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Judge issues late verdict on Krewe
© St. Petersburg Times In the summer of 2000, Robert Foster made a promise: He would leave Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla -- the all-male, mostly white club that hosts the annual Gasparilla parade -- if he were made a judge. Foster is keeping his promise -- two years later. Foster, 55, who has belonged to the Krewe since the 1970s, said this week he would not renew his membership for the 2002-2003 year. "The people who knew me said I should stay in," Foster said. "The people who don't know me question my impartiality. I decided it was about people that didn't know me, as opposed to people who knew me." Critics said a judge shouldn't belong to a club that practices discrimination. The Krewe excludes women, and, until the early 1990s, excluded blacks. Foster was elected in November 2000. Why the tardiness in keeping his word? Foster said it hinges on one letter. He said he promised to leave the Krewe if he were selected to be judge -- meaning appointed -- rather than elected. It's a distinction he failed to make when the St. Petersburg Times talked to him about leaving the Krewe in July 2000. LOCAL LINDH CASE LINK: In December 1995, the FBI accused three Cuban immigrants of stockpiling assault rifles as part of a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro's regime from a kitchen-supply business in Huntington Park, Calif. Just a month after the arrests, however, the government dropped the charges, with little explanation. Who represented the accused? Tampa's own Ralph E. Fernandez. Now, lawyers for John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban, are asking Fernandez for details on the 7-year-old California case. Of particular interest: the tactics of FBI agent Christopher Reimann. Federal prosecutors hope to incriminate Lindh with statements he gave Reimann during interrogations last December at Camp Rhino, near Kandahar. But Lindh's lawyers say he was coerced: He was malnourished and sleep-deprived at the time, they say, with a bullet lodged in his leg. While Reimann advised Lindh of his right to counsel, the lawyers say, the FBI agent said: "Of course, there are no lawyers here." Rene Cruz, one of the Cuban immigrants accused in the California case, told the Times that Reimann flouted his rights during an interrogation in 1995. Cruz said Reimann never advised him of his right to remain silent, or to counsel. "He didn't respect any civil rights," Cruz said. "He pushed, pushed, pushed." It's not clear what Lindh's lawyers hope to learn by talking to Fernandez, the Tampa lawyer who represented Cruz. Perhaps why the California case got scuttled. Fernandez confirms getting calls from the Lindh people but won't comment further, except to say he hasn't decided whether to tell anyone what he knows. ELECTION FOR A JUDGESHIP: Since April, when Judge Florence Foster announced she was too sick to seek re-election, the question has lingered: Who would be responsible for filling her seat -- the people or the governor? In response to a request from Gov. Jeb Bush for an advisory opinion, the Florida Supreme Court concluded Wednesday that it should be filled by election rather than governor's appointment. That's good news to the three candidates who have already paid their qualifying fee: Martha Cook, Carlos Pazos and Ken Whalen. POLICE POLITICKING? Politics. All politics. That's what Tampa Mayor Dick Greco and police Chief Bennie Holder say is fueling the recent frenzy about officer staffing. During a press conference Monday, Holder told his troops that it was "gut check time" and to "suck it up" about the redeployment of troops for Homeland Security patrols. The department is not understaffed, said Holder; nor is the city unsafe. He was responding to a memo written by police Lt. Lynda Milana, who said officers are in danger because of the staffing shortage. Holder and Greco said that Milana is entitled to her point of view, and Holder said he is meeting with her today. But what really troubled the pair was that the media received the memo before they did. The reason? Politics, they said cryptically, without offering any theories. And as campaigns heat up, the pair promise more politically motivated shenanigans. "You're going to see a lot more of this politicking," Greco said. "Everyone has different motives for saying and doing something." Neither Greco nor Holder thinks Milana leaked the letter. -- Staff writer Tamara Lush contributed to this report. Got a tip? For cops, call Amy Herdy at 226-3386. For courts, call Christopher Goffard at 226-3337.
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