Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog

April 21, 2010

Actor Michael Douglas’s Son is Sent to Prison for 5 Years for Dealing Drugs

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Michael Douglas’s son was sentenced to five (5) years in United States Federal Prison for “distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine”

Cameron Douglas, 31, pleaded with U.S. District Judge Richard Berman for a break in his sentence. Both his father, Michael Douglas, as well as his mother, Diandra Luker, appeared at his sentencing. Those who were present stated that his mother, Luker, broke down in tears. His father, Michael Douglas, fought back tears but was obviously overwhelmed with emotion.

Douglas was arrested at a Manhattan nightclub in July of 2009. At his sentencing he begged with the Judge for a lighter and more reasonable sentence. He stated, “I believe, your honor, things will be different this time,” he added. If given a second chance, he said, “I will never squander that opportunity.”

Although the Judge received numerous letters from many celebrities begging for leniency for Douglas, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman appeared determined to issue the 5 year sentence.

The Judge appeared unmoved by many of the celebrity letters. In fact, he stated that many of the letters implied that Douglas should not be made an example of just because he is the son of famed actor Michael Douglas. The Judge went on to state that, “None acknowledged appropriately the numerous impacts to victims of society for dealing drugs.”

February 20, 2010

Miami Dade Law Enforcement Official Charged with Felony For Issuing Fake Tickets

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The victims of Trooper Paul C. Lawrence, 38, of the Florida Highway Patrol were shocked when they learned that they had pending traffic citations or that suspensions had been issued on their Florida drivers license for failure to appear in court. Most of the Florida Highway Patrol Trooper’s victims were not even on the road when the traffic citations were written alleging a slew of traffic violations. Others were not even in the United States when the traffic citations were issued.

The Trooper now faces 22 counts of official misconduct, a third degree felony. So far, over 211 traffic citations written by Lawrence have been dismissed. It appears as though the Florida Highway Patrol Trooper used information from previous traffic stops in order to manufacture the false citations. According to the Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson, “there is no incentive for him to do that because Florida Highway Patrol does not use a quota system.”

August 5, 2009

Domestic Violence Charges Land Chris Brown Under Judicial Scrutiny

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The famous 20 year old R&B singer Chris Brown has pleaded guilty and publicly apologized for beating Rihanna back in February. Brown is expected to be sentenced to five years probation followed by six months of community labor. Although Chris Brown is expected to be permitted to serve his probation in his home state of Virginia, he will be required to return to California every three months to attend domestic violence classes.

These charges stem from an incident which occurred back in February of 2009. On February 8, 2009, Chris Brown was arrested for allegedly beating, choking, and biting Rihanna as he tried to push her out of a car.

Domestic Violence in Florida is defined by Florida Statute 741.28 as follows:

“Domestic violence” means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member.

In Florida, if a person is found guilty of Domestic Violence the Court may sentence as follows:

If a person is adjudicated guilty of a crime of domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28, and the person has intentionally caused bodily harm to another person, the court shall order the person to serve a minimum of 5 days in the county jail as part of the sentence imposed, unless the court sentences the person to a nonsuspended period of incarceration in a state correctional facility. This section does not preclude the court from sentencing the person to probation, community control, or an additional period of incarceration.

July 31, 2009

Hollywood, Florida Police Officers Caught in Cover-Up

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Four Hollywood Florida Police Officers are being accused of faking a crash report. The entire incident was accidently caught by the on board dash camera. They were identified Tuesday as Dewey Pressley, Joel Francisco, Andrew Diaz and Karim Thomas. They’re on administrative duty pending an investigation.

It is alleged that Officer Joel Francisco accidently rear ended a vehicle. The Officer then placed the individual under arrest for drunken driving related charges. A video depicts the Officers apparently attempting to create a story in which blame for the accident could be placed on the other driver. Apparently, the Officers were unaware that the entire incident was being recorded. The accident report written by Officer Pressly states that the driver of the other vehicle was distracted when a cat sitting on her lap caused her to loose control striking the officers vehicle. The Broward County Office of the State Attorney has agreed to drop the driving under the influence charges stemming from this incident.

