A longtime Everglades scientist was handcuffed in a Miami courtroom and taken to jail Thursday to begin serving a 10-day jail sentence in a case that divided the normally tightknit Florida environmental community.
The sentence caps a three-year battle between hydrologist Tom Van Lent and his former bosses at the Everglades Foundation, who accused him of stealing trade secrets when he quit in 2022.
“ The foundation has no trade secrets, but they do wish to hide anything that would embarrass them or worse,” Van Lent told WLRN News outside the Miami-Dade County courthouse before surrendering. “ While I remain frustrated and angry at this injustice, I believe that serving 10 days in jail is worth protecting my and my wife’s privacy and standing up for science and the Everglades.”…