IS MIKE SATZ PART OF A "WHITEWASH" IN THE BSO EXCEPTIONAL CLEARANCE SCANDAL?
Jarvis Jenne Satz
Probe: BSO closed out violent cases wrongly
A long running crime statistics investigation at BSO includes accusations that deputies also wrongly closed out cases of violence
by DAN CHRISTENSEN
September 23, 2007
Copyright 2007 THE MIAMI HERALD MEDIA COMPANY
http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/247489.html
The Broward Sheriff's Office scandal over the improper closing of property crimes also involves crimes of violence, The Miami Herald has learned.
In addition to petty thefts and burglaries, BSO detectives also cleared muggings, armed robberies, rapes and aggravated assaults -- and buffed crime rates -- some by persuading victims to waive prosecution.
''There are a lot of cases of violence,'' said Broward prosecutor Tim Donnelly, who has led the four-year probe into allegations that deputies falsely cleared thousands of crimes.
One 2001 case involved the beating and robbery of a Dania Beach social worker in her driveway. Another involved a man's robbery at gunpoint.
Both victims later accused BSO Detective John Donadio of tricking them into dropping their cases. Prosecutors cleared Donadio last year, without talking to witnesses.
So far, six BSO deputies have been charged, and four convicted, on misdemeanor charges involving false reports and making up confessions involving property crimes. One was acquitted.
No charges have been filed over the improper clearing of violent crimes.
Cases ''cleared by exception'' involve suspects who have been identified, but cannot be charged for reasons beyond police control. BSO had 10,054 exceptionally cleared cases from 2001 to 2003.
The scandal erupted in 2003 under Sheriff Ken Jenne, who resigned earlier this month and pleaded guilty to public corruption charges. Acting Sheriff Al Lamberti declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
In response to a public records request, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the state attorney's office recently released hundreds of pages of reports in their ongoing probe of such cases in BSO's Dania Beach and Pembroke Park/West Park districts. The cases involved both property and violent crimes.
The records show that investigators talked with dozens of suspects and victims who denied making confessions and statements that nine other detectives used to clear their cases. In three such cases, suspects accused of committing crimes were actually in jail when they occurred.
The detectives have not been charged.
''Every taxpayer, every citizen and every public official should be outraged,'' said Robert Jarvis, a law and ethics professor at Nova Southeastern University.
The Police Benevolent Association and others complained early on that Broward State Attorney Mike Satz had a conflict of interest prosecuting deputies who work closely with his office.
Satz disagreed and kept the case, but called in FDLE to help.
''Clearly, he should have recused,'' Jarvis said. ``There's always a worry about a whitewash in this situation.''
BSO detectives who cleared violent cases did so using a victims' waiver, Donnelly said. And in each case, he said, the detectives didn't meet with the suspects to seek a confession.
One of those cases involved Jillian Durand, who was robbed outside her home in January 2001. Her attacker ran off with her purse, leaving her dazed and bleeding.
The attack outraged neighbors and prompted BSO brass to turn up the heat to solve the crime.
Durand later identified her assailant.
But what followed, including Donadio's sworn admission that he botched her case, became part of the four-year probe into the manipulation of crime statistics.
Durand and Michael Battillo, another robbery victim, separately told authorities they signed prosecution waivers after Donadio told them their suspects were valuable police informants facing jail time in other cases.
Donadio denied the allegations and accused Durand and Battillo of lying.
FDLE agents concluded that neither suspect was an informant and that Donadio was lying, clearing cases by ``providing false statements in an official record.''
Over their objections, Satz decided not to charge Donadio.
Donadio declined to comment for this report.
Records show that he acknowledged mishandling Durand's case by not arresting suspect Lagarious Tyler when she first identified him.
''I dropped the ball on it,'' Donadio told prosecutors. ``I could have arrested him based on her statement. I didn't do it.''
Durand didn't sign the waiver for nine months after she gave her statement.
Initially, Donnelly said Donadio could not be charged with perjury because a corroborating witness statement was required for each allegation.
Durand, who now lives in New Hampshire, said investigators didn't get a sworn statement from her.
''No one ever asked me if there was a witness,'' she said.
