Directed by the Mayor and Abide

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On November 7, 2025, Jerry Creel—Building Official, Community Development Director, Historic Preservation Director, Code Enforcement Director, and Secretary to the Board of Adjustments—testified under oath before the Board of Adjustments and Appeals. He was asked about the June 30, 2025 stop work order. The one delivered by armed police. The one issued 24 days after a citizen filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City.

His answer, recorded by court reporter F. Dusty Burdine, CSR No. 1171, is on the official transcript at page 51, lines 3-6:

Read that again.

Directed.

Not "advised me." Not "recommended." Not "suggested I consider." Not "provided legal counsel regarding."

Directed.

What City Attorneys Do

City attorneys advise. That's their job. They tell city officials: "If you do X, here are the legal consequences. If you do Y, here's the liability exposure. Here's what the law allows. Here's what it prohibits."

City attorneys do not direct building enforcement decisions. They do not command building officials to issue stop work orders. They do not control which permits get denied and which get approved.

That's not legal advice. That's operational control.

When Peter Abide "directed" Jerry Creel to issue a stop work order, he stepped outside his role as legal advisor and became an active participant in building code enforcement. He didn't review an enforcement action for legal sufficiency—he ordered it.

And then his law firm billed $150/hour to defend it.

What Mayors Do

Mayors possess broad executive authority. They set policy. They appoint department heads. They represent the city.

Mayors do not make building code determinations. They lack the technical expertise to evaluate structural engineering. They have no training in the International Residential Code. Building code enforcement requires professional judgment by licensed building officials—not political direction from elected officials.

When the Mayor "directed" Jerry Creel to issue a stop work order, the enforcement action became political. It was no longer a technical determination by a building professional. It was an order from City Hall.

Building codes exist to protect public safety. When enforcement decisions come from politicians rather than professionals, the code becomes a weapon.

The Timeline

June 6, 2025: Citizen files federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Biloxi, Case No. 1:25-cv-00178-LG-RPM.

June 30, 2025: Mayor and Pete Abide "direct" Jerry Creel to issue stop work order. Armed police deliver it.

Twenty-four days.

From federal lawsuit to politically-directed enforcement action. From protected First Amendment activity to armed police at your door.

Creel didn't decide to issue the stop work order because of code violations. Creel issued the stop work order because Pete Abide and the Mayor told him to.

That's not code enforcement. That's retaliation.

The Nuremberg Defense

"I was just following orders."

That's what Jerry Creel's testimony amounts to. He presented information to the Mayor and Abide. They directed him. He complied.

The problem with the Nuremberg Defense is that it doesn't work. Following an unlawful order doesn't absolve you of liability for the unlawful act. It just proves you knew someone else thought it was a good idea too.

But Creel's testimony does something else: it identifies the conspiracy.

• 42 U.S.C. § 1983 requires action "under color of state law" that deprives a citizen of constitutional rights. Check.
• 42 U.S.C. § 1985 prohibits conspiracies to deprive citizens of equal protection. A conspiracy requires an agreement between two or more people.

Pete Abide. The Mayor. Jerry Creel.

Creel just testified—under oath, on the record, before a court reporter—that there was an agreement. He presented information. They directed action. He executed it.

That's not advice. That's a conspiracy.

The Abide Problem

Peter Abide is the City Attorney. His job is to protect the City from liability.

But let's be clear about what Peter Abide actually is: an outside contractor.

What does "outside contractor" mean? Exactly what you think it means, my dear fellow resident.

An outside contractor. Not a city employee. In fact, they make it very clear he's not one. The distinction is explicit. Intentional. Documented.

Resolution No. 327-17—the ordinance that appoints Peter Abide as City Attorney—states it in black and white:

That's not my interpretation. That's what the resolution says. They wrote it down. They voted on it. They made it official: the man who controls all city legal matters, who "directs" building enforcement, who serves as "primary contact for all City matters" with "authority to engage, supervise, and direct" special counsel—that man is explicitly, by their own ordinance, not a city employee.

Why do they make this clear distinction?

So he can charge more than a salaried person would.

A city attorney on salary might make $80,000, $100,000, maybe $120,000 a year. That's it. Fixed cost. Predictable budget line. No matter how many stop work orders, how many criminal charges, how many federal lawsuits—same salary.

But an outside contractor? An outside contractor bills by the hour. $150/hour. Every email. Every phone call. Every "direction" to Jerry Creel. Every motion to dismiss. Every response to a federal complaint. Every hour spent defending the liability he created.

A salaried city attorney has no incentive to create problems. Problems are just more work for the same pay.

An outside contractor has every incentive to create problems. Problems are billable hours. Problems are revenue. Problems are the business model.

Peter Abide is not a city employee. He is not accountable to city personnel policies. He does not draw a city salary. He is a private attorney at a private law firm—Currie Johnson & Myers—who bills the City of Biloxi for his services.

Over $220,000 on one case. To deny a $97 Certificate of Occupancy. To a citizen who passed all inspections and has three PE stamps.

And that's just one case. A November 26, 2024 public records response disclosed that Peter Abide receives $566,000 in annual compensation from City contracts. Over half a million dollars a year. To a man who is explicitly "not an employee of the City."

That's not legal services. That's a revenue stream. And the "outside contractor" designation is what makes it possible.

The Conflicts Multiply

And it gets worse.

Peter Abide owns real estate in Biloxi. The man directing building code enforcement has personal financial interests in Biloxi real estate values. When Abide "directs" Creel to take enforcement action against a property owner, is he protecting the City? Or is he protecting his own property investments?

And it gets even worse.

Peter Abide is partnered with Mark Seymour, an engineer. The City Attorney who directs building enforcement decisions has a business relationship with an engineer. When engineering disputes arise—like, say, whether a deck needs additional engineering—whose interests is Abide protecting? The City's? Or his engineering partner's?

This is not a city attorney providing legal advice. This is an outside contractor with real estate holdings and an engineering partner directing building enforcement decisions that directly impact his private financial interests.

Create the Liability. Bill to Defend It.

Peter Abide directed Jerry Creel to issue a stop work order 24 days after a federal lawsuit was filed. That stop work order is now Exhibit A in claims for First Amendment retaliation, procedural due process violations, and conspiracy to deprive constitutional rights.

The City Attorney didn't protect the City from liability. The City Attorney created it.

And then—here's the best part—Peter Abide's law firm, Currie Johnson & Myers, billed the City to defend against the lawsuit arising from the stop work order that Peter Abide directed.

The poor man's version of the Dixie Mafia. Same structure—outside contractors capturing government functions for private profit. Same methods—intimidation, fabricated charges, political protection. Same victims—citizens who lack the resources to fight back.

The only difference? The real Dixie Mafia had the decency to operate outside the law. Creel and Abide do it with city letterhead.

The Two Letterheads

Figuratively and literally.

When Peter Abide wants to appear official—when he wants the weight of government authority behind his words—he uses City of Biloxi letterhead. "City Attorney Peter C. Abide." The lighthouse logo. The "established 1699" seal. All the trappings of legitimate governmental communication.

But when Peter Abide wants to hide what he's doing—when he wants to evade public records requests, when he wants communications shielded from disclosure—he uses his private law firm email. Currie Johnson & Myers. Attorney-client privilege. Work product doctrine. "Sorry, that's not a public record."

Same man. Same decisions. Same "directions" to Jerry Creel. But the letterhead changes depending on whether he wants accountability or concealment.

• The public accountability? City letterhead.
• The actual conspiracy? Law firm email.

That's not incompetence. That's evidence management.

The Wannabe Mobsters Confess

Here's the thing about real organized crime: they don't testify under oath about who ordered what.

But Jerry Creel did.

On November 7, 2025, in front of a court reporter, eight board members, two police officers, and defense counsel, Jerry Creel raised his right hand and told the world exactly how the operation works:

The wannabe mobsters confessed. Under oath. On the record.

An outside contractor with real estate holdings and an engineering partner—Peter Abide—"directed" building enforcement. The Mayor—an elected official with no building code expertise—"directed" technical enforcement decisions. And Jerry Creel—the man with five hats and his own Deputy Clerk—carried out the orders.

The enforcement was delivered by armed police. Not because of any imminent danger—the IRC allows stop work orders to be delivered by email, certified mail, or posting. Armed police showed up because intimidation was the point.

