THE TWISTED SAGA OF EDWIN SANCHEZ
Ana Gardiner Eileen O'Connor Al Lamberti
I have had more than my share of trouble with Court Deputy Sanchez over the years, dating back to my time as an Assistant Public Defender in Judge Gardiner's division, where Sanchez was assigned. Readers of this blog may also remember the articles I wrote detailing the highly unprofessional behavior he exhibited towards me and my client, when he was assigned to Judge O'Connor's division.
That being said, it's hard to pin all the blame on Sanchez for his behavior. It's my understanding that other attorneys, including at least one female who felt she had been sexually harassed, had complained to Judges Gardiner and O'Connor, and apparently felt ignored. Both judges seemingly backed Sanchez to the hilt, took his word over attorneys, inmates, and their families, allowed him to routinely spy and inform on attorneys and others at sidebars between him and the judge only, and sat by as he provided favors and special treatment to some attorneys, while targeting others. In Judge O'Connor's courtroom in particular, his bullying and cruel treatment of inmates, out of custody defendants, and their families, would have been hard to miss, yet, to the best of my knowledge, he was never admonished.
The news article begs many other serious questions.
Rumors surrounding Sanchez and his unsavory past (now proven true), were often the talk of the courthouse. Is it possible that Judges Gardiner and O'Connor knew of the rumors or of his actual record? Did they know of the reprimands by BSO? And if they did, what does it say about their judgement that they allowed him to remain in their courtrooms, exhibit the behavior he did, and not sustain complaints regarding his actions?
Why on earth was Sanchez hired by BSO? Why was he placed in an environment where he had dominion over vulnerable female in-custody defendants? Why was he allowed to keep his job after claims of sexual harassment resurfaced, proving he was still a risk to the public, years after losing his police certification?
Did Sanchez insert himself into the attorney/client relationship with other attorneys besides myself?
Most importantly, is it possible that Sanchez ever polluted the jury process? Did he ever purposely say or do anything that could influence a jury member one way or another, thereby impacting the verdict? Is it unrealistic to assume that a man of his character may have abused the unique access to jurors afforded court deputies? Is it possible he acted on personal feelings about attorneys, judges, defendants, or his sexual desires, to sway the outcome of a case?
The last question is directed to Deputy Sanchez himself.
Why on earth would a man who is lucky to have such a great job, who has such a sordid past, who has been given the second chance of a lifetime, continue to push the boundaries of ethics in his professional life? What's going on Sanchez?
Bill Gelin
SENTINEL:
"COURT DEPUTY UNDER INVESTIGATION LOST POLICE CERTIFICATION IN 1992":
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbsanchez0126sbjan26,0,7224204.story
Court deputy under investigation lost police certification in 1992
By Tonya Alanez | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbsanchez0126sbjan26,0,7224204.story
January 26, 2008
A Broward County courtroom deputy, now under an internal-affairs investigation for asking a female inmate for a date, resigned from his job as a Pompano Beach police officer nearly 20 years ago when confronted with accusations that he had sex with prostitutes while in his patrol car and on duty.
Four prostitutes told investigators in sworn statements in 1989 that sometimes Edwin "Eddie" Sanchez paid, sometimes he didn't.One said she smoked crack in front of Sanchez before they had sex and another said she preformed oral sex to avoid going to jail.
Sanchez was stripped of his state certification to be a police officer in 1992. The state commission that pulled Sanchez's badge concluded he misused his authority as a law enforcement officer to obtain sex.
Broward Sheriff's Office officials have distanced themselves from Sanchez's 2000 hiring under former Sheriff Ken Jenne.As a civilian deputy, Sanchez is not a sworn law-enforcement officer. He maintains security, decorum and monitors suspects in the courtroom.
"Had he applied for his job under this administration, he never would have been hired and right now we are in the process of investigating him," said Elliot Cohen, the Sheriff's Office spokesman.
Sanchez, 48, faces two current internal-affairs investigations, Cohen said, adding that if sustained, Sanchez could be fired.
"We're not treating it lightly," Sheriff Al Lamberti said Friday. "It's definitely serious, and it's going to get the attention that it needs."
In one case, a 20-year-old exotic dancer jailed for drug trafficking has accused Sanchez of asking for her phone number and a date. The substance of the second investigation has not been disclosed.
Sanchez, who is married and is a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, declined to comment for this article or provide the name of his attorney.
As a police officer, he worked for the Pompano Beach Police Department from Sept. 17, 1987, until his Aug. 8, 1989, resignation.
He targeted prostitutes on Northwest 31st Avenue, taking them for trysts behind motels, along dirt roads and in Broward Community College's Coconut Creek parking lot, according to investigative reports.
One prostitute told investigators that she and Sanchez had sex about 15 times, that he usually paid her $20 and that they smoked marijuana together.
Before he resigned, Sanchez refused to take a drug test.
Another prostitute said Sanchez left the police radio on when they had sex in his patrol car "so they would know the location of officers in the area."
She did not charge Sanchez, she said, but he once gave her $8 after sex, which she used to buy crack cocaine.
