Second Stripper, Same Commissioner

Is this man trying to channel Gawker?

"Hernando County Commissioner Nick Nicholson is in the midst of another personal controversy that is reminiscent of his relationship several years ago with a stripper who used drugs.

A couple who rents a room in Nicholson’s home got into a domestic dispute there Tuesday night, according to a Sheriff’s Office arrest report. The husband, Kendel Surette, 32, was arrested on a charge of domestic battery against his wife, Valerie Surette, after deputies say he threw a screwdriver that struck her in the face. The two argued after he accused her of stealing his prescription medicine, the report said.

Nicholson, 71, said Thursday that the couple moved into his home on Tiburon Avenue in April or May. He did not check their backgrounds beforehand, but said he knew they had drug issues. Eviction paperwork in Pasco County indicates the couple had domestic disputes over drugs in the past.

Nicholson first met Valerie Surette at Icon’s Gentleman’s Club in Hudson, where she worked as a dancer, he said."