Tampabay: Judges may testify before grand jury

Judges may testify before grand jury

Judge Robert Bonanno is being investigated after he was found in another judge's office after hours.

By SUE CARLTON

TAMPA -- The case of one judge accused of snooping in the office of another judge is headed for a grand jury, the latest twist in the scandal-plagued Hillsborough County Courthouse.

The grand jury proceeding, expected to begin next week, could bring the spectacle of judges testifying under oath.

Longtime Tampa attorney Ralph Fernandez, who represents the accused, Circuit Judge Robert Bonanno, said such a scene would be "the most unusual proceeding I've ever encountered in my practice."

"And I thought I'd seen 'em all," Fernandez said.

In July, a bailiff reported that she caught Bonanno after hours in the locked and darkened office of Circuit Judge Greg Holder. But events that led up to that accusation resemble a script from a legal drama on prime-time television.

During an investigation earlier this year into allegations that Circuit Judge Ed Ward made unwanted sexual advances to women in the courthouse, questions also were raised about whether Chief Judge Dennis Alvarez tried to cover up the matter.

Also in July came the suicide of Hillsborough State Attorney Harry Lee Coe, a dog-track habitue who had just come under scrutiny for loans he took from his own employees. Alvarez became a rumored contender to be appointed as Coe's replacement.

Holder, however, sent the governor an e-mail warning that the state agency that investigates judicial conduct, the Judicial Qualifications Commission, was actively looking into a certain judge interested in the top prosecutor's job.

Alvarez was incensed when he learned of the e-mail, though the two judges later said they mended fences. Alvarez ultimately took himself out of the running, saying it was best for the community.

The JQC had also begun looking into allegations that another circuit judge, Gasper Ficarrotta, had an affair with a bailiff who said she feared for her job when the relationship had ended.

That was the backdrop in late July for what has become known around the courthouse as "Bonannogate."

Holder's bailiff reported that she came upon Bonanno in Holder's office after 5 p.m. on a day it was widely known that Holder was out of town on military duty. In her report, the bailiff said Bonanno appeared to be trying to conceal himself. Holder called Bonanno's behavior "hostile" and "highly unprofessional" and called for an investigation.

The case has highlighted the deep division among Hillsborough's judges. Alvarez is close to both Bonanno, his former law partner, and Ficarrotta. Holder is not part of that inner circle.

The allegations have fueled much courthouse speculation. Might Bonanno have been looking for documents related to Ficarrotta's JQC case, since the bailiff with whom he allegedly had a relationship sometimes worked for Holder? Could Bonanno's visit have had something to do with Holder's e-mail to the governor regarding Alvarez.

None of the above, Bonanno's attorney has insisted. Judges have master keys that open each other's offices. Bonanno has said he was there to talk about a case and the strained atmosphere at the courthouse. He has not elaborated but has given a statement to law enforcement officials, Fernandez said.

"This is a rope-a-dope type of defense, because he's a judge and he's taken a lot of shots he doesn't deserve," Fernandez said. "But I think we're governed by some level of judicial restraint."

Last month, the governor assigned Jerry Hill, state attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit in Polk County, to look into whether Bonanno broke any laws. Hill is expected to take the case to the grand jury next week.

Fernandez said that if the judge is called to testify, he will oblige.

"Judge Bonanno has agreed to cooperate at every stage of the investigation," Fernandez said. "Whatever Jerry Hill asks for, Jerry Hill will get."

It won't be the first time Hill has made use of a Hillsborough grand jury. In 1996, he was assigned to look into allegations that Hillsborough Public Defender Julianne Holt misused her office. Hill took that case to a grand jury, which criticized Holt regarding her spending of taxpayer dollars but did not indict her.

By law, grand jury proceedings are secret.

- Sue Carlton can be reached at (813) 226-3346 or carlton@sptimes.com.