Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog

November 21, 2015

DUI Manslaughter Defendant Fights for Third Trial in Two Appeals

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

A battle over blood evidence is one of just two fronts on which a polo club founder is fighting his conviction for DUI manslaughter, following a second trial over a fatal accident in Wellington that killed a 23-year-old recent engineering graduate.

Defense attorneys for 52-year-old John Goodman, heir to a heating-and-cooling company and founder of the polo club, argued recently before Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal that the blood evidence against him is not reliable. Because prosecutors leaned heavily on it during his second trial, they argue a new trial should be granted.

He is also appealing his retrial conviction on other technicality grounds. Further, he is asking the state to give him “credit for time served” for the 368 days he spent on house arrest while his second trial was pending.

Prosecutors are fighting back on each of these appeals. https://www.ansaralaw.com/dui.html

November 17, 2015

Broward Reduces Penalties for Possessing Pot

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

Broward County commissioners have voted unanimously to slash the punishment for those caught in possession of small amounts of marijuana. The measure allows a person to be issued a civil citation instead of an arrest if:

–The amount of the drug with which they are caught is 20 grams or less;
–The person did not also commit domestic violence, DUI or some other felony;
–The person has not had three or more prior citations for marijuana possession.

Commissioners at this point have taken it as far as they can. They cannot decriminalize a drug that is illegal under state (and technically, federal) law. That means police and prosecutors will be given discretion. They can choose to issue a citation that comes with a civil fine, or they can treat the offense as a misdemeanor.

November 14, 2015

Florida Man Pleads Guilty to $10 Million Investment Fraud

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

A 75-year-old man from Broward County admitted in a Fort Lauderdale federal courtroom that he and two others heisted millions of dollars from investors more than 10 years ago, blew a good chunk of it on lavish lifestyles and squirreled away the rest in overseas accounts.

Burton Greenberg of Plantation pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy at a recent hearing. He faces up to two decades behind bars.

The guilty plea comes just one month after he and another man, 60-year-old Bruce Kane of Fort Lauderdale, were arrested in connection with the scheme. Kane is being held in a prison in upstate New York, where he was apprehended. A third man, a Canadian national, is a suspect but has not yet been arrested, though he is believed to be residing in Turkey.

These kinds of white collar criminal cases are almost always prosecuted at the federal level, which often translates to harsher penalties.

November 10, 2015

Florida DUI Manslaughter, Hit-Run Cases Result in Disparate Sentences

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

Last month, a South Florida disc jockey was convicted of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in an auto accident that killed a couple in a vehicle stopped at a traffic signal ahead of him. The crash happened in 2013 in Coral Gables.

Defendant, Ervens Prudent, is better known in Miami as “DJ AOL.” His blood-alcohol level was allegedly nearly twice the legal limit as he was driving home from a friend’s wedding. Though he conceded on the stand he was at-fault for the crash, he insisted he wasn’t drunk. Rather, he had fallen asleep.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18, and he faces up to 30 years in prison. The question of what he’ll actually get is tough to say, given how disparate sentences can be in cases that alleged DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and hit-and-run.

This fact was highlighted several months ago in an in-depth analysis by the Miami Herald, which found that while the average DUI manslaughter sentence in Florida was 9.5 years, punishments varied greatly depending on jurisdiction. For example:
–Palm Beach County – Average 11.54 years average
–Hillsborough County – 10.18 years average
–Miami-Dade – 6.09 years average

November 7, 2015

Juvenile Facing Felony Charges in Fatal Crash Following Police Chase

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

A 15-year-old from Boca Raton is facing charges of vehicular homicide and homicide while engaged in a felony offense after he crashed a stolen Mustang into a Honda Pilot during a police pursuit. Although the teen and his 20-year-old passenger were uninjured, the driver of the Pilot, 46-year-old Wendy Harris, was killed.

At this time, we’re not naming the teen because he hasn’t (yet) been charged as an adult. However, considering the circumstances of this situation, we recognize it’s highly probable prosecutors will do so.F.S. 985.557 is the “direct file” statute, which spells out situations in which prosecutors have discretion in “direct filing” a juvenile offender as an adult – to face (mostly) adult penalties, and when such action is mandatory.

The statute says that when any child who is 14 or 15 at the time of the alleged offense, prosecutors can seek adult sanctions when the person is arrested for a number of serious and violent felonies, including robbery, sexual assault, arson, aggravated child abuse, aggravated stalking, grand theft, robbery, kidnapping, carjacking or grand theft of a vehicle (when juvenile has a prior adjudication for the same or similar offense). Prosecutors may be required to “Mandatory Direct File” when the child is 16 or 17 at the time of allegedly committing a forcible felony or when any felony offense is committed and the teen has a previous adjudication for a violent felony.