Tara Busby—the fraudulent Deputy Clerk—went with two officers in "tactical position" to deliver a piece of paper. A stop work order. Not an arrest warrant. Not a search warrant. A piece of paper that could have been emailed.

That's not code enforcement. That's a show of force. That's intimidation. That's deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law.

And Jerry Creel just admitted—under oath—that Pete Abide and the Mayor directed it.

Real mobsters know better than to testify about the chain of command. These wannabe mobsters put it on a certified transcript.

The Dixie Mafia would be embarrassed.

The Five Crowns, One Puppet

Do you know what's worse, my fellow citizen?

Here lies the bandit who controls code enforcement, building decisions, the historic district, and—wait for it—is secretary to the only board that checks him.

Read that again.

• Jerry Creel is the Building Official. He issues the stop work orders.
• Jerry Creel is the Code Enforcement Director. He controls the inspectors.
• Jerry Creel is the Historic Preservation Director. He decides what's "historic" and what changes you're allowed to make.
• Jerry Creel is the Community Development Director. He oversees the entire department.
• Jerry Creel is the Secretary to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals—the only body in Biloxi with authority to review and reverse his decisions.

When you appeal a Jerry Creel decision, your appeal goes to a board where Jerry Creel controls the paperwork. Jerry Creel schedules the hearings. Jerry Creel manages the agenda. Jerry Creel sits at the front of the room while you make your case against Jerry Creel.

There is no check on Jerry Creel in the City of Biloxi. The one body that's supposed to provide oversight? He runs it.

And now you know why Pete Abide and the Mayor can "direct" him to do whatever they want. There's no one to appeal to. There's no oversight to fear. There's no accountability mechanism that Jerry Creel doesn't control.

This is what capture looks like. This is what happens when one man accumulates five positions and answers to no one. This is Biloxi.

And here's the final absurdity: they gave Jerry Creel all those crowns—Building Official, Code Enforcement Director, Historic Preservation Director, Community Development Director, Secretary to the Appeals Board—and what did he do with them?

He admitted under oath that he's nothing but a puppet.

"Pete Abide… directed me."

Five titles. Five positions of authority. Five hats he wears to consolidate power. And when it matters, when he's under oath, when the court reporter is transcribing every word—Jerry Creel admits he just does what the outside contractor tells him.

The City of Biloxi created a monster with five heads, and all five heads answer to Peter Abide.

The Whispering

After the November 7, 2025 hearing, something interesting happened.

Creel, who had spent years as the face of building code enforcement in Biloxi, suddenly wanted everyone to know: it wasn't his decision.

Now, don't be confused, my fellow citizen. This is not a moment of light. This is not conscience awakening. This is not Jerry Creel finally doing the right thing.

This is a coward trying to back out.

Jerry Creel is under federal investigation for perjury. The July 10, 2025 affidavit—the one where he swore he "personally observed" violations while the citizen was in California recovering from eye surgery—that affidavit is now Exhibit A in an FBI investigation. Four instances of perjury. Documented. Irrefutable. Medical records prove he lied under oath.

Jerry Creel filed criminal charges against a citizen. Those charges were dismissed. The prosecution couldn't produce evidence. The "crimes" didn't exist. He tried to incriminate a man with three PE stamps, passed inspections, and $8,000 in engineering analysis—and he failed. Epically.

Now Jerry Creel is pressed into a corner. The federal lawsuits are multiplying. The FBI is asking questions. The State Department opened a case. His own engineer admitted she made "no final findings." The criminal charges he filed blew up in his face.

So what does Jerry Creel do? He points fingers. He whispers. He testifies—under oath—that Pete Abide and the Mayor directed him.

"It wasn't me. They told me to do it."

That's not confession. This is self-preservation. This is a rat trying to jump off a sinking ship. This is a coward who terrorized citizens for years suddenly realizing that the citizen he targeted this time documented everything, filed federal lawsuits, and doesn't back down.

Jerry Creel isn't telling the truth because he found his conscience. Jerry Creel is telling the truth because he fears the consequences of his lies more than he fears Peter Abide.

That's not redemption. That's calculation.

The Departures

Creel isn't the only one who sees the writing on the wall.