Another prostitute said Sanchez picked her up on Atlantic Boulevard, told her she was under arrest and put her in the back of his patrol car. While driving, Sanchez propositioned her, saying that in exchange for oral sex she could avoid jail. They drove to a truck stop where Sanchez let her into the front seat and removed his gun belt, she said.
In his eight years with the Sheriff's Office, Sanchez has gotten three written reprimands, one of which came with a two-day suspension. The charges were allowing jury deliberations to be overheard, coming onto a defendant's girlfriend and intimidating a woman with his badge while off duty. The last resulted in the suspension.
More recently, Samantha Portadino, the exotic dancer, told her boyfriend's father, Joe Turner, of Sanchez's come-ons,Turner said in an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.She said that during routine court appearances in Broward Circuit Judge Eileen O'Connor's courtroom, Sanchez asked for her phone number and a date, Turner said. He passed that information on to investigators in a sworn statement.
Sanchez was assigned to O'Connor's courtroom in May 2005. On Sept. 10, he was reassigned to a monitored station where he watches inmates arrive at the courthouse from jail.
Sheriff's officials concluded in May 2000 that Sanchez exercised "extremely poor discretion" when he took a defendant's 21-year-old pregnant girlfriend into a back room and told her she was "beautiful," stroked her hand and disparaged her boyfriend.
Sanchez offered the woman financial help, invited her to dinner to talk it over and they exchanged phone numbers, records show. The woman told investigators she declined the invitation. "That Sanchez was not just trying to help me out without expecting something in return," she said.
Sanchez admitted the exchange of phone numbers, but denied the rest of the story, saying he was simply offering to provide her with pamphlets from Women in Distress of Broward County Inc.
Cohen says BSO under Lamberti would never have hired a person with his record. So why is he still employed under Lamberti, especially after he has picked up new charges?
This is the same deputy that after a complaint was made by a female APD Judge Gardiner shielded Sanchez from further investigation of the matter, and when problems persisted when he was in O'Connor's courtroom, O'Connor did the same thing. This goes to show that there is a much deeper problem existing when we have judges protecting people like this from investigation and dismissal and when judges feel a larger obligation to their court deputies than they do to the attorneys trying to do their jobs while being subjected to sexual harassment, and further as to their responsibility to the public at large. What does Judge Gardiner have to say about why this situation was allowed to reach this level of severity? What's Judge O'Connor have to say about it as well is what I'd like to know. Do they think that they both bear no responsibility in this matter when there can be no question that they knew of the accusations against this court deputy and allowed it to continue? Both Judge Gardiner and O'Connor should be required to respond to this serious matter. I'd be interested to know how they think they can skate on this issue. Through taking no action, did they condoned the actions of this man? What is the matter with Broward Judges that this can continue to occur when this man should never have been in that position to begin with? And how can Broward Judges simply do nothing when they are informed of problems by the very attorneys appearing in their courtrooms? Gardiner and O'Connor have a few questions to answer I'd say.
This Sanchez is major dirty dealing!
ROTATE THE JUDGES NOW IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT CLEANING UP BROWARD COURTS
NO MORE FIEFDOMS
........this guy is still walking around the courthouse in full uniform?
SHAME ON ALL OF YOU WHO ALLOW IT
Isnt Gardner the choice of the New Imporved Gneration of Leadership in the Chief Judges chair now?
To the above poster: What about Seisin? Mmmmmmmmm... Seisin. Quit discriminating against other property principles.
Also established by the Judicial Branch:
1) Fee Simples Subject to Shifting Condition Subsequent.
2) The Rule Against Perpetuities.
3) Springing Interests subject to shifting interests subject to Fiefdoms subject to the damn horrific flashback I just had of the Bar Exam.
4) Dowry. BRING BACK DOWRY! NOT DOWER.
5) Downy: Mmmmmmm Downy.
I wholly agree with your sentiments regarding Eddie's inappropriate behavior in Gardiner's courtroom. He responded to Gardiner's beck and call like the lapdog that he was, and in exchange, he got carte blanche in terms of acting like a pig to everyone he didn't like (or who didn't have a rack he liked).
Hopefully this POS will get the S-canning he so richly deserves.
Why is it that the judges and state seem to wear the black hats in Broward and the rest of us wear the white? Isn't this backwards?
Sanchez was Gardiner's pet jerk and then off to O'Connor for the big jerk! Neither Gardiner nor O'Connor have ever worn white.
Great work again, Girls. They're going to start calling you Twisted Sisters. How you both no better sense than to let a guy like Sanchez work in your courtrooms, and then when informed he's got a rather major obsession with the opposite sex, repeatedly stick up for him? Something is not right with this equation. What's your scheme? Rather seamy.
Pretty Naughty, would have to agree. Neither one of you will ever be Hillary. In one way it's hard to hold down the laughter concering Gardiner or O'Connor's little cover up. Dispite what you think, it's not all about you. Listen for once and stop walking the walk. You both knew what a freak this guy is but did nothing but embolden his actions.
Sanchez was always the worst court deputy in the courthouse. Why Gardiner or O'Connor would stick up for him is anyones guess.
