Pinellas County Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

In this economy, how is anyone supposed to make money? 

The economic crimes unit of the Clearwater Police arrested 6 people for unlicensed contracting, last week.  Allegedly, these arrests are to protect the public from shoddy work.  The cops went out and requested bids and then arrested the people once the bids were given for contracting without a license.  WHICH IS A MISDEMEANOR, not to mention bordering on entrapment by the police. 

Just so everyone is clear, most work done on your house requires someone to pull a permit.  The permit costs money, and only the homeowner or a licensed contractor can pull one.  The county and city allegedly want to control the work  done on your house to protect the public and make sure your house is safe.   Allegedly this is to protect the public from shoddy workmanship, but we all know this is merely another way for the government to collect money. 

Let's face it.  Regardless of the economy, people still have to pay someone when their house needs to be fixed.  Does it matter if someone has a license?  I don't think so.  Years ago, I owned a house in St. Petersburg and a licensed contractor named Dean Jarvis , doing business as Florida Renovators,  charged me an OUTRAGEOUS sum of money to fix my roof.  It was during the summer and it should have been no surprise to Jarvis or his subcontractors that it might rain at night.  Did they cover the roof???  Heck no, and it poured rain causing water to come through the ceiling into all of the light fixtures, short out the electric, and wreck the ORGINAL hardwood floors and walls of this 1920's historic home.  A lot of good it did me to hire a licensed contractor.  Then, the jerk had the GALL to put a lien on my house for work not paid for.  Note that had he not been a "licensed" contractor, he never could have filed a lien. 

I called the Bureau of Professional Regulation, the consumer fraud division of the Pinellas County Sheriff, the St. Petersburg Police, and guess who helped me?  NO ONE.  I had to hire a lawyer to get all this fixed as well as another contractor. 

The point is - if no one regulates the contractors who are licensed, what protection do consumers have?  None.  So these guys who were just trying to make a buck, are arrested for not having a license.  Yet those with a license are allowed to destroy people's homes with no regulation.  What's wrong with this picture?

(I actually wrote part of this blog last week and am glad I waited to publish it.  There was a great editorial about this on TBO.com and the comments afterward are right on point.)

Deputy (or detective) Jeff Swartz was arrested last weekend for domestic battery on his wife.  Although I certainly don't mean to wish ill will upon anyone, certainly not Mr. Swartz's wife, I feel like I saw this coming.  I have worked with Det. Swartz and happen to personally know that he has very loose ethics and boundaries when it comes to being a law enforcement officer.  If my readers have sensed and overwhelming dislike of law enforcement in this blog, Det. Swartz is partially to blame.  He worked on a car burglary case where I represented a kid with no prior record. Prior to any charges being filed, I called Detective Swartz to see what the facts of the case were and to see if I could prevent the charges from being filed.  He welcomed the opportunity to talk with my client.  When I brought my client into Detective Swartz's office, my client signed a form which basically said he would be charged with only 3 crimes and would be granted immunity on any other crime which he revealed to Det. Swartz in our meeting.   

During that meeting, I asked Det. Swartz on at least 3 occassions whether or not we were being recorded.  "No", he said each time.   

Several weeks later, Det. Swartz charged my client with 7 other crimes, clearly using the evidence my client gave him during the meeting.  According to the police report, and Det. Swartz's statements to the State Attorney, that wasn't how he found the evidence.  I knew that wasn't true and I presented that evidence to the assistant State Attorney. The assistant State Attorney told me he had seen the tape of the interview.  "What tape?" I asked.

"The tape of your client's interview in the Sheriff's Office."  the attorney replied.

"Det. Swartz told me several times that the conversation was not being taped." I replied.

"You have no expectation of privacy in a police department." the attorney told me.

While it may be true that I have no expectation of privacy in a police department,  I do (or used to) have an expectation that a sworn law enforcment officer won't lie when he's asked a direct question by a defense attorney.  I was able to work out an ok deal for my client, but I will never forget the extent of  Detective Swartz's questionable investigative tactics. He also wrote a press release and released the name of the juvenile, clearly seeking kudos for himself and his great crime solving skill.  Note that my client was a kid, with no prior record, and these were car burglaries - not murders. In my 10 years of working with police, I have never encountered a member of law enforcement, with such questionable ethics.  Somehow I knew that his karma would catch up with him.  It has. 

On Saturday night he was arrested for Domestic Battery against his wife. (detective Jeff Swartz)  He's now on administrative leave.  Apparently, he strangled her and grabbed her and she had red marks on her arms consistent with injuries from him. (Note that this is his booking photo - why does he get special treatment?)

 Interesting to me is the repsonse from the Hernando Sheriff's Office and the public in this case.  Check out this editorial from TBO.com.  Most interestingly, check out the reader comments beneath it.  Note that almost everyone who cares enough to comment on this realized the complete inconsistencies with what Swartz was charged with and what the average person would have been charged with. 

This case will be prosecuted in Citrus County, because the State Attorney's Office in Hernando has a conflict. (See TBO.com article from October 9, 2009)

According to the Hernando Clerk's website, he will be hiring a private attorney.  Interesting . . . . although I handle a ton of domestic violence cases, I would never handle his.  But I might represent her . . . for free.  October is Domestic Violence Awarness month, I wonder how the Hernando County Sheriff's Office will handle this.

DISCLAIMER:  THIS ARTICLE REFERS TO HERNANDO COUNTY ONLY AND THE WRITER HAS NEVER HAD ANY SIMILAR EXPERIENCES WITH PINELLAS, PASCO, OR HILLSBOUROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICES.