Scandal prompts Hillsborough judge to resign

Judge Gasper Ficarrotta, who had an affair with a bailiff, will step down by year's end.

By GRAHAM BRINK and SUE CARLTON

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 26, 2000

TAMPA -- Faced with an investigation into a messy affair with a bailiff, Circuit Judge Gasper Ficarrotta has given notice that he will resign by the end of the year.

The governor has not yet received Ficarrotta's resignation letter, but the St. Petersburg Times has learned that Ficarrotta has agreed not to serve again, even as a temporary, retired judge.

His decision to leave the bench is expected to effectively guarantee he won't face charges from the Judicial Qualifications Commission, the agency that regulates judges. It also makes it less likely that embarrassing details of the affair could become public.

The news comes at a time when the Hillsborough County Courthouse is awash in controversy. One judge stepped down earlier this year amid allegations that he sexually harassed four women at the courthouse, including two fellow judges. Three others are also currently under the commission's scrutiny. And Wednesday, a grand jury met again in the case of a judge accused of sneaking around in a colleague's office after hours.

Reached at home Wednesday evening, Ficarrotta would not discuss the matter.

"I have no comment on anything," he said.

Ficarrotta, a Hillsborough judge since 1988, leaves his $117,000-a-year job as details of his extra-marital affair with bailiff Tara Pisano are leaking out.

Last year, Pisano hired Tampa lawyer Barry Cohen after the affair ended. She said she feared for her job.

In recent months, Pisano has been interviewed for hours by an investigator from the commission. That inquiry has expanded into whether Ficarrotta was involved in campaign fundraising for Hillsborough Sheriff Cal Henderson. Judges are ethically forbidden from raising money for political candidates.

Much speculation has centered on a four-page document that Pisano prepared at her lawyer's request, chronicling the 11/2-year relationship with Ficarrotta. The document, said to contain embarrassing and salacious details, has not been made public.

Pisano has, however, provided a copy to a commission investigator.

A University of Florida Law School graduate, Ficarrotta was a civil trial lawyer for 20 years before he was appointed to the county bench by then-Gov. Bob Martinez. A year later, Martinez appointed him to the circuit bench.

Notably, Ficarrotta presided over the county's longest civil trial and also handled the case of a 6-year-old foster child removed from the home of two lesbians.

Ficarrotta's current six-year term does not expire until 2002. He is the second Hillsborough judge to step down this year amid controversy.

Earlier, Circuit Judge Ed Ward made it clear he would fight allegations that he sexually harassed women when he sent explicit e-mail, invited a woman into his chambers for a beer and kissed a fellow judge. But in June, after the commission found probable cause to proceed, Ward resigned.

Wednesday, in an ongoing inquiry, the grand jury investigating what Judge Robert Bonanno was doing in Judge Greg Holder's office after hours heard from an eclectic assortment of witnesses.

A bailiff found Bonanno in the office after 5 p.m. on July 27. The bailiff, Sylvia Gay, said she was startled when she let herself into the darkened office and realized someone was inside. The figure, who turned out to be Bonanno, didn't answer her calls at first and seemed to be trying to hide, she later reported. Bonanno has said he was simply there to talk with Holder. Bonanno has not yet testified but has said through his lawyer that he will cooperate with the investigators.

Jerry Hill, the state attorney from Bartow assigned to run the grand jury, questioned Pisano for more than an hour Wednesday. Grand jury matters are secret and take place behind closed doors. But some courthouse officials think Hill is trying to determine whether Bonanno went to Holder's office in search of records Holder might have about the Pisano-Ficarrotta affair.

Pisano had been serving as Holder's bailiff on Fridays and is close friends with Holder's regular bailiff.

Some have also speculated that Bonanno was there because of his close friendship with Chief Judge Dennis Alvarez. Holder had recently sent an e-mail to the governor that infuriated Alvarez, but both Alvarez and Holder say they have settled their differences.

Alvarez, who also testified Wednesday, emerged from the grand jury room after about 90 minutes with a smile on his face. He said the questioning was cordial. His main desire was to keep the investigation moving toward a close.

"Let the chips fall where they may," Alvarez said.

Hill also questioned lawyer T. Michael Foster, who saw Bonanno minutes before he was found in Holder's office, and sheriff's Deputy Mike Sheehan, who supervises courthouse bailiffs.

The morning began with Fred Parks, a courthouse maintenance supervisor. Parks said afterward that he was in the building the day of the incident but did not want to talk in detail about his testimony.

Parks, who spent about 20 minutes before the grand jury, said that in his experience he had not seen any other judges enter their colleagues' empty offices after hours.

"I just want to help the grand jury get to the truth," he said.

Hill said the jurors would meet for more testimony next week but could not say when the inquiry would conclude. When it does, the jurors can indict or decline to indict. They can also issue a "presentment," a report of their investigations and any recommendations they have.

- Graham Brink can be reached at (813) 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com. Sue Carlton can be reached at (813) 226-3346 or carlton@sptimes.com.

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