Like O'Connor even less in profile.
Nothing surprises me about O'Connor or Gardiner any more. They don't care. This rat Sanchez should have been shown the door ages ago, but for these two judges. He's always been a disgrace.
Twisted is the right word!
that does raise a very good question 11:25. Lamberti just seems childish sometimes. Like he wasnt part of the problem. I see big holes in his subtle PR campaign.
It's indicative of the Broward Courthouse and the Good Ole Boy System. It's you're either one of us or you're one of them within its petty ranks. Judges, Court Deputies, and the list goes on. They try to protect their own and when something goes wrong they crawl underground for a while saying they didn't know anything about it when they fostered the situation to begin with. Judges need to get it into their heads once and for all that they are public servants, responsible to the public and not petty dictators running their courtrooms with an aplomb that would make Chavez blush. Stop sticking up for court deputies that have obvious mental and sexual problems when the situation is brought to your attention repeatedly. It's the public you serve, not yourselves. Broward Courts are not a "help yourself counter at the public trough". There's change in the wind and if you're not careful you'll catch a cold. Gardiner protected this Sanchez when she knew of the problems occurring in her courtroom. O'Connor did the same thing. And now we see the extent of the real problem and still both judges remain silent on the issue. Aren't judges supposed to rely on good judgment, or is that something that is in very short supply in The Broward Judiciary? I think we know the answer to that one. No one in your courtrooms work for you. They work for the public and that is a fact you'd better get used to. Quit running around like children honoring one another and knuckle down and do what it is you're being paid to do. If you can't or won't, then take off the robes and stop playing the role of conscience of the world and start acting like adults. And in the future when you are told by a female attorney that their is something wrong with the way a court deputy is acting towards her, maybe you should listen before BSO and the Media have to become involved simply "because he's one of yours".
Remember, this is the same Judge Gardiner that was telling the papers there weren't enough courtrooms in the courthouse (or closets) what ever that meant, when the judges' parking lot is empty at 2:00 on most afternoons and many courtrooms remain empty, and is pushing for a new courthouse project to help political friends and fellow cohorts. What do you expect? Politics as usual in Broward.
ROTATE JUDGES AND THEY WILL START ACTING LIKE REAL JUDGES AND BE LESS BEHOLDING TO THOSE WHO WOULD TENDER CORRUPTION AS A TOOL
to the 9:01 poster, bravo....well said!
Visit Palm Beach. Very professional judiciary, staff and support. Beautiful building. Plenty of parking. Some tough judges for certain... you better be punctual, polite and prepared. I have practiced for 19 years and I will NEVER forget the day a Broward judge LITERALLY mocked and imitated me during my presentation to the court. It was bizzare.
And of course after 19 years in practice I need to recite a script on how to address the court in Motion Calendar !!!LMAO !!!
With numerous exceptions I find my experiences in Broward to be reflective of an environment of a system in chaos and cronyism. The bailiffs and JA's (not all) are unpleasant because their bosses set the tone.
Clean up your act Broward. The whole state is watching.
I'll bet Dorian is happy to get out of this cesspool.
Take a couple more swings at me detractors about my negative comments about Gardiner and her fraudulent unethical, illegal behavior, but here she is again being accused of yet another permissive and unethical cover-up actions to conceal real criminals because they are cops and allowing the unprofessional conduct of judges and attorneys to escape her Judicial Canonical duty to report and discipline conduct of judges and conduct of attorneys that she is aware of but instead decides to aid and abet and conceal as an accessory.
But the JQC probably won't heara complaint or investigate one if they get it because to them, most judges are above the law and above the Canons. In fact even when there are specific Canons stating that many of Gardiners statement are not just the appearance of impropriety, but a specific pledge on the record to be partiam, and biased toward the State Atty's office and it's criminal ASA's, the JCQ comes back and LIES and says that these are not violations that they will bring to the S.Ct. They are the thieves who retrieve the bucks from being pawwed to legitimate oversight bodies.
So how mayn JQC complaints about Gardiner plus 1 = "beyond accident, mistake or inadvertence" to brin a RICO suit against her and the entire 17th Judicial Cir. When will the first domino fall and who will it finally be?
Has anyone else noticed the discourteous behaviour of the deputies in Rodriguez-Powell toward attorneys? Its the one courtroom i dread walking into.
I yam what I yam
Didn't Ana mentor Mily? They are friends too, right?
What degree of ethical responsibility do you expect from a Judge who was boinking her lead prosecutor, Pete Patanza????? what a joke!!!
Isn't this the same guy who was involved in a crash while working for Pompano PD?
Please, correct me if I'm wrong.
I thought this was the guy who, without permission from a Sergeant, chases a speeding car on Federal Highway with no lights/sirens. Blew through a light and crashed into an innocent driver, killing him/her(?).
You know who would know for sure?
Defuria.
I was in the court room with him and he bribed me and said if i wanted to use the phone i would let him kiss me. He asked me on dates, asked me for my number, got me candy stroked my hand tried to touch me also
Is Jen a judge or an attorney?