For many of us practicing law in the REGJB before cellphones and eight-dollar lattes from Starbucks, the name Willie Castro was associated with the notorious Courtbroom bribery scandal in the early 1990s. Yes dear readers, as hard as it is to believe, judges sitting in the same courtrooms you now labour in, sold court appointments for cash. And one particularly nefarious county court judge names Harvey Shenberg sold the name of a confidential informant for $50,000.00 even though he was told the CI would be killed. Unfortunately for Harvey, he sold the name to an FBI informant -dirty lawyer named Ray Takiff, whose deeds we will leave for another post.
Willie was one of the lawyers recruited by one of the masterminds of the scheme- a slug who crawled out from under a rug named Judge Roy T. Gelber. Willie went to trial, was convicted and went to federal prison.
That is where this story, recounted in the Miami Herald here, begins. Once released, Willie began a thirty year journey of introspection and redemption. His wife, a Miami Dade ASA stood by him. Upon being released they became foster parents, eventually adopting three children who they have raised. Two are in college and one is on the way. Willie did over 13,000 hours of community service, well beyond the requirements of supervised release. The Florida Bar went back on their deal to disbar him for ten years. His legal arguments for reinstatement were populated by testimonials by former Florida Supreme Court justices, and lawyers who are leaders in the community. All to no avail.
One brave judge- Fred Moreno- who was one of the judges supporting Willie's Florida reinstatement, recently granted a motion to have Willie appear before him pro hace vice, although in "Moreno like" fashion, he pondered the advisability of his actions in light of the Florida Supreme Court's refusal to allow Willie to be reinstated. Willie was eligible to appear PHV because despite the disingenuous actions of the Florida Bar, New York State allowed Willie to rejoin the bar, and the SDNY soon followed. Based on NY admitting Willie, Judge Moreno allowed him to appear PHV. Judge Moreno believes in rehabilitation. The Florida Supreme Court apparently does not.
The Miami Herald story has the full facts of Willie's efforts at rehabilitation, redemption, and acceptance of the mistakes he made. Make no mistake, while his acts did not result in any case being wrongfully decided, he paid cash to judges who appointed him on cases. Courtbroom struck at the integrity of the Miami criminal courts. At a time when the most mediocre of lawyers had pockets stuffed with drug cash, and any schmo with a shingle could wrangle a hundred K of court appointments from judges in the REGJB, the low judicial salaries and pure avarice and greed led to the bribery scandal.
Former Federal prosecutor John O'Sullivan who prosecuted Willie and who later became a federal magistrate, appeared in New York as a witness on behalf of Willie in support of his petition to be readmitted. Both John O'Sullivan and Judge Moreno were at the Red Mass ceremony honoring Willie that is reported in the Miami Herald.
There is little to no room in our criminal justice system for redemption. Florida specifically states that the purpose of prison is to punish. There are almost no stories about what Willie Castro has achieved, while the Herald and Channel 7 race to report every story on a crime committed by someone with a prior record.
Before he got into trouble, Willie Castro was known around the REGJB as a smart defense attorney. He was the guy you went to for help on your motion to suppress. His fall from grace was stunning. Nearly unbelievable to those of us who knew him. His march back has been even more spectacular.
We wonder what it will take for the Florida Bar and Florida Supreme Court to right this wrong and allow Wille Castro to be readmitted to the Bar? Like many others who testified in his behalf- including former Supreme Court Justice Raul Cantero who pledged his law license because he was so sure of Willie's redemption, we would do the same (if it did not mean losing our anonymity).
#reinstateWillieCastro
Herald scribe David Ovalle has a nice follow up article on the courtbroom players here.
18 comments:
What is next Rumpole - Judge Shenberg and Judge Gelber applying to the Bar to practice again?
They will say that in the past 30 years that they are rehabilitated and have done good things for their community and family?
Are you kidding me? Operation Courtbroom was a PERMANENT stain on our legal system and the distrust in judges will last forever.
By the way, does Dade and Broward Court presently have any CORRUPT judges? Was corruption a thing that only happened in 1990? Think about it. Thoughts Rumpole?
Willie was a nice guy and a good lawyer . He was small fish in CourtBroom .
I was the 'B' in Judge Phil Davis at the time . Courtroom 2-10. Phil was crazy . I thought foolishly that Phil was actively Bi-Polar , but my ASAs , including future Judge Jeri-Beth Cohen kept telling me he was on drugs.
About 3 weeks after Judge Davis threw me out of Court and found me in Contempt for making a 'Sy Gear" like objection, about the unfairness and denial of Due Process in a ruling ( I expected Phil to simply deny the Objection) , My 'A', Gary Pont , was in a Trial before Phil on a Saturday waiting for a verdict . The FBI came into the Justice Building with a Search Warrant , Phil had to leave the Trial and Judge Person was called into take the Jury Verdict.
