South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Taxpayer-funded publicity
Beyond the lies about his past — the LSD, the bad check charge, the homicide case — Tony’s word hasn’t always been good.
He vowed to the Broward County Commission during a budget workshop in May 2019: “I will not waste one penny on campaigning my name or one penny on promoting myself. I will promote myself in this organization on performance and performance alone.”
Facts:
A month later, sheriff ’s employees were handing out rainbow bracelets at the Pride parade in Wilton Manors. The bracelets cost taxpayers $421 and had six words on them: Sheriff Gregory Tony, and Broward Sheriff ’s Office. Bleeding control kits placed in Broward schools have Sheriff Tony’s name on them, too. And, like other sheriffs before him, Tony’s name and photo often adorn mailers and fliers paid with taxpayer money, not campaign money. Just how many pennies Tony has spent on promotional items after making the public claim that he wouldn’t do so is unknown. The Sun Sentinel made a public records request for the information, and BSO said it would only provide it if the Sun Sentinel paid $1,272.
Taking credit
In a public statement after serving his first 100 days in office, Tony in April 2019 claimed he had “initiated” plans for the development of a $30 million regional training center. He hadn’t.
Fact: Sheriff Tony did not initiate the plans. The plans for the training center began before the Parkland shooting, under then-Sheriff Israel, according to those involved and internal county emails. “That’s just a fact,” former Sheriff ’s Major Jonathan Appel told the Sun Sentinel. “… It was all in the process prior to Greg Tony coming into office.”
Puffed-up football prospects
Tony says he could have pushed toward a career in the NFL but selflessly chose a life in public service instead. He says he made that decision after the 9/11 attacks, and left behind the “self-considerations” and financial opportunities of the NFL.
“I was blessed to have enough athletic ability in me that I was able to play collegiate sports and play football at Florida State University ... and for every track was heading into an opportunity to play football in the NFL,” he said at a 9/11 event at the sheriff ’s headquarters in 2019. “But there was something grossly wrong about continuing to focus on running and football when I was looking on TV watching people running from a building.”
“I was blessed to have enough athletic ability in me that I was able to play collegiate sports and play football at Florida State University ... and for every track was heading into an opportunity to play football in the NFL,” he said at a 9/11 event at the sheriff ’s headquarters in 2019. “But there was something grossly wrong about continuing to focus on running and football when I was looking on TV watching people running from a building.”
Facts: Tony showed promise with the FSU Seminoles, but his football stats are lackluster and there is no indication he had an NFL career ahead of him. A walk-on player, he suffered a fractured vertebra and was sidelined in spring 2000 and spring 2001, according to the football site warchant.com. Then when two players graduated and another was declared medically ineligible, the site reported, the walk-on Tony became the starting fullback in fall 2001. He was “undersized,” at 5’11’’ and 215 pounds, but Coach Bobby Bowden was impressed by him (and later was a reference on his job application to become a police officer). Tony played in just four games at FSU, running a total 10 yards with an additional 1 yard punt return. Asked why he made the NFL claim, the sheriff, through a spokeswoman, did not respond.
Brittany Wallman can be reached at bwallman@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4541. Follow her on Twitter @brittanywallman or send anonymous news tips from BrittanyWallman.com. Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com or 954-572-2008.