• Mandy Hornsby — Historic Preservation staff who imposed "1860s aesthetic" requirements on fence permits — quit.
• Robert Harenski — Municipal Prosecutor who pursued the criminal charges — settled and agreed to stay-away provisions.

People are leaving. People are settling. People are distancing themselves.

And Jerry Creel is on the record, under oath, saying that Pete Abide and the Mayor directed him.

When defendants start blaming each other in sworn testimony, the conspiracy is collapsing from within.

The Admission Binds Everyone

Creel testified as the City's witness at the November 7, 2025 hearing. He was presented by the defense. His testimony is a binding admission.

Under Mueller v. Abdnor, 972 F.2d 931, 936 (8th Cir. 1992), testimony of a party's witness constitutes a binding admission. Creel identified specific actors (Pete Abide and the Mayor), a specific action ("directed me"), and a specific result ("issue a stop work order").

No reasonable juror could interpret this testimony as anything other than the Mayor and City Attorney commanding Creel's enforcement action.

The defendants cannot now claim:

• "Directed" really meant "advised"
• There was some unstated context that changes the meaning
• Creel misspoke or was confused
• The word means something different in building code enforcement

Creel said what he said. Under oath. Before a court reporter. In front of defense counsel who could have objected or clarified. They didn't.

The conspiracy is admitted.

The Puppet Master

And it is horrifying.

We, the people of Biloxi, are subject to a small man called Peter Abide. An outside contractor who thinks he's a mafioso. But like Creel, he's a coward—one who hides behind other people. He leaves the trench and tries to play commander from safety.

Peter Abide relies on traffic of influence. On connections. On whispered directions and plausible deniability. Look at his pictures—he looks soft. Watch him in videos—he looks soft there too. In reality? He also is. Soft men don't do their own dirty work. They use people.

It's even possible Jerry Creel isn't as corrupt as he appears. Maybe he's just weak. Maybe he's just following orders from a man who figured out how to capture him. That doesn't erase Creel's crimes—the perjury, the fabricated charges, the armed police deployments, the Sunday surveillance. Those are his hands on the wheel. Those are his signatures on the affidavits.

But there's a pattern.

Peter Abide controls the Building Department through Jerry Creel. He controls the Municipal Prosecutor's office—Resolution No. 07-01-25 confirms that Robert Harenski "reports to and is supervised by City Attorney Peter C. Abide." He controls the legal strategy. He controls which attorneys get hired. He controls the gatekeeping that forces citizens to pay $150/hour just to talk to their own government.

Peter Abide has more control than a mayor should have. More control than a city council grants. More control than any outside contractor—any non-employee—should ever possess over a municipal government.

And how does he maintain that control? Through obedient dogs. Through people who commit crimes for him. Through Jerry Creels who file perjured affidavits, through Tara Busbys who process fraudulent criminal charges, through prosecutors who pursue cases they know are baseless.

Peter Abide never signed those affidavits. Peter Abide never delivered those stop work orders. Peter Abide never stood in front of a court reporter and lied about what he "personally observed."

He just "directed" the people who did.

The difference between Peter Abide and Jerry Creel? When the ship sinks, Creel is the one with fingerprints on the crimes. Abide just "directed." Abide just "supervised." Abide was just the "primary contact."

Plausible deniability. The coward's armor.

But Jerry Creel just pierced it. Under oath. On the record. In front of a court reporter.

"Pete Abide… directed me."

The puppet named the puppet master. And now we all know who really runs Biloxi's building department—and it isn't the man with five titles. It's the soft man in the law firm who bills $566,000 a year to pull the strings.

What This Means For You

If you're a citizen of Biloxi, here's what Jerry Creel just told you:

Building code enforcement in your city is not based on the building code. It's based on directions from the Mayor and City Attorney.

If you file a lawsuit, the Mayor and City Attorney will direct the Building Official to take enforcement action against you. Not because you violated the code—because you exercised your constitutional rights.

The Building Official will comply. He'll testify under oath that he was just following orders.

And then the City Attorney's law firm will bill taxpayers $150/hour to defend the enforcement action the City Attorney directed.

