ANNA MARIA – Public records obtained from the city clerk’s office provide more details about the credit card expenditures referenced in the lawsuit complaint former city treasurer LeAnne (Addy) Endres filed against the city of Anna Maria.
At some point during or after her tenure with the city, Addy changed her last name to Endres.
On Nov. 17, Mayor Mark Short terminated Addy/Endres’ employment with the city. On April 9, the attorney representing the former treasurer filed a termination-related lawsuit that named Endress as the plaintiff and the city of Anna Maria as the defendant.
According to the lawsuit complaint, “On or around Dec. 19, plaintiff (Endres) received a notice of internal investigation letter from Short, via email, which falsely alleged that plaintiff improperly used city funds and account points for personal use.”
The Dec. 19 document included the header: “Notice of Internal Investigation. Request for Information.” The notice of investigation included an attached list of 21 city credit card expenditures that totaled $8,915.
According to the lawsuit complaint, “On or around Jan. 5, plaintiff denied these spurious claims in an email to LaRowe and Short. Throughout plaintiff’s employment with defendant, she always ensured that receipts for city purchases were turned in correctly. Plaintiff contends that these allegations are further retaliatory treatment against plaintiff for engaging in protected activity.”
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) provides the city of Anna Maria’s law enforcement services. On May 20, The Sun requested copies of any sheriff’s office reports related to the city’s notice of investigation and/or the audit of the identified credit card expenditures. On May 22, the sheriff’s office provided the following response: “Regarding your public record request, the responsive records are exempt and/or confidential and therefore will not be provided.”
CITY NOTICE
The notice of internal investigation sent to Addy/Endres said, “On Nov. 25, 2025, the city advised you that it was in the process of conducting an internal audit of purchases made by you using a city credit card, as well as various vendor files. While this internal audit remains ongoing, we have identified several purchases on the city credit card issued under your name, as well as other practices which we have been unable to link to any ascertainable city purpose. The purpose of this correspondence is to allow you the opportunity to provide an explanation for these flagged purchases and practices as we continue our review.
“Attached, you will find a partial list of items identified for calendar year 2024. In addition, the city has identified concerns regarding the following apparent activities:
• “Use of personal credit cards to purchase items under city accounts with certain vendors, resulting in the avoidance of sales tax and possible shipping charges;
• “Use of reward points under city accounts to purchase items of a personal nature;
• “Additional purchases of computers and peripherals delivered to your home or picked up at stores that at this time have not been located;
• “Unusually high volumes of purchases of like products delivered to your personal address while similar products were being purchased either from the same or different vendors and being shipped directly to city hall.”
The notice of internal investigation says, “Examples of such items are also included in the enclosed list. It is critical that the city be able to account for these purchases and practices as a steward of public funds. Please provide a written response by Jan. 6, 2026, to each of the items identified on the attached schedule. Please provide the business purpose of each item, the reason for the purchase and who approved each purchase. Please also include an explanation for the above-bulleted purchasing practices. You may address your response to Amber LaRowe.”
LISTED EXPENDITURES
The two November 2024 city credit card expenditures included in the city’s request for information totaled $326.31 and consisted of the $190 paid to Traininng LLC with the city description, “No receipt or documentation located;” and the $136.31 paid to Loopy Cases with the description, “Numerous phone cases delivered to home; assets not located.”
The four October 2024 expenditures listed totaled $2,937.84 and consisted of the $749 paid to Amazon with the description, “iPad mini. No receipt located; asset not located;” the $104.86 paid to Aloy, with the description, “No receipt located; asset not located;” the $1,604.99 paid to Microsoft, with the description, “No receipt located; asset not located;” and the $478.99 paid to Best Buy for AirPods and a magic keyboard for an iPad Pro 13, with the description, “assets not located; store pick-up.”
The four listed September 2024 expenditures totaled $1,124.01 and included the $210.53 and $673.03 payments made to reMarkable with the description, “No receipt in file; asset not located.” The reMarkable website sells digital tablets that replicate the feeling of writing and drawing on paper.
The listed September 2024 expenditures included the $114.99 paid to Amazon for an Apple Pencil Pro, with the description, “asset not located; delivered to home;” and the $126.26 paid to lululemon (an athletic shoe and apparel company), with the description, “no receipt in file; asset not located.”
The two listed August 2024 expenditures totaled $256.16 and included the $158.40 payment to Amazon for a reMarkable marker and a MacBook Air 13 case, with the description, “delivered to home; assets not located;” and the $97.76 paid to Amazon for reMarkable case and graph paper, with the description, “delivered to home.”
The lone July 2024 expenditure on the city’s list was the $599.90 paid to Best Buy for a reMarkable tablet, with the description, “store pick-up; asset not located.”
The four listed June 2024 expenditures totaled $3,671.18 and included the $1,008.97 paid to Best Buy for an Apple watch and AirPod Max headphones; the $2,250 paid to Zipline for a virtual personal marketing class; the $222.56 paid to Shorty Love Case for a “pink bag; delivered to home; asset not located;” and the $189.65 paid to Loopy Cases for “several purchases and one return; shipped to home with no receipts.”
The city document also includes five entries pertaining to the use of the city’s vendor reward points from November 2023 through March 2024 and totaling $573.17. The vendor reward point expenditures included three transactions with Sam’s Club that included $40.64 for pool noodles, $29.81 for women’s sneakers and $102.74 for men’s clothing; and two $199.99 vendor reward expenditures with Best Buy for Shark vacuums.
For the calendar year 2022, the city document includes three entries for “use of personal credit cards on city vendor accounts.” The personal credit card expenditures consisted of two $199 payments to Best Buy for Shark vacuums and 11 various charges with Amazon totaling $629.
TREASURER’S RESPONSE
On Jan. 5, Addy (Endres) sent an “Internal Audit Inquiry” response to LaRowe and Short that said, “I acknowledge receipt of the city’s correspondence dated Dec. 19, 2025, regarding the ongoing internal audit of purchases made using my city-issued credit card. I am no longer employed by the city and therefore do not have access to city systems, records or documents necessary to provide a substantive response. Any attempt to respond without access to the requested records would be incomplete and potentially misleading.
“Accordingly, I hereby formally demand access to the following materials to provide a full and accurate response: copies of all receipts, invoices and supporting documentation for the purchases identified in your correspondence; copies of my city-issued credit card statements for all relevant periods; all email communications regarding approvals, authorizations or instructions related to these purchases; policies in effect at the time of each purchase, including, without limitation, purchasing, credit card use and property disposal policies; credit card statements, purchase histories and receipts for all employees who made purchases on city accounts, including all vendors such as Amazon, Best Buy and any others; access to Amazon and other vendor accounts associated with city purchases; any additional records necessary to substantiate the purpose, approval and disposition of city property,” Addy/Endres stated in her response.
The Addy/Endres response also says, “For context, the majority of the purchases identified were consistent with long-standing city practices under the former mayor (Dan Murphy) and were conducted in this manner for approximately eight years.
“All such purchases were submitted at the time to the administrative assistant/accounts payable employee in accordance with standard city procedures and were reviewed annually through city audits, with no issues ever noted. Some receipts that were properly submitted at the time now appear to be missing from the November 2024 and December 2024 city credit card statements, further demonstrating that any gaps in records are not due to my actions,” Addy/Endres stated in her response.
“Without access to these materials, I am unable to provide a substantive explanation. The city’s current approach has hampered my ability to defend myself and prove that all actions were proper and consistent with established city practices. Accordingly, I formally request a hearing to clear my name,” Addy/Endres stated in her response.
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