The Reckoning at Rockport Harbor (Part 5 of 6)

May 03, 2026•1 min read

"If Kerry gets Walmart to write them off as fraud, no harm, no foul. I don't care if she bought those things as long as ACND doesn't pay for them."

In Part Five of “The Reckoning at Rockport Harbor,” Anne Smith alleges she reported a dangerous mold infestation in the ACND offices to Harbor Master Keith Barrett in October 2021, only to be ordered to conceal it from the Board under threat of termination. Smith and other staff suffered serious health issues, with Smith spending 144 days bedridden from mold-related sinus migraines. She also details alleged credit card misuse that Barrett allegedly dismissed and blocked from full Board review. In March 2024, after Barrett’s most explicit threat, Smith suffered a severe cardiac event her doctor linked directly to prolonged workplace stress. The mold crisis was not publicly addressed until April 2025.

This is Part 5 of our 6-part investigative series “The Reckoning at Rockport Harbor.”

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Walter Perry

Walter E. Perry Sr. is co-founder and publisher of The Rockport Pirate, Rockport-Fulton's fastest-growing local news and events platform. A marketing-focused MBA graduate of Texas A&M University–San Antonio and currently pursuing a doctorate in Organizational Leadership, Walter brings a rare combination of academic rigor and street-level community credibility to independent journalism. He previously served as editor for a local newspaper and is the founder and executive director of Suit Up!, a trademarked, state-certified life skills program that served more than 1,500 individuals in 2024. Walter is a proven community builder driven by a belief that local news should be bold, honest, and built by the people it serves.

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