An administrative law judge Monday said Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony should receive a written reprimand and be required to complete ethics training after concluding that the sheriff violated state law by not disclosing in 2019 that his driver’s license had previously been suspended.
Judge Robert L. Kilbride issued a 31-page recommended order that also called for Tony to be placed on an 18-month “probationary status.”
The decision stemmed from a complaint filed in 2022 by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission that alleged Tony did not disclose the suspension in driver’s license applications over a series of years.
Tony’s two defense attorneys could not be immediately reached for comment Monday.
Kilbride’s ruling said Tony’s Pennsylvania driver’s license was suspended in 1998.
Kilbride found that alleged violations of state law in 2007, 2013 and 2017 were “not adequately proven” but said Tony did not disclose the suspension in 2019.
“The totality of the evidence in this case demonstrated that respondent (Tony) knowingly violated the provisions of (a section of state law), when he applied for a Florida driver license renewal in person on February 1, 2019, and, upon questioning, failed to disclose to the driver license examiner that his driving privilege had previously been revoked, suspended, or denied in the state of Pennsylvania,” Kilbride wrote.
The judge also wrote that Tony, as the Broward County sheriff, “is held to a high standard since his position is one of considerable authority within the community. There can be no doubt that respondent’s position as a law enforcement officer and sheriff is also one of great public trust. Respondent’s action on February 1, 2019, regrettably, has damaged that trust. A basic public expectation of those who serve the public and enforce the laws is that they must obey the law.”
But Kilbride also wrote that the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles “presented little evidence to counter respondent’s argument that either a true or false response to the suspension question would not have a material impact of his license status.
“It is also important to note that respondent has no prior discipline on his certification record.”
The judge relied on the sheriff’s own words to help make the decision, using a radio interview when Tony had been interviewed.
At the Feb. 6 hearing, FDLE Assistant General Counsel Natalie Bielby attempted to paint Tony as deliberately submitting misleading information to obtain his license.
While Tony maintained he never told the driver’s license clerk “no,” Bielby played a recording from the radio show “First News with Jimmy Cefalo” when Tony was a guest in June 2022.
“On my driver’s license applications I’ve said ‘yes’ a few times, I’ve omitted and missed one or two here and there,” Tony said on the show.
In his recommended order Monday, Kilbride wrote that “the conclusion and reasonable inference from Respondent’s on-the-air comments is that on at least one or two Florida driver license applications, he was untruthful about his prior driver license suspensions. This admission by Respondent during the radio interview is relevant and compelling. It supports (a clerk’s) testimony that he was asked the suspension questions and gave a false answer.”
What was not given much consideration was testimony from Sonia Colon, an employee with the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. She had been called as a defense witness as an employee with the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to talk about the process, and she acknowledged during her testimony that the pair once had a romantic relationship, and they’ve been friends since age 8 in Philadelphia. They lived together on two occasions and she helped get him a job at the agency, according to Colon’s testimony and the judge’s recommended order.
“It was clear to the undersigned that her personal and work history, and relationship with Respondent, influenced her testimony in favor of Respondent,” the judge wrote in his order. “As a result, some of her testimony was accepted —while other portions were of limited or no value.”
At stake in the proceedings could have been a recommended order for Tony to keep or not keep his police certification, although such a move would not prevent him from serving as the sheriff: Civilians can hold the elected position of sheriff.
In April, the FDLE recommended Tony be “found guilty of failure to maintain good moral character” and receive a six-month certification suspension, followed by one year of probation, and required to complete a Commission-approved ethics training; Tony’s defense attorneys submitted court filing suggesting the case be dismissed entirely.
Under administrative law, Kilbride’s newly released recommended order will go to the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission for a final decision.
The next CJSTC meeting is in August. “This case could be heard at that time or at a later time if additional motions are filed,” according to Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
This administrative matter is one of two key pending proceedings that question whether the sheriff was truthful on official forms in recent years. A separate matter, before a second judge, is scheduled for June 26. In that second case, at issue there is whether Tony committed ethics violations.
The sheriff, who was appointed to the job in 2019 and elected to a four-year term in 2020, is running for reelection this year.
