother including it in the campaign coverage.
Plaskett refused to discuss it when approached several times by Headline Surfer in recent months, except to say she's prefer it not come up again because she's "embarrassed," though she didn't elaborate as to how or why.
In her final year as a commissioner prior to the Pagano pay issue, Plaskett raised some eyebrows, especially in this tough economy, when she was the lone vote against a Cracker Barrel opening a restaurant in the same complex as the Walmart Supercenter on State Road 44.
The Cracker Barrel franchisee never came back.
In her last couple years as a city commissioner, Plaskett also went through a divorce and lost her home to foreclosure, according to public records.
But without a doubt, Plaskett's legacy was cemented with her story of being cured of cancer by an alien saucer.
Recap Top 500 Newsmakers:
500. Legacy of New Smyrna Beach politician Lynne Plaskett: Claim of being cured of cancer by alien saucerHeadline Surfer 5th Anniversary Advertising---------------------
