Jury: Bonanno 'no longer fit to be a judge'

Citing lack of credibility, a grand jury calls for his resignation. The circuit judge refuses.

By DAVID KARP

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 20, 2001

Read the full text of the Hillsborough County grand jury on its investigation of Judge Robert Bonanno.

TAMPA -- A grand jury has called on Hillsborough Circuit Judge Robert Bonanno to resign from the bench, saying he has demeaned his office and lost the credibility needed to be a judge.

In a report released Tuesday, the grand jury urged the Florida Supreme Court and the Judicial Qualifications Commission to immediately suspend Bonanno and then permanently remove him from the bench, if Bonanno does not resign.

"He is no longer fit to be a judge," the grand jury concluded in a report that Bonanno fought for six months to keep from becoming public.

An investigation began last year after Bonanno was found in Circuit Judge Gregory Holder's dark, locked office. The grand jury found it suspicious -- but not criminal -- that Bonanno was in Holder's office.

What troubled the grand jury of 20 citizens even more was Bonanno's "incredible and conflicting accounts" of what happened in Holder's office. Bonanno's explanation about entering his colleague's office through an open door was physically impossible, the grand jury said.

"Whether his observation and memory are faulty or he is just plain lying, we cannot determine," the grand jury wrote. "What we can determine is that because of his lack of credibility and his conduct of his personal life, he is no longer fit to be a judge."

The investigation, which also revealed an extramarital affair he had with a court clerk, led grand jurors to conclude that "Bonanno had violated Florida's Code of Judicial Conduct by demeaning his judicial office. Moreover, we believe that he has lost the credibility necessary for a judge."

Bonanno, who received the report in December, has refused to resign and tried to have the report destroyed. His attorney, Ralph Fernandez, attacked the report as meaningless and unsupported by facts.

"There is nothing in this grand jury report from the opening line to the signature of the foreperson that is acceptable," he said.

The grand jury ignored evidence, allowed itself to be influenced by newspaper editorials, and did not represent Hillsborough's community because only one of the 20 grand jurors had a Latin name, he said.

"Why should he resign?" Fernandez asked. "It is silly. It is a joke. (The report) is not predicated on facts. It was not (written) in good faith."

State Attorney Jerry Hill of Polk County, who convened the grand jury, called the report a powerful statement. It holds no legal authority and is only advisory.

"You hear about the conscience of the community? The grand jury is just that," Hill said. "It is a cross section of extremely concerned citizens who are willing to devote a lot of time, often at their own expense, to community service."

The grand jury investigation began after Bonanno was found in Holder's chambers on July 27, 2000, when Holder was out of town. His judicial assistant had closed the office and shut off the lights at 4:30 p.m. She checked to make sure all the doors were locked.

Around 5:20 p.m., a bailiff assigned to Holder came by the office. Inside, she saw lights on in the break room and Holder's private office. She saw a moving shadow and called out "hello" several times and then Bonanno came out of Holder's private office. At the time, Bonanno told bailiff Sylvia Gay that he wanted to talk to Holder, who he thought was still in town.

The grand jury found that Bonanno gave "conflicting answers" about why he was there. Bonanno told investigators he went to talk about a case; he told a lawyer he was dropping off statistics.

Bonanno said he entered Holder's office through a side door that was ajar. But the grand jury examined the door and found that a device makes the door shut automatically.

Fernandez said Tuesday the grand jury got it wrong. The door could have been ajar -- and he said former Judge Gasper Ficarrotta, who resigned last year under investigation for misconduct, saw the door ajar in the past.

In fact, Holder asked a judicial assistant to have maintenance workers repair the door shortly before the incident, Fernandez said.

Some of Bonanno's statements the grand jury found troubling were really harmless errors or minor omissions that any person would make, he said. Bonanno said the door was ajar -- he meant to say that the door was unlocked, Fernandez said.

The grand jury report also found that Bonanno had an affair for about five years with his former court clerk on public property and public time. The couple spent time in Bonanno's private office and attended a judicial conference together.

Fernandez said the affair never took place during work hours at the courthouse.

The JQC, which regulates the conduct of judges, has already opened an investigation into Bonanno, but it has not seen the grand jury report. Officials with the JQC declined to comment Tuesday.

The JQC can recommend that the Florida Supreme Court suspend a judge pending a hearing on formal charges of misconduct if the allegations affect the administration of justice.

There's no reason to do that in this case, Fernandez said. "Not a single person has complained about Judge Bonanno's impartiality," he said.

When the case is over, Bonanno will win re-election in 2002, Fernandez has predicted.

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