Criminal Mischief

March 13, 2019

Rude Gesture to Police: Inadvisable, But Not Illegal, Federal Judge Rules

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

Our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorneys generally advise clients that when interacting with law enforcement, one should be firmly quiet – but generally polite. That last part is more for your benefit than theirs; police officers have a fair amount of discretion, and you risk greater scrutiny and harsher treatment when you’re rude.

However, as revealed in a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, you technically do have a right to be rude.

In Cruise-Guylas v. Minard, a federal appeals court held it is within your Constitutional rights to make uncouth gestures at police officers. That doesn’t make it a good idea, and as the appellate court ruled, it may violate The Golden Rule. Nonetheless, that doesn’t make it sufficient grounds in itself for a traffic stop. Continue reading

February 17, 2016

Florida Official Accused of Keying Car in Neighbor Spat

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

Ron Cacciatore is a man who has spent his life in Broward law enforcement. He worked for years as an undercover agent, targeting drug traffickers. He took on high-profile, influential members of organized crime. He even spoke at one about about running for Broward sheriff himself.

But now, he’s on the other side of that coin. The 62-year-old, who currently serves as the head fraud investigator at the Broward Property Appraiser’s Office, was recently accused of taking a key to vandalize the car of a 73-year-old neighborhood association president, who has been sparring with his 43-year-old stepdaughter.

This is according to The Sun-Sentinel, which alleges the source of this quarrel spans a full five years – and the tenure of two association presidents. In all this time, there have been reports of conflicts between those involved that resulted in hair-pulling, biting and restraining order filings. And now, reportedly, it’s culminated in vandalism by a high-ranking county official and retired lawman. Continue reading

February 26, 2013

Broward State Attorney Dismisses Case Moments before Trial

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

Client was arrested and charged with one count of Intimidating a Witness, Retaliating against an informant, and Criminal Mischief. These allegations stem from an incident in which the government accused my client of making threats and damaging an informant’s car by smashing out the windows.

The Government had an alleged eye witness that they claim saw my client commit these acts. The client maintained his innocence in this matter and wanted his day in court in order to fight these criminal charges. Had he been convicted in Court he would be exposed to decades in prison.

After being hired I immediately went to work in order to clear my client’s name. After speaking with the case filing attorney I was able to get a major break early on in the case. The case filing attorney is the initial prosecutor that reviews all the initial reports generated by law enforcement and decides what the proper charges should be.