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Gasper Ficarrotta will resign effective Dec. 31. "It breaks my heart that this has happened,'' a colleague said.
By SUE CARLTON
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 27, 2000
TAMPA -- Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gasper Ficarrotta ended a 13-year career on the bench Thursday by resigning amid an investigation into his extramarital affair with a bailiff.
In his three-sentence letter to Gov. Jeb Bush, Ficarrotta said his last day will be Dec. 31 and that being a judge had been "an honor and a pleasure." It gave no reason for his decision.
He could not be reached for comment Thursday.
"I think he's relieved," said Hillsborough Chief Judge Dennis Alvarez. "He made his decision. He's going to live by it, change his lifestyle, go back and practice law." There was no word Thursday on whether Ficarrotta planned to work at a particular firm.
His resignation closes an investigation by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission into his 11/2-year affair with bailiff Tara Pisano. Pisano hired a lawyer after the affair ended last year, saying she was afraid for her job.
JQC investigators also were looking into allegations that Ficarrotta got involved in campaign fundraising for Hillsborough Sheriff Cal Henderson. Judges are forbidden from campaigning for political candidates.
The resignation, which comes well before his term expires in 2002, makes it unlikely that details of the affair will be made public. Those details were recorded in a four-page document Pisano prepared at her attorney's request and later turned over to a JQC investigator.
It's the second resignation this year in a courthouse rocked by allegations involving judges.
Circuit Judge Ed Ward quit in August after being accused of making unwanted advances to four women, including two judges. Circuit Judge Robert Bonanno is under the scrutiny of a grand jury after he was found in another judge's office after hours. And Thursday, the JQC formally charged Circuit Judge Cynthia Holloway with abusing her powers by getting involved in a friend's child custody case.
Ficarrotta, the married father of two adult sons, was first appointed to the bench by Gov. Bob Martinez and went on to become a well-regarded civil court judge.
"This is a real tragedy," said Tampa attorney Eddie Suarez. "Trial lawyers in both criminal and civil practices on both sides of the aisle have consistently praised him for his fairness and his legal acumen."
"It breaks my heart that this has happened," said longtime Hillsborough Circuit Judge J. Rogers Padgett, who has known Ficarrotta and his family for more than 30 years. "I'd say he was one of our most able judges."
His position is expected to be up for appointment by the governor.
Alvarez said Thursday he thinks the courthouse troubles will ultimately die down.
"A year from now, it's probably going to all be forgotten," he said. "It'll pass."
- Sue Carlton can be reached at (813)226-3346 or at carlton@sptimes.com.