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One lawyer, trying to slay giants
By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD, Times Staff Writer
In the late 1970s, Matassini cut his teeth on federal law in the most personal way. Back then, it was his family name -- and his father's freedom -- at stake. Fresh from the South Texas College of Law, young Matassini joined in the criminal defense of his father, who faced federal charges ranging from counterfeiting to plotting the death of an FBI informant. "I was in federal court right off the bat," Matassini said, adding that his father's legal troubles sparked his interest in defense work. "That's probably why I'm doing this and not real estate law." Now, the 53-year-old Matassini confronts the case of his career as attorney for Sami Al-Arian, whom the Justice Department describes as head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in North America. At this stage, the legal matchup is radically uneven. Matassini practices with one other lawyer and a small support staff in a single-story office on Kennedy Boulevard. On the other side: a corps of federal prosecutors, in a case singled out for importance by the U.S. Attorney General himself. "The government is not going to be outspent," Matassini said. The case, which could last years and cost millions, is enough to break a small law firm. Defending Al-Arian vigorously will require trips to the Middle East, a jury consultant, paralegals and legal experts who can mount a constitutional challenge to the Patriot Act. Matassini speaks English, Spanish and Italian, but no Arabic. He'll need an Arabic translator, too. Matassini is working to get a large Tampa law firm aboard. The problem is money. He calls it the Big Question that potential firms are asking: "Are we going to be able to devote the resources?" While a legal defense fund has been established for Al-Arian, Matassini said he fears Muslims are hesitant to contribute for fear the government will put their names on a watch list. Matassini, a Tampa native who served a stint in the Marines, came to the law after a failed bid, in his early 20s, to win a seat on the Hillsborough County Commission. E.J. Salcines, who was then the Hillsborough state attorney, was impressed by the moxie Matassini showed in his campaign and encouraged him to go to law school. Armed with his law degree, he opened a small office across the street from the courthouse and worked in defense of his father, strip club owner Pasquale "Pat" Matassini. The elder Matassini was found not guilty of plotting to kill an informant but convicted of conspiring to pass fake money. Lawyers who know Matassini say he does not seek the spotlight. But over the years, the spotlight has found him. A case he handled in the early 1990s, involving lewdness charges against a couple caught copulating on tape by an angry neighbor, made national talk shows. In the 1995 "repo man murder case," he defended a Tampa Heights truck driver accused of gunning down a man who was repossessing his Bronco. "He's what I would call a finesse lawyer," said Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober, who went to law school with Matassini. "He doesn't try to bully anybody. He's soft-spoken, and he's very reflective and thoughtful." Matassini said Al-Arian first enlisted his services six or seven years ago, when he faced an investigation into whether he had voted without being eligible. Since Al-Arian was indicted last month on charges he helped raise funds for Jihad terrorists accused of 100 murders, Matassini has received phone calls and e-mails calling him unpatriotic for taking the case. He has also received praise. "He's fearless," said Bennie Lazzara Jr., a longtime friend. "I'm proud of him taking this case. It's an unpopular cause, and when you're representing someone in an unpopular cause, it takes a lot of courage." Matassini said the missing baby case involving Steve and Marlene Aisenberg, which collapsed amid claims of fabricated evidence, suggested reason to distrust the federal government's version of the truth. "I think anybody who has been a defendant or who has practiced federal criminal law comes away with what I've just said," he said, and added: "I never did like a bully. I think we've got the biggest bully in the country on this case, and that's the Department of Justice." -- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.
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