 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
Back
|
Grand jury issues report but no charges in courthouse scandals
By GRAHAM BRINK © St. Petersburg Times, published December 9, 2000 TAMPA -- A grand jury looking into scandals at the Hillsborough County Courthouse has decided not to indict anyone, choosing instead to issue a report on its findings. The report, issued Friday to a Circuit Court judge, remained sealed when the lawyer for Judge Robert Bonanno, a focus of the investigation, exercised his right to review the findings before they become public. While grand juries are best known for handing up criminal indictments, they sometimes issue reports, known as presentments, about what they learned and make recommendations. The law gives the subjects of the reports 15 days to file motions to expunge or repress the parts they find objectionable. Bonanno's lawyer, Ralph Fernandez, read the report Friday and guaranteed his client would mount a vigorous challenge. "It doesn't look like we will even agree on the captions in the presentment," Fernandez said. "Now it's time to argue it out." Polk County State Attorney Jerry Hill, assigned by Gov. Jeb Bush to head the investigation, said he wasn't surprised by Bonanno's reaction, calling it "all part of the process." Hill convened the grand jury after court bailiff Sylvia Gay found Bonanno in Judge Greg Holder's darkened office last July when Holder was out of town. Holder demanded an investigation. The jurors heard from Holder, Bonanno and Gay, but the probe also expanded beyond the office visit. Judge Gasper Ficarrotta testified after news reports revealed his affair with bailiff Tara Pisano. Pisano also testified. Ficarrotta has since resigned, effective at the end of the year. Several lawyers and Hillsborough Sheriff Cal Henderson testified to allegations Ficarrotta was inappropriately involved in political fundraising for Henderson. Court clerk Joan Helms, who once worked in Bonanno's courtroom, also testified. Eight names appear in the grand jury's report: Bonanno, Holder, Ficarrotta, Pisano, Gay, Henderson, Chief Judge Dennis Alvarez and Sheriff's Cpl. Mike Sheehan, who oversees the bailiffs. What the grand jury said about them won't become public for at least 15 days. The eight had a chance to read the report Friday, but Florida statutes forbid anyone from divulging the contents until it is unsealed by a judge. Fernandez, Hill and Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Susan Schaeffer discussed setting a hearing date at which Fernandez can argue his objections. They did not confirm a date, but were leaning toward the week after Christmas. That hearing will likely be closed to the public, the judge said, as the content of the report will be discussed. More than 300 pages of investigative documents related to the courthouse scandals and released Friday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement provided little new information. But those records were related to information gathered before the grand jury convened. FDLE records gathered after the grand jury began its work could become public once the grand jury report is made public. The FDLE reports released Friday did reveal the animosity between Bonanno and Holder. Holder told FDLE agents that he would only support Bonanno for the chief judge position "when cows can fly." "It won't happen today. It won't happen tomorrow. It won't happen as long as I'm breathing air," Holder told the agents. Later in the interview, Holder said that he thought Bonanno did very little without his friend Judge Alvarez knowing about what was happening. "Judge Bonanno doesn't sneeze unless Judge Alvarez knows how many germs (are) in his nostrils," Holder said. - Times Staff Writer Jeff Testerman contributed to this report. Graham Brink can be reached at (813) 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Headlines From the Times local news desks |
