Family of slain Boca woman blasts new law
They say it’s too weak to be named after her
BOCA RATON – The family of a Boca woman who was killed during a home delivery says a new bill wouldn’t have saved her life, even though it’s supposed to ensure deliverymen aren’t criminals. The family wants the bill, named in her honor, to exclude her name.
“Evy paid the ultimate price and we are determined that if her name is associated with prospective legislation, it will be used to FULLY protect those who are vulnerable,” the family of Evelyn Udell wrote in a statement to Florida House Rep. Mike Caruso on Monday.
On Tuesday, a bill filed by Rep. Caruso proposed requirements to the hiring and employment of delivery service workers, as well as stiff penalties on retailers and other companies who employ those workers.
If passed, “The Evy Udell Public Safety Act” would require delivery service companies to complete local and national criminal background checks for employees and prohibit employees who are arrested or convicted of offenses such as sexual misconduct, assault, battery and domestic violence.
It would also require large retailers to explicitly tell customers whether the person who delivers to their home will be a subcontractor.
However, the Udell family said the bill contains “halfway measures” and “does not go far enough.”
In their letter, the family said the law also should include drug-testing for new employees — as well as continuous drug testing throughout their employment — and “continuous monitoring” of employees after they
are hired. The family also believes the list of offenses that would prohibit hiring should include theft, burglary and robbery.
According to the letter, the Udell family has attempted to reach out to Rep. Caruso’s office multiple times since he decided to take up the cause. They also have provided a draft of his proposed bill with suggested changes. However, they said Rep. Caruso filed the final version of his bill last week without giving the family any notice or a chance to read through it.
“After it was filed, we attempted to voice our concern to you and your office, but we have been repeatedly ignored,” their letter reads.
Nick Panagakis, an attorney for the family, said the Udell family first heard about Rep. Caruso’s bill being filed when a story in the South Florida Sun Sentinel appeared on Jan. 7.
According to Panagakis, attorneys for the family met with Rep. Caruso and his legislative aide once late last year to discuss the family’s proposed changes to what was then a drafted bill.
But Panagakis said there was never a follow-up meeting before the bill was filed. In fact, Panagakis said, Rep. Caruso has never once met with the family — despite their requests to have a meeting with him.
Panagakis said Caruso’s office has told the family that the current version bill will not change.
Representatives for Rep. Caruso did not respond Monday to a phone call or emailed request for comment.
Panagakis said the Udell family is particularly disappointed in the current bill because it isn’t clear that it would have saved Evelyn Udell’s life had it hypothetically been law this past August.
Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo, Udell’s alleged killer, had been charged with a third-degree felony theft in 2018, according to Miami-Dade Court records. However, the charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor and was ultimately dismissed through a pretrial diversion program.
Given the current language Rep. Caruso’s bill, it is possible that — had it been law — the dismissal of Lachazo’s criminal case may not have set off a red flag to an employer. Drug tests could have increased those chances.
Panagakis said he believes drug testing would have made it almost certain that Lachazo would have never entered Udell’s home in August, considering recent police and court records reveal he admitted to using drugs such as marijuana and cocaine after being arrested for her murder.
“If you’re going to name it the ‘Evy Udell’ bill, shouldn’t it have saved the very person the bill was named after?” Panagakis asked.
In their letter, the Udell family requested Rep. Caruso to remove Evelyn Udell’s name from his bill. “They are welcome to pass something, but they shouldn’t have Evy’s name on it,” Panagakis said.
Mark Hall, a former Palm Springs chief of police who runs a program that has background checked and vetted over 20,000 independent vendors working in condos and gated communities, said he has followed the Udell case since it first broke.
Hall said that in October he met with a Palm Beach County commissioner to share his expertise on vetting in-home service workers and potentially pilot a program for the county. However, he said he was rebuffed and left the meeting wondering how serious legislators were about the issue.
After learning that the Udell family was not consulted in the bill filed by Rep. Caruso, Hall said, “this reaffirms all of my suspicions.”
Hall said that in addition to not considering the Udell family, he is concerned that there hasn’t been enough thought put into how the new law would be implemented. He wondered who would enforce it, and whether there would be a creation of a new agency to take on the task of monitoring what he expects will be hundreds of thousands of employees.
Thus far, he said, it doesn’t seem to him that legislators have considered these issues.