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Tampa uncuffed

Full pension in doubt for widow

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published December 15, 2005

It has been four months since longtime Hillsborough sheriff's Deputy Mario Martinez, a tactical training expert known for his energy and strength, died because his heart suddenly stopped. He was 47.

But his wife is still muddling through paperwork and red tape, trying to sort out questions over Martinez's retirement benefits. In the meantime, Carrie Martinez, a longtime stay-at-home mom, is looking for a job to support their two daughters.

Mario Martinez collapsed during a weightlifting workout in Georgia, where he was leading a training event for High-Risk Training, a company that does tactical training for law enforcement officers.

Martinez was three months shy of his 25-year anniversary with the Sheriff's Office, where he served on the SWAT team.

Other deputies offered to donate their sick and vacation time to make up the three-month difference so Martinez's family gets his full retirement benefits. He also had sick and vacation time of his own to fill the gap. But state retirement rules say a deputy or his family gets full retirement benefits only if the deputy served the full quarter-century.

So the Sheriff's Office requested the state give full pension benefits on the grounds that he died in the line of duty, said Sheriff David Gee.

If the state agrees, his wife would get full retirement benefits, with some health benefits.

"The difference financially is huge," she said.

But Martinez had a heart murmur, and the state is reviewing that pre-existing condition before determining what benefits to grant.

His family maintains he had a heart attack "because of the stress of his job throughout the years," his wife said.

Besides his work on the SWAT team throughout the '80s, he was part of the security detail for Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf after the Gulf War. He trained hundreds of deputies in tactical maneuvers and hostage rescue, including Gee. After Martinez died, Gee announced plans to rename the department's physical fitness challenge for Martinez.

"He was accepted into the Sheriff's Office with that heart murmur," Carrie Martinez said. "He served on the SWAT team 15 years, he routinely passed his physicals. He was known for being in good shape."

COMFORT AND JOY: They didn't want much from Santa.

A soft baby doll, a pretty bouquet, shiny black shoes, maybe some sugar-free snacks that would be okay for a diabetic diet.

They wanted a little something to make their holiday more cheery, despite the fact that they have no families, no money, and no one but court-appointed guardians to care for them.

This week, their wishes came true.

Fifty-seven people, most of them elderly and some of them disabled, got presents through the Elves for Elders program that Hillsborough Circuit Judge Susan Sexton founded four years ago.

The elders are wards of the state and are under the care of Aging Solutions Inc., the county's public guardian program.

Aging Solutions gets only $2,000 to $2,500 a year from the state to care for the elders, not enough to cover anything beyond basic necessities, said Marcia Larkin, senior program director of the Elder Justice Center.

"If we didn't do this, these people would have no Christmas," Sexton said.

The elders write down what they want, and community groups and other people buy the items. A lot of courthouse folks, from judges and lawyers to sheriff's bailiffs, participate.

"We're definitely helping them live out the rest of their lives in comfort," Larkin said.

JOURNALISTS CHECK US OUT: Seen roaming the county courthouse this week: four journalists from Uzbekistan, eager to see how Florida's government in the Sunshine Laws play out in court.

They are here as part of the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program, which was founded more than 60 years ago and has brought more than 100,000 visitors to the United States.

The journalists arrived in Tampa Bay Saturday and left Wednesday, said Mary Ellen Upton, director of the program's 5-year-old Tampa chapter.

State Department dollars partly cover the cost of their visit. The rest comes from private donations.

Sexton is involved with the programand met Monday with female journalists from Iraq.

Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 15, 2005, 00:32:19]