Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony must now decide whether to fight a decision by a state ethics panel — which for the second time in recent months agreed that further review is warranted to look into accusations he gave false information on official forms, his attorney said Monday.
The Florida Commission on Ethics, with an 8-1 vote, found probable cause Friday to pursue a case into the sheriff’s providing false information, or not disclosing information.
The action came in a closed-door confidential hearing, the results of which are expected to be made public Wednesday. Louis Jean-Baptiste, the sheriff’s attorney based in Tallahassee, said Monday that Tony has not decided yet on their next move. Jean-Baptiste said he will “talk to the sheriff, figure out what’s the next course of action.”
This was the second time the ethics commission found probable cause to pursue a case against Tony.
Although the issues considered are the same, the first hearing was a referral from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a case that was heard in September. This last hearing was the result of a complaint from a citizen.
In September, the ethics commission 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.
Baptiste said Monday that in both cases, they have “argued it was not probable cause for either of the allegations, probable cause doesn’t exist.”
Tony now has two options on these cases: He can choose to go to a full evidentiary hearing before a judge with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings. Or he could immediately enter into a stipulated agreement.
Either way, the findings go back to the Commission on Ethics for its approval. And the result could be a recommendation that the governor remove him, a public censure, or a civil penalty as much as $10,000 per allegation.
A recommendation by the ethics commission to remove somebody from office or their public position is rare. It has only happened six times since 1975. The most recent case was in October when the commission took final action on a complaint against Escambia County Commissioner Douglas Underhill, who had admitted guilt in failing to disclose gifts related to his legal defense fund.
The commission voted to recommend a total civil penalty of $35,000, public censure and reprimand, and removal from office. The recommendation was sent to the governor, according to the ethics commission.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel detailed the sheriff’s lies and omissions from forms in a news article last year. According to ethics commission’s documents reviewed in September, they determined he provided false information, or did not disclose information:
•During the governor’s process to appoint Tony as the Broward sheriff. Tony never disclosed on forms that he had shot and killed an 18-year-old man when he was a teenager living in a rough neighborhood in Philadelphia. He was acquitted in the case, which he called an instance of self-defense. State investigators concluded pertinent court records were most likely destroyed, ethics commissioners previously were told.
•During the hiring process for his employment with the Coral Springs Police Department.
•When completing a notarized form to FDLE while serving as Broward County sheriff, where he must disclose any arrests. The affidavit asserts that he has never had a criminal record sealed or expunged, and where he pledged all his answers were “true and correct” — both of which were incorrect.
•When applying to renew his driver’s license while serving as a law enforcement officer. Investigators wrote that in 1999 he correctly answered “yes” when asked if his driving privilege had ever been revoked, suspended or denied in any other state. But between March 2002 and February 2019, he submitted 11 applications, and on eight of them, he answered “no.”
Friday’s hearing stemmed from a 15-page complaint filed in July by Jerald Fuller, who is a retired Fort Lauderdale police sergeant and former sheriff’s captain who had resigned in 2020 after Tony’s election.
According to a copy of Fuller’s complaints, Friday’s hearing in Tallahassee centered around the same issues, including false information provided for his driver’s license and not disclosing a previous arrest to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
In his complaint, Fuller provided a copy of some of the most salient findings made in a report made public by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He said Monday his intent was to make sure Tony was held “accountable” since he didn’t know whether any other ethics complaints were filed or were ongoing.
“An interesting question to ask Sheriff Tony is, ‘Would he hire himself to work for the Sheriff’s Office?” Fuller wrote in his complaint letter.
DeSantis appointed Tony to sheriff in January 2019, after removing Sheriff Scott Israel from office. Israel was removed for failures in leadership that culminated, the governor maintained, in deputies failing to rush in to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, while children and educators were being killed inside on Feb. 14, 2018.
DeSantis’ office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
