He was appointed to the bench- the old Criminal Court of Record, resigned amid an allegation he propositioned the wife of a defendant (although, as David Ovalle's article indicates, there was insufficient evidence to prosecute), regained the bench as first a county court judge, and then appointed a circuit court judge, only to lose it all again in the great Miami judicial scandal known as Courtbroom.
He had, to repeat the quote local attorney and former Judge Ted Mastos gave Ovalle in the Herald "More lives than Richard Nixon. He kept coming back."
He was a certifiable REGJB courthouse legend, the good, the bad and the ugly.
He was Alfonso Sepe.
As an experienced prosecutor and then a judge, Judge Sepe was a mentor to many young attorneys, your humble blogger included.
There was a lot to like about him. He looked like a tough prosecutor when he was prowling the halls of the REGJB. When he was on the bench, he looked like he had been plucked from a Hollywood movie about a judge. He carried himself like a judge, and as the Herald article points out here , he was an innovator in sentencing.
But Al Sepe was all too human as well.
In the end, Judge Sepe will answer to a higher court. Judge Sepe is the proof that while there are second acts in public life, there are rarely third acts.
His legacy is what you want to make of it. For many, it is one of wonderful heights, and the depths of hurt and betrayal. It is a constant reminder that even those who appear to be the best of us can be all too human. There is a lesson in that, somewhere.
As a friend, we hope that he rests in peace.
See you in court.