Well-known attorney will defend teen in murder case

By BILL VARIAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 24, 2000

CRYSTAL RIVER -- The teenager accused of shaking one of his twin daughters to death has turned to one of Tampa's best-known criminal defense attorneys to represent him.

The family of Ricky Slater, 18, has hired Norman Cannella Sr., a former prosecutor who now defends some of Tampa's richest and most infamous suspects, according to court records.

Cannella, reached by phone, confirmed he has met with Slater and a family member and has agreed to take the case.

But he said he was not familiar enough with the evidence to speak specifically about the case, other than to say that the first-degree murder charge seems to be "a bit of an overreaction."

Nor would he speak about how the Slaters are paying for his services, saying that was something between him and his clients.

Slater is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 3-month-old daughter, Lacie, in September. He also is charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child abuse-malicious punishment for injuries sustained by Lacie and her twin, Kelsey.

Crystal River police have said the children were injured by being shaken repeatedly.

Cannella was the chief assistant to Hillsborough State Attorney E. J. Salcines from 1977 to 1983. He was indicted during that time by U.S. Attorney Robert Merkle, who accused Cannella of taking bribes to protect members of a drug ring.

But Cannella was acquitted in federal court when a judge ruled the case was too flimsy to go to a jury.

He has gone on to serve as a defense attorney in some of Tampa's most famous criminal cases. Cannella last year represented Tampa heir Howard Frankland II, whose father's name is on the bridge across Tampa Bay. Frankland was accused of paying people to burn down his mansion in Palma Ceia in a bizarre arson-for-hire scheme. He was found not guilty.

During the early 1990s, Cannella represented Carl Allison, a man accused of drugging a woman with LSD and raping her, in a case that received national attention. Allison was acquitted on the most serious charges in what was called at the time one of Tampa's most infamous rape trials.

Cannella is co-counsel in the case against John Peel who, like Slater, was accused of killing his infant child in June 1998 by shaking him to death in St. Petersburg. That case goes to trial next month.

"It's so similar it's pathetic," Cannella said. "You couldn't find a closer case."

The Slaters interviewed 12 lawyers before picking the attorney, said Citrus County defense attorney Jim Cummins, who said he was one of those considered. Cummins is still representing Slater in dependency court, where the custody of the surviving twin will be decided.

"That's the way the cookie crumbles," Cummins said. "If there's anything I can do to assist Mr. Cannella, I'll be happy to do it."

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