Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Judge names inquiry's targets

By CANDACE RONDEAUX
Published June 14, 2005

TAMPA - Two years ago, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gregory Holder's lower left desk drawer was just an ordinary file holder. But on Monday, the drawer and its contents became a Pandora's box of questions about the former Air Force reservist's role as a courthouse whistle-blower in a federal investigation into courthouse corruption.

Less than a week after a Tampa detective testified that Holder, 51, was a key witness in the federal corruption inquiry, Holder detailed his role in the investigation and named several Tampa officials as targets of the investigation in testimony before the Judicial Qualifications Commission.

"The targets of that federal investigation were (Judge) F. Dennis Alvarez, Judge Robert Bonnano and Maj. Rocky Rodriguez of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office," Holder said.

Holder also again denied allegations brought by the JQC that he plagiarized a 1998 Air Force research paper. He said he was meticulous about the file he kept in his desk drawer that contained both the paper he submitted for an Air Force course and a similar paper by another student, E. David Hoard.

Holder has consistently contended that the allegations stem from his role in the federal investigation. The veteran jurist's defense attorneys also have repeatedly brought up an incident involving a nighttime visit Bonnano made to Holder's chambers in July 2000, but have made no direct allegation that Bonnano might somehow be behind the current accusations against Holder.

Holder told the six-member panel he provided information to federal investigators about courthouse corruption from September 2001 to May 2002.

"I felt that my actions as a cooperating witness were consistent with my oath to God and the community," Holder said.

The JQC panel will decide whether Holder cribbed parts of the research paper from Hoard, a fellow Air Force reservist. If the panel finds the evidence against Holder to be credible and convincing, they can recommend to the the Florida Supreme Court punishment ranging from a reprimand to removal from the bench.

Holder has questioned what became of the federal inquiry. In November 2002, Holder fired off a stern letter to the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility that raised concerns about how the corruption inquiry had been handled. He said he was incensed by the FBI's decision to drop the inquiry despite "compelling evidence" he had provided about a bribe received by another unnamed Circuit Court judge in Tampa.

[Last modified June 14, 2005, 01:26:18]