FROM PRISON TO \u2018HOLISTIC\u2019 NONPROFIT<\/strong><\/h4>\nIn the end, Bleiweiss\u2019s refusal to accept court-ordered treatment could land him back in prison for a longer stretch. Both his liberty and his Florida Justice Center are at risk.<\/p>\n
Following his 2015 plea bargain, Bleiweiss served three years and nine months of a five-year sentence at a minimum-security prison.<\/p>\n
In 2019, soon after his release, he launched a nonprofit offering \u201cholistic\u201d legal, mental health and social services to poor people who get caught up in the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n
He can relate, Bleiweiss assures potential clients and donors who read his bio on the Florida Justice Center website. Once upon a time he \u201cfound himself in handcuffs,\u201d the bio states. It doesn\u2019t say why.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like tens of thousands of Floridians each year, he was forced to accept a deal for a crime he did not commit due to a common prosecutorial practice called overcharging,\u201d the website says.<\/p>\n
(Fact check: Through his 2015 plea, Bleiweiss admitted committing multiple crimes.)<\/p>\n
In a 2019 interview with Florida Bulldog, <\/em>Bleiweiss blamed political intrigue for his downfall.<\/p>\nMONEY FLOWS TO LEGAL AID CENTER<\/strong><\/h4>\nYet the politics of diversity worked in his favor. BSO celebrated the openly gay Bleiweiss, liaison to the LGBTQ community. He represented the department at pride parades; he was hailed for boosting gay and lesbian rights.<\/p>\n
His legal aid center has an ambitious-sounding goal: \u201cTo reduce the number of justice-involved people in Florida.\u201d The quote is from the center\u2019s profile for the charity reviewer GuideStar, which awarded the FLJC a Gold Seal for financial transparency.<\/p>\n
Bleiweiss\u2019s salary has nearly doubled since 2020, when it was $23,488, according to the center\u2019s most recent federal tax Form 990. As of Jan. 31, 2022 the center was paying him $3,750 a month, or $45,000 a year, for part-time work, a Florida Department of Corrections affidavit says.<\/p>\n
The center claims 222 volunteers, more than a dozen outside lawyers standing by to accept pro bono cases, a legal director and a full-time salaried staff attorney. One of Bleiweiss\u2019s own lawyers, Richard Merlino, is identified on the nonprofit\u2019s website as a contributor.<\/p>\n
The FLJC\u2019s 990 tax form for 2020 shows that it received $176,376 more in donations than the $57,816 it paid out for expenses.<\/p>\n
TRYING TO SHORTEN PROBATION<\/strong><\/h4>\nBut behind the facade of a thriving nonprofit start-up, the 41-year-old Bleiweiss is pursuing an urgent personal agenda. Before his arrest for the probation violation, he lobbied to end his probation early. Now he\u2019s scrambling to stay out of prison.<\/p>\n
Central to his efforts is scrubbing his image, courtesy of the Florida Justice Center.<\/p>\n
At a Dec. 1, 2021 hearing on Bleiweiss\u2019s motion to end his 10-year probation after three years, two lawyers associated with the center testified on his behalf.<\/p>\n
Melba Pearson, vice chair of the board and a former prosecutor with the Miami-Dade State Attorney\u2019s Office, said, \u201cI\u2019ve never seen someone with so much drive to give back to the community,\u201d according to a hearing transcript.<\/p>\n
Saiz said he was impressed that Bleiweiss volunteered information about his criminal past before Saiz accepted the job of legal director. Smith took that as an opportunity to remind Judge Garcia-Wood what happened much earlier in the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd did he tell you the reason he was able to negotiate a plea to a non-sex offense was because the sheriff\u2019s office \u2026 systematically rounded up those victims and deported them?\u201d she asked Saiz.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he told me that specifically,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n
LOTS OF DISAPPEARING ARRESTS<\/strong><\/h4>\nGarcia-Wood denied the request to put an early end to Bleiweiss\u2019s probation.<\/p>\n
In an interview conducted through emails, Saiz indicated to Florida Bulldog<\/em> that many of the center\u2019s resources are devoted to paying fees and filing motions to seal and expunge arrest records.<\/p>\n\u201cSealing and expungement is especially important as it allows folks to get jobs\/better jobs and housing, and results in safer and more stable communities,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
In 2020, when the FLJC petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to recognize it as a legal aid organization, the center listed 14 lawyers who stood ready to take on pro bono cases.<\/p>\n
However, a random sample of those lawyers did not express any desire to work with the center again.<\/p>\n
Two of them, Tamara Felton-Howard of St. Petersburg and Richard Eagles of Coral Springs, confirmed each handled and won an FLJC case, but said they didn\u2019t know their names were on the Supreme Court petition.<\/p>\n
Felton-Howard told Florida Bulldog<\/em> she was \u201cdisappointed\u201d to learn about Bleiweiss\u2019s background. \u201cI don\u2019t really practice criminal law anymore,\u201d she wrote in an email.<\/p>\n\u201cI have transitioned away from practicing criminal defense,\u201d Eagles wrote in an email. He declined to comment about Bleiweiss.<\/p>\n
Another lawyer on the list, Sanite Ermat of Fort Lauderdale, said in a recorded phone message, \u201cAt this time, I\u2019m not handling any legal matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Jessenia Rosales, a Tampa lawyer who chairs the FLJC board, did not return a phone call from Florida Bulldog <\/em>seeking comment about her pro bono work and the center.<\/p>\nFLJC OVERHYPES SUPREMES\u2019 NOD<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe Florida Justice Center got a one-page letter from the Supreme Court clerk granting it \u201corganizational approval\u201d on Dec. 1, 2020.<\/p>\n
Now it markets itself as \u201cthe first and only legal aid organization in the state authorized to practice criminal law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Court spokesman Paul Flemming provided a spin check. Legal aid organizations are encouraged because they help increase the pool of volunteers who represent indigent clients, he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll [the approval] does is set up a structure for a practicing attorney to supervise law students who then can provide pro bono legal services,\u201d Flemming said. Each student must qualify for certification.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not constitute a seal of approval for everything that this nonprofit corporation does,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
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