Her former boss was in the room when Donadio had her sign the waiver, she said in a recent interview.
Donnelly acknowledged that the witnesses in Durand's and Battillo's cases were not interviewed. After questions raised by The Miami Herald, the state attorney's office contacted Durand's witness last week. Donnelly said the man did not corroborate her story, but that a perjury investigation continues into Donadio's conduct.
The other victim, Battillo, identified Joynder MacKeroy of Hollywood as one of two men who robbed him at gunpoint in Dania Beach in December 2001.
He described, under oath in a 2005 sworn statement, how Donadio steered him toward MacKeroy's photo in a lineup.
His wife and father-in-law were present when Donadio came to his Opa-locka home to obtain the waiver, he said.
State agents later determined MacKeroy was in jail at the time Battillo was robbed.
But Donadio wrote in his clearance report that MacKeroy ``had recently been released from jail.''
______________________________________________________________________
IS MIKE SATZ SOFT ON CORRUPTION? (9/13):
http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2007/09/13/is-mike-satz-soft-on-corruption.aspx
SENTINEL:
"(Rodriguez-Powell) has ruled that (Al Milian) can no longer represent a former Broward Sheriff's Office sergeant on charges he made up confessions and falsified reports."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flnb3bdig09214nbsep21,0,2963121.story
HERALD:
"Miami Herald staff writers Dan Christensen and Patrick Danner received the 22nd Annual Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Award Thursday for their series of reports showing that judges were regularly sealing sensitive court cases from public view."
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/247469.html
Satz has more problems now than he's ever had and no will challenge. Lame.
Looks like Mike Satz is next up of the Broward ol' boy network to be deposed! bye bye mikey!
I'll believe it when I see it. Wishful thinking is all this is at this point.
Where oh Where has out little Mancini gone?
Penny ante judges like Zack and Seidlin or any attorney that picks up a case in Broward gets a special prosecutor. Jenne? Mike's old co-worker and pal? The convicted felon? Mikey has his back.
How come no felony convictions in the trials Mikey? How come mistrials relating to hidden evidence Mikey? How come no BSO brass charged Mikey? How come a judge with a wife that happens to work for BSO JOAs charges and not a peep from Mikey for a recusal?
How do you sleep Mikey? And if you sleep soundly after destroying Broward's poorest communities for 30 years running then SHAME ON YOU.
Satz - tough on everything and everybody except violent crime (can't keep smart, solid prosecutors who are sickened by his policies) and rich/powerful people.
Black on black violent crime, get your Nolle Prosse here! NHI! Get your Nolle Prosse here! (But we'll still send your Daddy to prison because he's got a drug problem or can't get his license straight).
"No charges have been filed over the improper clearing of violent crimes."
Gee, I wonder why. Maybe because juries would convict as charged if these were filed? Or because the public would have called for Jenne's head if Mike had done his job instead of protecting Jenne?
Soft Satz, no priorities, doesn't care about stopping violent crime or corruption.
that picture of jenne looks like chuck morton. there's a straight shooter. hilly moldof is an honest lawyer. no wait i didn't say that. no wait I said moldoff was a...a...a...little me think about this. do i save moldoff's ass? why not what can i lose. oH!!! wait victim's family. chuck you're a weasel, but that's okay, there are alot of weasels out there. keep your nose up mikey's butt. you've ridden him for 30 yrs. come on everybody pays witnesses $100 here and there. that's okay even if it is a homicide case. who cares right? people care. victim's families care. you are no better than satz, you're cut from the same cloth. good thing you got 30 in. the times they are a changing.
the problem with the sao is the management. they run it like cheap thugs. "show them they're in broward heh heh heh"
Great music! What happened to Mancini? Like the rest of the would be politicians, I guess the hill was too steep to traverse.
Is that Jenne or ET?
Stacy Ross is giving up the new Corvette Daddy gave her to run against Satz.
Really, it's true.
That is the worst picture of Jenne I've ever seen. He and Ross could be twins.
You should ask why Mike only tries cop killings. We'll never see the day he personally tries a corruption case, that's for sure.
