TAMPA - As a child, Charles "Chuck" Pesano attended the Florida State Fair when it was still a small festival held outside the University of Tampa.
More than four decades later, Pesano is returning to Tampa to run it - and he wants to make it bigger and better.
Pesano, 51, was appointed Monday as executive director of the Florida State Fair by Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson.
The goal for Pesano is to not only run the fair, but also to take advantage of the fair property and develop nonfair business.
"With a lot of effort and a good business plan, over the next few years we'll see some real improvements," said Pesano, who is now chief financial officer for the Wisconsin Center District, which runs a convention and entertainment complex in downtown Milwaukee. Pesano was Plant High School's class valedictorian in 1971 and graduated with a degree in business administration from the University of South Florida.
He begins the job Oct. 25.
Aisenbergs denied appeal to Supreme Court
TAMPA - The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear an appeal from Steve and Marlene Aisenberg to open up grand jury transcripts from their high profile case.
The Aisenbergs were indicted in 1999, accused of lying about the disappearance of their 5-month-old daughter, Sabrina, from their Valrico home in 1997. Sabrina has not been found.
The charges were dropped in February 2001 after a federal magistrate judge questioned the evidence in the case and the way investigators collected it.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday ordered the government to pay the Aisenbergs $2.68-million in attorneys' fees. Merryday also ordered the release of the grand jury transcripts. In the vast majority of federal criminal cases, grand jury transcripts are never released.
An appeals court reduced the award to about $1.29-million, saying attorneys' reimbursements be capped at $125 an hour. The court also ruled that the transcripts should remain sealed.
The Aisenbergs' attorneys appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Aisenberg attorney Barry Cohen said Monday that the decision sends a message that rogue prosecutors and investigators can get away with anything.
