Public defender reproached

He had received $5,000 as a court-appointed attorney.

By LARRY DOUGHERTY

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 7, 2000

TAMPA -- A federal judge reprimanded Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger on Thursday for failing to report a $5,000 payment in 1996 while working as a court-appointed attorney.

"Dillinger created a definite appearance of impropriety," wrote Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich. "This court cannot, and will not, overlook that appearance of impropriety."

Although Dillinger has represented clients effectively and professionally for 25 years, Kovachevich wrote, his failure to report the outside payment must be punished so other court-appointed attorneys know it's not acceptable.

Dillinger said Thursday that he understood he had violated a federal court rule requiring him to report an outside payment. But, he added, no harm had come from his actions.

"It was my belief we had a duty to try to save the government money," Dillinger said. The fact there was no fine, Dillinger said, indicates Kovachevich knew he wasn't trying to defraud the government.

Dillinger got the money from supporters of convicted heroin trafficker Claudio Andres Acuna in 1996, before Dillinger became public defender. Federal court rules required court-appointed attorneys to get a judge's approval before accepting outside payment.

Dillinger told the court he and other experienced federal criminal defense attorneys were unfamiliar with the rules. The judge wrote that ignorance was no excuse and scolded the explanation as "bravado."

Nobody suggested Dillinger had tried to collect twice, both from his client and from the court, for the same work. He never submitted a bill to the court for the appeal he eventually filed on Acuna's behalf. Attorneys with knowledge of the case say the brief Dillinger filed was worth at least $5,000.

Dillinger was asked to explain the payment after Acuna filed a request from federal prison seeking a return of the $5,000. The judge denied that request Thursday.

Acuna is serving a 19-year sentence at a prison in Yazoo City, Miss.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.