FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony didn’t make a settlement deal in a state ethics case that sought to hold him responsible over omissions and untruths on official forms on his rise toward becoming the county’s top cop, records showed Thursday.
The results of a meeting held Tuesday were made public in a document posted online Thursday morning through the state’s Division of Administrative Hearings.
Tuesday’s conference resulted in an “impasse. The parties did not resolve the issues in dispute, and this case should proceed to final hearing here at DOAH,” wrote Judge Hetal Desai.
The Florida Commission on Ethics previously found probable cause to pursue a case into Tony, finding that there were lies and omissions on forms that led him to his first cop job in Coral Springs, and ultimately leading to him becoming sheriff.
Tony was given two options once the Commission on Ethics found probable cause: He could go to a full evidentiary hearing before a judge with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, which hears ethics cases.
Or he could immediately enter into a stipulated agreement.
The case is now scheduled for July in Fort Lauderdale.
Neither of Tony’s lawyers, Louis J. Baptiste and Stephen Webster, could be reached for comment this week. In September, Baptiste said that Tony “looks forward to a swift finding of innocence.”
In a news article in 2021, the South Florida Sun Sentinel detailed the sheriff’s lies and omissions on official forms. According to ethics commission’s documents, he provided false information, or did not disclose information in multiple cases, including withholding information from the governor during his selection process, and not disclosing his traffic citation history, drug use history, and arrest history to be hired at Coral Springs Police Department.
The state panel found Tony “misused his public position” when he provided false information or did not disclose information, determining that the “extraordinary relevant set of facts” that he omitted directly benefited him in getting jobs. One member called his behavior “despicable.”