How It's Supposed to Work

Before we explain how Creel and Abide defraud citizens, let's be clear about how code enforcement is supposed to work under Biloxi's own ordinances—as Creel himself knows, because this is the process he's supposed to follow:

• Step 1 — Investigation: An inspector investigates a potential issue.
• Step 2 — Code Enforcement Check: The Building Official determines whether a violation exists.
• Step 3 — Stop Work Order: If warranted, a stop work order is issued. The order must cite the specific work being stopped and why.
• Step 4 — Notice of Violation with Cure Period: The citizen receives a written Notice of Violation that describes the violation, states what actions are needed to correct it, and provides ten business days to cure OR request an enforcement conference.
• Step 5 — Enforcement Conference: If the citizen requests it, an enforcement conference must be scheduled between 10 and 30 days after the request.
• Step 6 — City Council Code Enforcement Hearing: Every City Council meeting includes a Code Enforcement Hearings section where elected officials see what's happening.
• Step 7 — Community Court Remand: Only if no one corrects the violation, no one requests a conference, no one appeals, and all deadlines expire may the matter go to court.

And what does the International Residential Code say?

IRC R114.2 is explicit: "The stop work order shall be in writing and shall be given to the owner of the property, the owner's authorized agent or the person performing the work. Upon issuance of a stop work order, the cited work shall immediately cease. The stop work order shall state the reason for the order and the conditions under which the cited work is authorized to resume."

How Creel and Abide Actually Operate

Here's what actually happens:

• Skip Step 1: No real investigation. Sunday surveillance in church clothes. Driving by with head out window.
• Skip Step 2: No code enforcement check. Just "I don't like steel construction" or "permit language not clear."
• Corrupt Step 3: Stop work orders issued with no reasons, no violations cited, no resumption conditions—violating IRC R114.2 on their face.
• Skip Step 4: No Notice of Violation. No ten-day cure period. No opportunity to correct.
• Skip Step 5: No enforcement conference offered. No appeal rights notification.
• Skip Step 6: No City Council code enforcement hearing. No elected official review.
• Corrupt Step 7: Instead of proper procedure, Creel walks down the hall to his personal Deputy Clerk and files criminal charges directly.

The citizen goes from "Creel doesn't like your deck" to "criminal defendant" without ever receiving a Notice of Violation, without ever getting the ten-day cure period, without ever being offered an enforcement conference, without ever having the City Council review, without any of the procedural protections the ordinance requires.

And who designed this bypass? Who "directed" Creel to skip every procedural requirement and go straight to criminal charges?

Pete Abide. The City Attorney. The man whose firm bills $150/hour to prosecute the charges and defend against the lawsuits.

The Impossible Timeline

And here's where the wannabe mafiosos reveal themselves as incompetent even at committing crimes:

The criminal summons was dated July 9, 2025. The affidavit—the sworn statement where Jerry Creel claims he "personally observed" the violations—was dated July 10, 2025.

Read that again.

They filed the charges on July 9th. They filed the sworn statement supporting the charges on July 10th.

The affidavit is a legal prerequisite for criminal charges. Under Mississippi law, you cannot file a criminal summons without a sworn affidavit establishing probable cause.

Mississippi Rule of Criminal Procedure 2.1(a): "All criminal proceedings shall be commenced either by charging affidavit, indictment, or bill of information."

Mississippi Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.1(a): "Upon a finding of probable cause made pursuant to Rule 2.2… the judge shall immediately cause to be issued an arrest warrant or… a summons."

The sequence is mandatory: (1) charging affidavit filed, (2) judge reviews affidavit for probable cause, (3) THEN summons may issue.

So how did a criminal summons get filed on July 9th when the affidavit supporting it wasn't signed until July 10th?

In Biloxi, apparently, you can prosecute someone for crimes based on evidence that hasn't been fabricated yet. You can issue charges supported by perjury that hasn't been committed yet.

As cited in the Motion to Dismiss filed in Municipal Court: "A prosecution commenced without a sworn complaint is jurisdictionally void and cannot be cured by later swearing." See Bramlette v. State.

Why Federal Court Was the Only Way

Some readers may wonder: why didn't the undersigned just fight this in local court? Why go to federal court? Why involve the FBI, the State Department, agencies that had to ask what state Biloxi is in?

Because locally, they don't just have influence. They have control.