November 3, 2015

Employee Theft in Fort Lauderdale Alleged by YOLO Restaurant

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

YOLO is a popular Fort Lauderdale restaurant named after the mantra that, “You Only Live Once.” But a former bookkeeper at the downtown hot spot may have taken those words too closely to heart.

According to a report by The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 52-year-old Joanne Purstell of Oakland Park has been arrested on grand theft charges after management accused her of stealing nearly $350,000 of the restaurant’s money.

Purstell, who reportedly has no prior criminal record, was in charge of managing tip shares, balancing cash receipts and making deposits of cash and credit card payments for the East Las Olas Boulevard restaurant. But Fort Lauderdale police investigators assert that between 2012 to 2015, Purstell failed to deposit nearly $350,000 into restaurant bank accounts.

October 29, 2015

Theft Charges for Broward Bailiff Following Wife’s Conviction

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

A bailiff for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office was taken into custody by his own agency after prosecutors say the 33-year-old civilian employee freely spent money he knew was stolen by his now ex-wife.

His former wife, who worked at a perfume store in Pembroke Pines as a clerk,was convicted of grand theft charges after authorities accused her of writing 119 checks totaling more than $405,000. She would later tell authorities her husband became aware of the thefts after the third or fourth transaction. She co-mingled the checks with their paychecks in their joint personal and business account.She said her husband told her simply to “Be careful.”

Last month, she was sentenced to five years in prison. And just a few days ago, she and her husband finalized their divorce.

But it’s not over for Steve Palacios, who allegedly spent the money on:
–Furniture
–A Cadillac
–Rent
–Restaurant visits
–Personal grooming
–Tires and rims for his truck ($6,000 total)
–Truck loan ($5,900)
–Lifetime fishing license ($1,000)
–Medical bills for a parent – ($4,000)
–Three guns ($1,310)
–Business expenses ($14,000)
Continue reading

October 23, 2015

Prostitution Arrest for Margate Massage Worker

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

A 52-year-old massage parlor employee in Margate was arrested following an undercover investigation by local police.

Authorities say Jinping Yang, was routinely offering to masturbate male massage customers (known as a “happy ending”), and additionally was working as a masseuse without a license.

Yang allegedly charged $45 for a half-hour massage for an undercover detective, who was equipped with an audio listening and recording device. After 20 minutes of massage, she allegedly ordered detective on his back, she told him she could massage his chest, but then motioned to his groin area. Detective agreed, and then gave a verbal alert to officers on standby to take action. Defendant was arrested for lewd lascivious actions and working without a masseuse license.
Continue reading

October 19, 2015

Former Florida Middle School Principal Not Guilty of DUI

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

A former principal of a middle school in Hollywood has avoided a DUI conviction when a jury deemed there was not enough evidence in to substantiate the state’s charges of drunk driving and cocaine possession.

Forty-seven-year-old Steven Williams, who used to be employed by Driftwood Middle School, was arrested in February by deputies with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office as he was driving home from a wedding with two relatives. The stop happened at a Dania Beach marina, and deputies said Williams failed the sobriety tests, smelled like alcohol and dropped a small bag of white powder allegedly fell from his pocket. The substance later turned out to be cocaine.

Deputies had been called to a nearby marina, where authorities said one of Williams’ passengers had been involved in a fight with a security guard. Williams reportedly coaxed the passenger back into the vehicle and was trying to leave the marina when deputies arrived. The man who called 911 told the dispatcher authorities needed to stop the car because the driver was drunk and one of the passengers “attacked one of my guys.”
Continue reading

October 16, 2015

“Second Crown” of Latin Kings Gang Pleads Guilty to Racketeering

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

Lazaro Castellon, or “King Speedy” as he is known within the Latin Kings “tribe” was sworn as the “Second Crown” of the South Miami sect of the gang about six months prior to his arrest earlier this year.

He is now the fourth of two dozen Latin Kings gang members arrested following an undercover sting operation to work out a plea deal. Originally charged with racketeering conspiracy, robbery and possession of a firearm during a violent crime, he is pleading guilty solely to the racketeering charge. The exact terms of the deal won’t be released until the court gives final approval, but he still faces up to 20 years in prison. Nineteen other suspects are slated for trial on similar charges later this year.

Authorities say the sting put a major dent in gang activities throughout Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties. Anytime a person is charged with a gang-related crime in Florida, the offense is serious. That’s because gang involvement is considered an aggravating factor under Florida law, and these offenses can and often do carry enhanced penalties.
Continue reading