South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
DeSantis owns this huge mistake: He must suspend Sheriff Tony
What is Gov. Ron DeSantis waiting for? He removed Tampa’s twice-elected state attorney from office for making statements on abortion that he didn’t like. But he leaves Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony in charge of one of the largest law enforcement agencies in Florida, despite his history of lying about his past on official documents.
Tony should never have been appointed sheriff in the first place. But he was — in sloppy, hurried fashion by DeSantis himself, without a full background check that should have raised enough red flags to derail his appointment. This irresponsible lack of vetting has brought needless embarrassment to Broward County and to the dedicated professionals who proudly wear the BSO uniform, many of whom risk their lives to protect the public.
The sheriff should have resigned long ago, as we urged in 2020, but he refused. The voters of Broward, who reflexively vote for Democrats and who had no credible alternatives on the ballot, elected him to a four-year term two years ago. We refused to endorse Tony or either of his opponents in that election, warning voters that Tony’s problems would only get worse — and they have.
The Florida Commission on Ethics has found probable cause that Tony misused his official position by lying on a police job application, driver’s license renewal and state law enforcement certification form.
The lies, about Tony’s driving history, past LSD use, and having been arrested as a juvenile after killing a man when he was 14, are old news and were documented in detail by the Sun Sentinel last year. The Philadelphia killing in 1993 was dismissed as a case of self-defense, and the case file was later sealed or expunged.
When asked, on a Coral Springs police job application in 2005, if he had ever been arrested, Tony falsely said, “No.” He got the job and later made sergeant, which became the main qualification DeSantis cited on Jan. 11, 2019, when he appointed Tony and called him “accountable.” Another lie.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, introduces Sheriff Gregory Tony at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office Fort Lauderdale headquarters Jan. 11, 2019, in Fort Lauderdale.
‘Misuse of public position’
What sets this case apart is that the ethics commission overrode its staff, which recommended that the case against Tony be tossed out with a finding of no probable cause, on the grounds that Tony did not hold a public position when he lied on official documents. A state prosecutor said that is one of the four requirements to sustain an ethics charge of misuse of public position.
The ethics panel members wisely rejected that advice. In a closed-door session on Sept. 9, the board voted 7 to 1 to force Tony to undergo a hearing that could result in a fine or recommendation that he be removed from office. He also could be exonerated, or he could negotiate a settlement with the ethics commission.
A hearing will be long, ugly and expensive. Broward taxpayers would be victimized once more, forced to pay every last dime of Tony’s massive legal bills. Either way, Tony is in trouble if he keeps fighting.
“He’s in a world of hurt,” said Don Gaetz, a former state Senate president and ethics panel member who supported charging Tony.
An audio recording of the meeting, which became public after the panel’s finding, reveals outrage among the ethics watchdogs, who are appointed by the governor and legislative leaders. They include Ed Moore, a higher education policy expert; John Grant, a former Republican senator from Tampa; and Bill Cervone, a former state prosecutor in Gainesville.
One commission member called Tony’s actions “despicable.” Another, former Tallahassee-area prosecutor Willie Meggs, suggested Tony committed perjury, a felony. Meggs said Tony’s trail of lies allowed him to climb the law enforcement ladder to become sheriff of the state’s second-largest county.
“It boggles my mind,” Meggs said.
‘False information’
“(Tony) provided false information,” a report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said. But FDLE did not charge Tony with perjury, either because the statute of limitations had run out or a key witness, a driver license examiner, was uncertain about relevant facts.
Tony’s lying sets a terrible example for a major law enforcement agency whose mission depends on the honesty and truthfulness of its 5,400 employees. But the combative DeSantis lacks humility, and he would have to admit that he made a grievous mistake in appointing Tony.
The other hurdle to DeSantis suspending Tony is that the governor has not earned the trust of the people of Broward County that he would appoint a well-qualified and trustworthy successor.
DeSantis alone created this mess. DeSantis alone can try to fix it. He can start by suspending Tony immediately and replacing him with a career law enforcement officer who simply tells the truth, and who can pass a background check with flying colors.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel. com.