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Tampa uncuffed

Former official in search of honesty

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published January 20, 2006

Former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Del Fuoco, long known for uncovering corruption among criminals and public officials alike, has formed a nonprofit agency where "honest public officials" can report fraud, waste and abuse within their agencies.

"If there are honest cops out there, I want them to have a place to go to report this kind of thing," he said Thursday.

Del Fuoco, 52, resigned in August from his longtime job as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Tampa amid controversy over his work for the Justice Department. He said he planned to launch a career as a private defense attorney.

The resignation came soon after his former supervisor said in a July sworn statement that Del Fuoco's behavior had become erratic. Two years earlier, he had a well-publicized dispute with supervisors and was moved to the civil division. Records show there were also allegations that he leaked sensitive information about the U.S. Attorney's Office.

SHOCKING NEWS: Those who thought they knew elementary school teacher Betty Jean Johnson say they're baffled by the accusation that she recruited three men from Belle Glade to try to kill her ex-boyfriend. They can't imagine her doing such a thing.

Johnson was arrested earlier this month. The three men are still being sought.

"I was quite shocked, actually," said Denise Darby, coordinator of the Phyllis Marshall Center at the University of South Florida, where Johnson worked as a receptionist.

"I waited for the news broadcast to come on again because I didn't believe it."

Johnson, 29, worked at the student union for a year starting in August 1999. At the time, she was supporting her family and attending classes full time.

"Very calm, not explosive at all," Darby said. "She was just a very settled personality. She was just a delightful person to be around."

That doesn't sound like the woman sitting in the county jail on charges of attempted murder and aggravated battery. Police say she recruited three unidentified men from her childhood home of Belle Glade to attack ex-boyfriend Tommie Lee Mathis, 33, at Gene's Bar.

One of the men started shooting, hitting three bystanders but not Mathis. The men fled, but Johnson was arrested a few days later.

Contact Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 20, 2006, 01:46:11]