ANSARA RESPONDS
It appears that the Broward County Office of the State Attorney has taken the initiative to drop all charges stemming from the incident involving these Hollywood Police Officers in this particular case. However, what is the Broward County Office of the State Attorney doing to investigate other arrests by these officers? It appears to me that the Broward County Office of the State Attorney has a duty to further investigate pending and prior arrests involving these officers. The Hollywood Police Department is no stranger to scandal. Recently the Department was shaken when the FBI arrested fellow Hollywood Police Officers. The FBI posed as an underground criminal ring and used the Hollywood Police Officers as protection during drug transports.

Retired FBI agent Jack Garcia was one of the undercover operatives and gave his account of the investigation in a book published last year. In an interview last October, he said of his dealings with the Hollywood Police Department: “What was amazing to me is that it was so easy to get cops to look the other way, to guard trucks for us, no questions asked. I’d never seen anything like it.”

July 28, 2009

UBS Client Pleads Guilty in Fort Lauderdale Federal Court

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Jeffrey P. Chernick of Stanfordville, N.Y., pled guilty today on the charge of filing a false tax return in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Federal Court. This is the result of an ongoing attempt by the United States Government’s efforts to force the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS) to divulge the names of thousands of wealthy American’s who may have large amounts of money in UBS accounts.

Arrests for South Florida UBS white collar crimes have already occurred and it seems likely that other arrest are sure to follow.
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July 14, 2009

Weston Man Charged with Operating $14M Commodities Fraud

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The Commodities Future Trading Commission alleges that Weston resident Sean Nathan Healy ran and operated a multi-million dollar securities scheme. The civil complaint alleges that Sean Nathan Healy defrauded 44 investors of approximately $14 million dollars.
The Broward County man is accused of operating the white collar scheme in order to make extravagant purchases such as a $2.5 million home, luxury cars, gold bullions, and a $500,000 home theater. On Monday a Federal Judge issued an order freezing Healy’s assets.
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July 13, 2009

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief’s Wife Spared Mandatory 20 year Prison Sentence

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The wife of Fort Lauderdale police chief Frank Adderley has been spared a 20 year minimum mandatory sentence by the Office of the State Attorney for Broward County. Eleanor Adderley was originally charged with aggravated assault with a firearm which carries a stiff 20 year minimum sentence. However, the charge was amended to aggravated assault without a firearm. Bizarrely, her plea also includes the charge of using a gun in an occupied building.

After negotiations with Jeff Marcus, chief of the felony division for the Broward State Attorney’s Office, Eleanor Adderley was offered a plea deal that would effectively bypass the 20 year minimum sentence. Marcus said the bargain was a practical way of tailoring the punishment to the crime.
“It’s in essence a legal fiction,” Marcus said. “Did she discharge the weapon? Of course she did, right? But if we deem that the mandatory sentence would not be appropriate, then we would amend those words out.” It’s a means to “the right result,” Marcus said.

Regardless, many are left to wonder why such an exception was made in this case. “My first impression is that the counts of the plea bargain are internally inconsistent and incompatible, because one of the counts omits the presence of the firearm, while the other presumes the presence of a firearm,” said Tony Alfieri, director of the University of Miami law school’s Center for Ethics and Public Service. “My second impression is that the plea bargain not only mocks the notion of even-handed criminal justice but also undermines public confidence in the fair and unbiased enforcement of the law.”

June 30, 2009

Florida Expungements and Record Sealings; A Hot Priority During a Cold Recession

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The current economic situation has lead to thousands of job losses. As people begin to search for new employment, they are often rudely awakened by something they may have long forgotten; their criminal history.

With the economic downturn many Floridians are rushing to begin their Florida Expungment or Record Sealing process. Some have lost their jobs while others seek better opportunities for themselves and their families. However, all are haunted by their prior criminal history.

