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By CANDACE RONDEAUX, Times Staff WriterA judge says the former corruption crusader "defiled the judicial process."
TAMPA - A federal judge has dismissed a 2003 lawsuit filed by a former federal prosecutor against two Manatee County sheriff's deputies.
In a caustic order issued late Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Wilson harshly admonished ex-corruption crusader Jeffrey Del Fuoco, saying he had "defiled the judicial process" in the pursuit of his legal case. Wilson said Del Fuoco had not proved his claim of retaliation for a corruption probe that targeted the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
Del Fuoco initially sued Sheriff Charles Wells in February 2003, saying the sheriff illegally ran Del Fuoco's license plate through a statewide database. Wells was later dropped from the suit, but the complaint was amended to say that Manatee County sheriff's deputy Larry Bahnsen and detective Barry Colman had run Del Fuoco's tag and stalked his family.
In his order Monday, Wilson said "the conspiracy claim borders on frivolous." Calling Del Fuoco's allegations "baseless," the judge effectively ended Del Fuoco's yearslong campaign against the Sheriff's Office and raised serious questions about his credibility.
Del Fuoco said Tuesday that he had not seen the judge's order and declined to comment further.
Bahnsen expressed relief. Earlier this year, he filed a complaint against Del Fuoco with the Justice Department, alleging the former prosecutor had illegally taped several telephone conversations. The Justice Department said in June that it had referred Bahnsen's complaint to its Office of Inspector General. Del Fuoco left the U.S. Attorney's Office two months later.
"They always say justice prevails, and you hate to rely on old cliches, but it seems that's what's happened in this case," Bahnsen said.
Colman's attorney, Greg Kehoe, lauded the judge's order.
"It's a good assessment of the evidence," Kehoe said. "The case that (Del Fuoco) presented was not supported by the facts."
Last month, Wilson ordered Del Fuoco to pay $167,000 in attorney fees to Wells. The judge found that Del Fuoco had acted improperly by offering to drop an elections complaint against Wells in exchange for a $500,000 settlement of the lawsuit.
At the time, Del Fuoco said he would appeal the judge's sanction. Under the most recent order, Del Fuoco has 10 days to appeal the dismissal. But it was unclear Tuesday whether he still intends to seek another court's opinion.
Del Fuoco, 52, resigned his post as an assistant U.S. attorney in Tampa under a cloud of controversy over his work for the Justice Department. He was moved to the civil division amid a much-publicized dispute with his supervisors two years ago. And he had been ordered to meet with top Justice Department officials in Washington over allegations that he had leaked sensitive information about the U.S. Attorney's Office, records show.
In July, Del Fuoco's former supervisor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill, said in a sworn statement that Del Fuoco's behavior had become erratic. Shortly afterward, Del Fuoco resigned, saying he planned to launch a career as a private defense attorney.
Candace Rondeaux can be reached at 813 226-3337 or rondeaux@sptimes.com