Sheriff asks judge to toss lawsuit

Gregory Tony is accused of hiding a felony from his youth

“A certified Criminal Record Check by the Pennsylvania State Police states that Sheriff Tony ‘has no criminal record in Pennsylvania,’ directly refuting Plaintiff’s contention to the contrary.”

Michael Moskowitz, attorney

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony wants a judge to toss a lawsuit challenging his eligibility to serve and accusing him of hiding a felony conviction from his youth in Pennsylvania.

No such record has been produced by the political opponents who filed the suit in the final days before the Nov. 3 election, which Tony won decisively over Republican candidate H. Wayne Clark.

“The record in this matter conclusively establishes that Sheriff Tony has never been convicted of a felony, and so summary judgment should be granted in his favor,” wrote attorney Michael Moskowitz. “A certified Criminal Record Check by the Pennsylvania State Police states that Sheriff Tony ‘has no criminal record in Pennsylvania,’ directly refuting Plaintiff’s contention to the contrary.”

The statements were part of a motion for summary judgment asking Broward Circuit Judge William Haury to decide the case without a trial.

The sheriff has been dogged by numerous allegations in recent months, including the revelation that he killed a man when he was a teenager in Philadelphia. Tony was not convicted and maintains he acted in self-defense.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating whether Tony lied about his history on an application to

conceal the incident from police employers, among other undisclosed issues.

Clark originally filed the lawsuit in late October, alleging that Tony was not eligible to serve as sheriff because he had a felony criminal record. Former Sheriff Scott Israel joined the suit as a plaintiff in November, after the general election. As evidence, they cited a case from Philadelphia in which Tony was on adult probation. The suits demanded the disclosure of the details behind that probation.

Tony’s attorneys have maintained that the case was a traffic offense, not a felony, and court records from Pennsylvania appear to support that assertion. “No pending cases or prior criminal convictions exist,” according to an official search conducted by Pennsylvania’s First Judicial District.

No hearing date has been set for Tony’s motion.

Clark said Wednesday that he expects the case to proceed. “I’m very interested in seeing what Greg Tony has to say under oath in a deposition,” Clark said.

Tony was appointed sheriff in January 2019, days after Gov. Ron DeSantis took office, following a rapid vetting process that failed to turn up questions about Tony’s history in Philadelphia.