The Florida Expungement or Record Sealing laws allow an individual to essentially “erase” prior contact with the criminal justice system provided they meet certain criteria. The Florida Expungement or Record Sealing law states that an individual shall only expunge or seal “one” arrest. This means that an individual can only expunge or seal charges arising from the same instance or occurrence. Additionally, the individual seeking the Florida Expungement or Record Sealing could not have been “adjudicated” on that or any other charge in order to qualify.

The key to a successful Florida expungment or Record Sealing is to not wait until the last minute. “The problem most people have is that they wait until they have already been denied that new opportunity due to past criminal history. This is unfortunate because this loss may have been easily avoidable had the individual acted sooner.”
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June 23, 2009

Broward County DUI Cop Kept Badge Despite Repeated Complaints From Women

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The Sun-Sentinel Published a story today alleging that Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Charles Grady managed to keep his job despite numerous complaints from women regarding his behavior.

A review of Grady’s service record by the Sun Sentinel turned up complaints from women over the years who claimed the deputy had berated, belittled, molested, fondled, hog-tied or pepper-sprayed them. In 2006, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office paid $7,500.00 to settle a claim after the Deputy hog-tied a Broward County DUI suspect while she was in her holding cell. Yet, the Deputy still managed to keep his badge, his gun, and the ability to harm the public at large.

After recent complaints by female Broward County DUI suspects, Deputy Grady was charged by the Office of the State Attorney with two counts of misdemeanor battery. The Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy received two years probation. However, as part of the plea deal the State Attorney’s Office has agreed not to prosecute the Deputy for armed sexual battery. This incident allegedly occurred when the Deputy forced a woman to perform oral sex on him while at gunpoint.

Prosecutor David Schulson insisted Grady received no special treatment because he was a sheriff’s deputy, and said the stripper’s complaint would not have held up in court because “there was no independent evidence supporting [the victim’s] allegations, forensic or otherwise.”

April 15, 2009

From Florida to Kentucky: The Drug Pipeline Keeps Growing

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

In a sting dubbed Operation Pill Crusher, two dozen alleged drug dealers in Kentucky have been arrested and accused of obtaining prescription drugs at popular Florida pain clinics and taking them back to Kentucky to sell. A Miami Herald investigation published last week showed that pain clinics in Florida — particularly Broward County — are dispensing prescription narcotics daily to traffickers traveling from Kentucky and other states.
Doctors charge a few hundred dollars for an MRI that justifies the prescription and, in many cases, the drug seekers get monthly prescriptions filled at the clinics, for as many as 300 pills, without ever having to go to a pharmacy.

The drug dealers are making thousands of dollars for each trip to Florida. Each 30 milligram Roxicodone is selling for $30 on the street in Kentucky, a 15 milligram Roxicodone is selling for $15, and a Xanax brings about $4.

The stories showed that local doctors are dispensing the pills with little or no oversight — exploiting lax state laws and health regulations — while feeding an epidemic spreading across the eastern United States. On Tuesday, Kentucky law enforcement agents were rounding up alleged traffickers who police say are subsidizing car, van and airplane loads of people traveling to Fort Lauderdale to get prescription drugs from dozens of clinics.

Thousands of Kentuckians are traveling to South Florida’s pain clinics. Once there, people get prescriptions for hundreds of painkillers like oxycodone, sold under the brand name Roxicodone, and for Xanax, an anti-depressant.

A combination of factors has led to the much-traveled Kentucky-Broward County pipeline. Kentucky and 37 other states electronically monitor the number of narcotics prescriptions a person obtains from physicians. But Florida has no such system.

ANSARA RESPONDS
Pain clinics are everywhere in Broward County. I took a short drive the other day down Oakland Park Boulevard and saw over seven pain clinics just a few miles apart. It is no secret that the Fort Lauderdale Police and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office keep a tight watch on these pain clinics.
Interestingly, Florida has no system in place to monitor doctor shopping. That combined with lax health regulations have created a free for all for drug traffickers. In Kentucky, the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system, known by the acronym KASPER, tracks the people who are prescribing, dispensing and obtaining pills.