That Saturday the FBI found Drugs ( Cocaine ) and paraphernalia in Judge Phil Davis chambers.
Phil went to trial, his Attorney was Alcee Hastings . Phil testified ,Cried on the stand, admitted everything. He said he was sooo high on drugs he didn't know what he was doing. He was the only CourtBroom defendant found NOT GUILTY, even though the Feds had him taking money on audio-video.
Much later he set up a Non=Profit to help convicted people re-enter society. He embezzled from the non-profit and Judge Betty Butchko sent him to prison for 20 years
IMO he forfeited the right to practice law again when he bribed a judge. when you bribe public officials and your a lawyer it is ugly. Especially in that case. With those degenerates. And when you go to trial and loose, you sorta forfeit the right forever to defend people at trial again. No matter how many awesome character witnesses and men of god u line up..
Of course Willie Castro should have been allowed to practice law again.
How interesting, though, that the anonymous people who run this blog won’t address the fact that I can’t even APPLY for reinstatement to The Bar because the Florida Supreme Court created the category of “permanent disbarment with no right to ever apply for reinstatement.
And this outrage was authored by then Circuit Judge Dava Tunis, my Bar Referee” who is unable to practice law by choice.
Did Rumpole’ the great champion of transparency, ever inquire as to why Tunis opted out?
Jack Thompson, once and future lawyer
7:27. He didn’t bribe the judge. The judge bribed him. No one can “line up” character witnesses and men of god like Willie did, they have to line themselves up through experience. Being a lawyer is not a higher service than what he has provided. A great example of redemption through tireless work to better the community. This is a wonderful story and why some doors should never be shut forever. The hacks at Supreme Court could learn a little something from the very few like Willie Castro. Free Willie.
Willie was convicted of kicking back money for appointments. He didn’t bribe Judges for results. Big difference than Judge Schenberg giving up the name of a CI so he could be killed because he couldn’t put his kids through college on a judge’s salary . That is what he said on tape while taking the $$$
persuade (someone) to act in one's favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement.
Send me cases and I will give you money. That's a bribe. Not to mention they are now appearing in-front of the judge on the very case that they paid to receive. Then he went to trial and lost. I can see both sides to this argument.
Shenberg was the prosecutor in Morophonios divison. Wonder how much corruption went undiscovered. Especially a motion to which Granted and the bond money went back to be meted out. She never granted motions by def surpress and this was a huge drug case. Of course if a certain bondman sat in a certain seat in her courtroom that was the key.
David the nonprofit was not for prison releasees it was a PTI-type program which KFR contracted with him to run. That is why Broward prosecutors did the Butchko case. The program was as legit as the current PTI program. Doubt anybody learns anything from either program but it’s a mild form of punishment and a money maker for the state. 20 years for a first offense theft case was and is an absurd sentence. He was clearly and explicitly punished for the acquitted conduct in court broom. He’s still in prison and has about a decade left, if he survives. For approx 60k in theft. I did Phil’s 3850 which Judge Hirsch denied but there was a good accountant who said the States financial theory was BS after reviewing the books. I get the desire to punish him for being a shitty and corrupt judge in the 80s but 20 years for the theft case is simply wrong. I think his bottom of the guidelines was non state prison. From everything I’ve heard Alcee Hastings basically skipped the whole Court Broom trial and then came and did a brilliant closing argument. Obviously it worked.
Dan Tibbitt
Dude , you’re not a lawyer because you’re insane and vengeful
I'm glad to hear this story about Willie. The Florida Bar was wrong for going back on their own sentence. I wish Willie and his family nothing but good things. He has been an example of how to change your life around after making a mistake. No one is perfect, what counts is what you do after those mistakes. #ReinstateWillie
Trialmaster - I always knew your were an asshole in a funny sorta way. But I never realized that you were a rat. Are u drunk?
You are correct that Alcer was never there in the Central Courtroom. All the other defendants had high-power defense counsel and Davis just piggybacked on their questioning. He had a “prayer group” of women sitting there all day long.
Dan thanx for the clarification.
DS
Moreno believes in rehabilitation LOLOLOLOLOL
More than the Florida Supreme Court or Florida bar.
9:44 pm___ Just restating the well known facts between 'lady Ellen" and a certain bondman who would sit in a certain seat in the courtroom. (Next to last row in the aisle) Never been a rat. You need to get back on your medications.
I appreciate the purport of this article. Human redemption is perhaps the most noble of human experiences and one in which the struggles and inner journey of a man or woman is usually unseen, inappreciated and unadvertised.
Victor Hugo wrote in his preface to Les Miserables sentiments that express the need for his book which was about redemption:
"So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age—the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night—are not solved; so long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words, and from a yet more extended point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless."
And accordingly it is the case that any spotlight on a story of redemption is "not useless."
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