• They control the police—who delivered a stop work order with armed officers in tactical position for a piece of paper that could have been emailed.
• They control the municipal court—where Brooke Vanover, appointed on Creel's recommendation, processes criminal charges without judicial review.
• Their reach extends to Harrison County—where Peter Abide's firm Currie Johnson & Myers handles county matters.

When every local institution is captured, there is no local remedy.

So the undersigned went to federal court.

In the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, decisions are appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans—where judges don't golf with Peter Abide. They don't owe favors to Jerry Creel.

The FBI field offices in Jackson, New Orleans, and Mobile—where the undersigned has visited and maintains communication—don't know what Biloxi is. They investigate based on evidence, not on who knows whom at the country club.

The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, when they opened Case 25-0000782, had to ask what state Biloxi was in.

This was the only way.

Peter Abide's traffic of influence stops at the federal courthouse door. Jerry Creel's five hats mean nothing to an FBI agent. Brooke Vanover's rubberstamp has no power in the Southern District of Mississippi.

Sunlight Is the Best Disinfectant

But federal court alone isn't enough. Lawsuits take years. Judges have discretion. Appeals drag on.

That's why this website exists.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Every article published here restricts their movements. Every documented incident connects to the next unlawful act. Every piece of evidence preserved becomes a permanent public record that no settlement can seal, no dismissal can erase.

When Jerry Creel drives by 929 Division Street now, he knows he's being watched. When Peter Abide "directs" enforcement, he knows it will be documented. When Brooke Vanover stamps another fraudulent charge, she knows it will be exposed.

They built their power in darkness—in whispered directions, in law firm emails hidden from public records, in Deputy Clerk stamps that bypassed judicial review. Darkness is where corruption thrives.

This website is the light.

We the People

Here's what they don't understand about the endgame.

When we are divided, we are prey. One citizen against City Hall. One property owner against five departments controlled by one man. One immigrant against a machine that has crushed countless others who lacked the resources, the knowledge, or the stubbornness to fight back.

Divided, we lose. They know this. They count on it.

But together? Together there is no opponent.

The undersigned is not the only citizen Jerry Creel has targeted. Not the only property owner Peter Abide has extracted fees from. Not the only person who has faced armed police over building permits, fraudulent charges over code compliance, harassment disguised as enforcement.

Others have contacted the undersigned. Others have stories. Others have evidence. The pattern is emerging—not one rogue official, but a systematic operation that has victimized citizens for years.

And here's what Peter Abide and Jerry Creel should remember as they read this:

It all falls to us. Including a jury.

Twelve citizens of Harrison County. Twelve people who pay taxes to fund Peter Abide's $566,000 annual contracts. Twelve people who might have their own stories about the Building Department.

Twelve people who will hear the evidence. Who will see the timeline. Who will learn that the summons was filed before the affidavit. Who will hear Jerry Creel admit under oath that Peter Abide "directed" him.

Twelve people who will decide.

A Note on Transcript Authenticity

The quotation in this article comes from the official transcript of the November 7, 2025 Board of Adjustments and Appeals hearing, prepared by F. Dusty Burdine, CSR No. 1171, of Simpson Burdine & Migues.

The hearing was attended by eight Board members (all Mayor-appointed professionals with city contracts), two police officers, defense counsel Michael Whitehead and J. Henry Ross, Building Department employees including Jennifer Polk, Jeff Harbor, and Tara Busby, Professional Engineer Dreux Seghers, and the court reporter.

Jerry Creel's testimony that Pete Abide and the Mayor "directed" him to issue the stop work order is not interpretation. It is not inference. It is not allegation.

It is his own words, under oath, recorded for posterity.

A Note on Transparency

Before publication, an email was sent to Jerry Creel, Peter Abide, Mayor Andrew Gilich, and defense counsel inviting them to rebut any fact contained in this article.

If Mr. Creel would like to explain what he meant when he testified that Pete Abide and the Mayor "directed" him to issue the stop work order, we will publish his response in full, unedited.

If Mr. Abide would like to explain how "directing" a building official to issue a stop work order falls within the city attorney's advisory role, we will publish his response in full, unedited.

If Mayor Gilich would like to explain why he was involved in directing building code enforcement decisions against a citizen who had just filed a federal lawsuit, we will publish his response in full, unedited.

As of publication, we have received no response.