Tampabay: Bush assigns Coe inquiries chief

Bush assigns Coe inquiries chief

A state attorney is named to oversee investigations launched after the suicide.

By GRAHAM BRINK and DAVID KARP

TAMPA -- Gov. Jeb Bush assigned Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe on Monday to oversee the investigations surrounding last week's suicide of Hillsborough State Attorney Harry Lee Coe.

The assignment came the same day Tampa attorney Jonathan Alpert, who has made a reputation battling powerful interests, announced he would run as a Democrat for Coe's job. Alpert cited a need to "swing open the doors and windows in the office and air out all the dark secrets."

Bush's order gives McCabe responsibility for both the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's inquiry into reports that Coe was soliciting loans from his employees and the Tampa Police Department's investigation of the suicide.

Interim State Attorney Wayne Chalu, appointed after Coe's death, voluntarily stepped aside to avoid any appearance of conflict or impropriety. He was Coe's chief assistant.

McCabe said he and assistant state attorneys from his office will begin by interviewing officials in Tampa and consulting agents who already have been investigating Coe's death and his finances. He doesn't know yet how the investigation will proceed or how long it will take. Bush's order gives McCabe a year.

"Perhaps there are issues involving other people besides Judge Coe -- I don't know," McCabe said. "We will have to find out."

Coe's body was found Thursday after he shot himself under the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway, a few hundred yards from his apartment. The day before, Bush had asked the FDLE to look into local media reports that Coe borrowed $5,000 from his office's human resources director and $7,000 from his chief investigator in January 1999.

The loans led to questions about whether Coe needed the money to support a gambling habit. Similar questions had haunted Coe for much of his eight-year tenure as state attorney. Coe, 68, said last week that he repaid the loans and had done nothing improper.

Coe's death has set off much speculation about who will run for his job. Republicans Bill Jennings and Mark Ober, who entered the race months ago, have vowed to continue campaigning. Chief Judge Dennis Alvarez has said he now might enter as a Republican.

Mike Scionti, Hillsborough County Democratic Party chairman, said that Alpert had not discussed his candidacy with any party leaders. Scionti had hoped any potential candidates from his party would wait until after Coe's funeral on Wednesday to announce their interest.

"I know the deadline (for qualifying) is Friday," Scionti said. "But out of respect for Coe and his family I thought it would be best to let a few days to pass."

With Alpert in the running, Scionti said, he is certain there will be a Democratic primary. He said he has talked with several other potential candidates, including Assistant State Attorney Paul D. Johnson, former Assistant State Attorney and current candidate for circuit judge Leland Baldwin and Robert Shimberg, a lawyer at Hill, Ward & Henderson.

"Alpert is a surprise candidate," Scionti said. "He's not someone who we had thought anything about."

Alpert agreed the timing was less than ideal, but with such a tight deadline, he felt he had to get started. Alpert said he was a Coe supporter and had no intention of running. The suicide, however, made Alpert think that something had to be very wrong at the State Attorney's Office.

"There are too many questions and not enough answers," he said. "It's time for someone new and fresh to take a look at what's going on there."

Alpert, 54, was born in Baltimore but grew up in Coral Gables. He received his law degree from the University of Maryland and graduated in 1970 from Harvard University with a master's in law.

He came to Pinellas County in 1977 when he was named an industrial claims judge. He also taught at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport and has written volumes on legal topics from workers' compensation to real estate.

In 1986, Alpert opened his own law practice. Since then, he has earned a reputation as a lawyer willing to take on big business, from suing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on behalf of some fans to winning a settlement worth millions against what is now Bank of America.

The Wall Street Journal profiled Alpert in 1996. He has made dozens of appearances on local news broadcasts.

"He is willing to take on anything," said Helen Gordon Davis, a former state senator and former chairwoman of the Hillsborough Democratic Party. "He has nerve."

Political consultant Wayne Garcia said Alpert will be a formidable candidate. He can immediately turn to his personal fortune to finance an expensive race in a short amount of time. The Democratic primary is only 50 days away.

"I think he will run an aggressive and a stronger campaign than most people imagine, especially if things at the courthouse continue to go south," Garcia said. "It might be time for an outsider."

Alpert's battles, however, have made him some formidable and well-financed enemies.

"I would expect him to have no appeal," said Arnold Levine, an attorney for the Bucs who has battled Alpert before. Levine recently accused Alpert of battery when he said Alpert threw a cup of coffee at him.

"He has taken on the causes of a lot of people in need of representation, but I think generally he is not well-liked in the legal community," Levine said. "He'll make it fun."

Ober, a longtime criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, questioned how Alpert could run for the county's top law enforcement job without much experience in criminal law. "That is what this race is about: the experience one has gathered over the years to prosecute people who have violated the law," Ober said. "Common sense would dictate that the person the populace needs to elect is someone who has that experience."

Alpert brushed aside his lack of experience in criminal cases. He vowed to use the same tenacity he brought to his private practice to go after big corporations that break laws.

"Equal justice for the rich and poor," he said. "It's time for someone who is not part of the current power structure to to get in the race."

- Staff writer Scott Barancik contributed to this report.