Accused won’t face death

Man charged in killing his father

Prosecutors say they are not seeking the death penalty for a Fort Lauderdale man accused in the recent killing of his father, a former Michigan judge, in Boca Raton.

James “Jimmy” Scandirito Jr., 49, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on a first-degree murder charge in the death of James “Skip” Scandirito Sr., 74.

The son was arrested April 9 during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 in Alachua County, and booked four days later in Palm Beach County Jail, records show. He’s being held without bond.

The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office declined Friday to explain the decision in the Scandirito case, citing a policy of not commenting on pending cases.

A grand jury indicted Jimmy Scandirito on April 19, finding that he killed his dad between March 28 and April 4 by “utilizing unspecified means.”

Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Ramsey said prosecutor Andrew Slater informed her last week of the decision against seeking a death sentence. Scandirito will enter a plea of not guilty, she said Friday.

But Boca Raton police said there is strong evidence linking Skip Scandirito’s murder to his heir.

Detectives said they were investigating the elder Scandirito’s disappearance when they followed Jimmy Scandirito to the former Ocean Breeze Golf Club at 5800 NW Second Ave.

At about 3:30 a.m. on April 4, police watched Scandirito, a licensed real estate broker, enter the property with a bag and then leave with a larger suitcase that was tossed into a dumpster. Police said they later collected the suitcase, opened it, and found bloody clothing and the odor of decomposing remains, according to an arrest report.

Later the same day, Skip Scandirito’s remains were unearthed from a 4-foot deep hole from the old golf course property where he used to work in the pro shop, police said.

Evidence of bodily fluids was found in the kitchen and garage of the man’s home about 1.5 miles away, in the 400 block of Northwest 72nd Street.

Therese “Terri” Scandirito, 74, the victim’s wife and the accused’s mother, died at the home on April 28, 2017 after an illness, her obituary said.

An arrest report states that Jimmy Scandirito was the sole beneficiary on many of his father’s accounts, worth about $800,000. During the investigation, detectives discovered the son was recorded on Publix store video buying duct tape, garbage bags and cleaning supplies with his father’s debit card, police said.

Skip Scandirito was a former district judge in Macomb County, Mich., north of Detroit, according to The Macomb Daily website. He reportedly resigned in disgrace after being accused of offering to trade sexual favors for lenient sentences in the 1990s — allegations he denied.

The family then moved to Florida, where Scandirito Sr., worked as a lawyer for the Florida Department of Children & Families for more than two years before being let go in 2003.

Scandirito