Too bad Henry Mancini crashed and burned. This county desperately needs to get rid of satz.
you're absolutely right. they are proud of that "Yup, you're in Broward now and we are going to try to f--- you over." Time for change. Enough is enough.
ET phone home
http://eatourbrains.com/EoB/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/et.jpg
Q: Why does Satz overlook political corruption?
A: Because he's a politician, and you don't stick around 30 years by prosecuting powerful criminals who also happen to be your colleagues
I disagree. Ross has more of a rodent face than an alien face.
Whether BSO intends to stop crime depends on who is committing the crime. I have written before concerning the Hollywood Police seriously beating and injuring Donald Baker in the Holding Facility at the HPD. The sheriff's office is in charge of that facility, according to Hollywood Police, who prevented defense video experts from examining the video equipment at that facility, because "it is under the province of BSO." Two deputies at that facility stood by and watched as Baker was nearly killed by the Hollywood Police For more than a minute, while Baker was in hand-cuffs, Baker was beaten, kicked, punched and kneed in the head. BSO deputies did nothing. In fact, one of the deputies scurried back into a hallway to guard the entrance door to insure that no one would walk in and catch this felony in progress. It is clear to me that BSO had to clear some crimes illegally, because they made no effort to protect Baker from the unlawful assault by Officers Hoeflinger and Graham in their own facility.
John McNamara
hard to figure which country we are in
lots of coruption in or system top to bottom
No doubt about it. And I only see it becoming much worse. Read The Dissolution of Society by Jack Nageley if you want an eye opener of what's in store in a society where human respect has no place.
I thought Whitewash was in Arkansas
When I interviewed at the SAO 6 or 7 years ago the interviewer referred to defendants as "dirtbags". He said they lock people up here and don't believe in rehab. That guy moved up north a couple years back. Anyone share this experience?
Sounds like the first step in the indoctrination process
another up date on complaint to jqc about ross. they keep telling me they have mailed me my response but it never reaches me so i keep calling and oh we just sent it. i did send them a return receipt certified mail for the investigative work they said they did on ross in 2002. i looked in the archives and saw no complaint against ross in 2002. i think someone is full of something out there.
chuck is a straight shooter, just make sure u don't get it in the back. i know about his little games. his wife would like to know what i know.
another bs line from the jqc. they told me again today they just sent the letter out to me yesterday. homany yesterdays do these people have. that's like the 4th time. this letter is suposed to tell me they investigated ross in 2002 but like i said i looked it up on the archives and there was no complaint filed. i mailed a letter certified return stating that i wanted to see the paper work on the magical investigation they did in 2002. if they had donde an investigation they would also have found unethical thing like writting a recomendation on his office letter head for the woman who charged him of rape and saying some very flattering things about her and they were not professional comments.
wow what a watch dog group the jqc is.
newest ross update JGC PROTECTS ROSS. they try and say they investigated him in 2002 but i know they didn't they never called marilyn to ask her about it so some one tell me what kind of investigation is that. wht in the hell are we doing in iraq with all the coruption in this country.
well next steps are letters to gov and state leg. all these freaking snakes hide in the same hole
Again I ask--How many tomes + = "beyond accident, mistake or inadvertance"--
Isn't that a "Rule of Evidence" and also the RICO standard for proof of intent-0-exactly when does this kick in?
Satz is a lying fraud as well as his public corruptions unit Tim Donnelly who gets pissed when someone won't back down to his shouting, bullying tactics, personal attacks and provocation to avoid taking or investigating complaints of fraud used by his own office and won't investigate his own office or look elsewhere, and then slams down the phone like it's the complaintants fault or his attorney's for not exposing the perjury his
ASS AS's use in trials. These are his tactics--his MO--his pattern and habit--his criminal conduct to help Satz cover up corruption in his own or police departments. Satz is soft on his own corruption and can be trusted not to hard on anyone else's. As long as he can touch it--he can amd will corrupt it and decline any responsibility and forfeit any integrity to do otherwise.
My reaearch into the State Ethica Commission and The Fla Bar and The Gov. Office and the AG's office is that they have no jurisdiction or control over Satz because he was elected--sounds like a lie to me, but with that kind of fraud and stonewalling, who should reasonably expect anything else despite his oach and fiduciary responsibility.