Best yet to come in big crackdown

TAMPA UNCUFFED E-mail: Amy Herdy Christopher Goffard

© St. Petersburg Times
published June 20, 2002

The story of a worldwide Internet prostitution ring based in Tampa created quite a stir at the Sheriff's Office Tuesday.

In case you who missed it, deputies revealed that they had been investigating for two years a Web site that offered a guide for hiring prostitutes from any state in the United States and several other countries.

Spokeswoman Debbie Carter found herself fielding calls from reporters as far away as Los Angeles and London. Cpl. Kirk Bowling, one of the deputies who worked on the case, found himself taking a little backlash from those in the "escort" industry and their supporters. Among the beefs: Don't deputies have anything better to do than arrest prostitutes and johns? Shouldn't they be chasing terrorists instead?

But perhaps the real fireworks are yet to come. Many of the local escorts kept diaries about their experiences with their johns. It's Heidi Fleiss kind of stuff, Bowling said, with lots of details.

"There are some guys who are going to be real upset in the next few weeks," he said.

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY: During depositions and pretrial hearings, Earl Bush had been so disruptive that bailiffs had been forced to remove him more than once.

Yet when Bush, charged with trying to kill his wife, faced a jury in Tampa this week, he was the model of restraint.

No outbursts. Cooperative. During his testimony, he calmly stated his version of events -- that his wife of 25 days had stabbed herself.

The jury did not believe him.

Immediately after the guilty verdict was read, Bush's demeanor changed. Still standing, he pointed a finger at the jury and yelled an expletive to tell them what he thought they should do.

And the same for prosecutor Kim Seace, he added.

Over Bush's shouts, the judge asked the jurors to be polled for their verdicts.

All guilty.

ODD WOMAN OUT: Hillsborough Sheriff Cal Henderson lists 17 names on his command staff. Looking down the list a few days ago, we noticed something odd:

Of the 17 names, only one was a woman.

That woman, Maj. Elaine White, also happens to be the only person of color on the command staff.

So we asked the sheriff about it.

"I would not say it's a lack of diversity," Henderson said. "I promote the people who are the most qualified, and if they happen to be a woman or a person of color, that's good. If not, that's good, too."

Henderson pointed out that his chief legal counsel, who attends command staff meetings, is a woman.

"I have an overabundance of Italians," he joked, "but I don't hearing anybody saying anything about that."

-- Got a tip? For courts, call Christopher Goffard at 226-3337. For cops, call Amy Herdy at 226-3386.

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