While sheriff in February 2019, and also while he was a police officer in October 2005, August 2007 and December 2013 he falsely indicated in applications to renew or replace his driver\u2019s license that his driving privileges had never been revoked, suspended or denied in any state. But Pennsylvania had suspended Tony\u2019s license multiple times.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe probable cause order, signed today by chairman John Grant, was unusually strong for a commission that has long been had the reputation as something of a weak sister. It specifically rejected the recommendations of Commission Advocate \u2013 and assistant attorney general \u2013 Melody Hadley to let Tony walk. Hadley had recommended in an 11-page report that the commission find no probable cause against Tony. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe commission rejected the recommendation of its Advocate and found probable cause to believe Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony misused his public position,\u201d a commission press release said.<\/p>\n
During the commission\u2019s closed hearing last week, Commissioner Willie Meggs, a former Leon County State Attorney, expressed puzzlement at Hadley\u2019s recommendation, and support it drew from Commissioner Michelle Anchors of Fort Walton Beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just boggles my mind that we sit here as an ethics commission and we have someone who has basically committed criminal acts by omitting and commiting perjury in an application and we can\u2019t find an ethics violation?\u2026I don\u2019t get it,\u201d said Meggs.<\/p>\n
Anchors later called Tony\u2019s behavior \u201cdespicable,\u201d but nevertheless was the lone vote against finding probable cause. The nine-member commission voted 8-1 against Tony.<\/p>\n
TONY \u2018DISAPPOINTED\u2019<\/h4>\n
Tony was represented at last week\u2019s closed hearing by Tallahassee lawyer Steven G. Webster, who issued this statement, \u201cThe Florida Commission on Ethics Advocate\u2019s report clearly outlined that no violation had occurred and recommended the Commission find no probable cause The Commission\u2019s disregard of its own advocate\u2019s findings and recommendation is unprecedented.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile disappointed in the Commission\u2019s action, my client looks forward to a swift finding of innocence,\u201d Webster said.<\/p>\n
The decision, finding sweeping misconduct by Tony, is even stronger than the June findings of the state Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, which has the power to strip Tony of his license to be a police officer. The CJSTC merely found probable cause that Tony repeatedly lied about his past driving record to obtain driver\u2019s licenses in Florida.<\/p>\n
The ethics commission\u2019s findings would seem to clear the way for Gov. DeSantis to remove Tony if he\u2019s so inclined. Florida Bulldog <\/em>reported in late August that, by law, DeSantis acquired the power to replace Tony once Tony had less than 28 months to serve in his four-year term. That date was passed on September 6.<\/p>\nAt the end of last week\u2019s hearing, Commission Chairman Grant urged Webster and Tony to begin discussions with commission staff about settling the case. Otherwise, the case will now head for a trial before a judge in the the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH). <\/p>\n
\u201cA trial with all the evidence coming out and\u2026the press reports on a daily or hourly basis would be something that a sitting sheriff would want to avoid if at all possible. That would be punishment in and of itself,\u201d said Commissioner Don Gaetz, a former state senate president.<\/p>\n
The ethics commission\u2019s case began after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement filed its 20-page report about Tony, completed in July 2021. FDLE had recommended that Tony be charged with felony perjury, but prosecutors in Fort Myers overseeing the matter declined. <\/p>\n
The ethics commission conducted a preliminary investigation of its own and the matter was turned over to Hadley for her review and recommendation to the commission.<\/p>\n
At last week\u2019s closed-door hearing, Tony\u2019s attorney was allowed to make a presentation. A tape recording of the meeting showed that attorney Webster mainly relied on and agreed with Hadley\u2019s recommendations that no probable cause should be found. <\/p>\n
It is not known if Tony attended.<\/p>\n
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