It's Milian Time
Usually would save this for Monday, but today is a big day. Christian Zapata, one of fired deputy scapegoats in the BSO crime stats scandal, was acquitted. Between the two big dailies, the Sentinel's Tonya Alanez had the superior coverage on the jury's wise decision, highlighting defense attorney Alberto Milian's teeth-jarring, straight-to-the-gut, and dead-truth rhetoric:
"Going after these officers has been nothing but a cover-up and an injustice and an absolute misuse of the powers of the State Attorney's Office," Milian said. "They should have been going after the sheriff and not these deputies that were protecting our community."
Hells yes. Milian is one who gives us hope this county can be saved. And he's been through the fire. The conservative Cuban's father, Emilio Milian, was a radio host who had his legs blown off in a car bombing in Miami. Emilio's crime: Saying that fellow Cubans who advocated terroristic methods against the Castro regime were wrong. I guess that's what can happen when you call out terrorists, but it gives you an idea of honor and conviction coursing through the younger Milian's blood.
I'm not going to go on too much about Milian here. Read my old colleague Paul Demko's excellent feature story about him instead. While you're at, check out this fine piece in the St. Pete Times. Sure he's controversial, but who worth a damn isn't? Milian is an independent firebrand in the best sense, a guy who likes to fight on the side of right rather than the side of might. And he fights like hell. This time, he punched Broward's disgraceful State Attorney Michael Satz square in the mouth.
The Zapata trial is just one more in the growing list of humiliations for Satz, who had the gall to go after rank-and-file deputies while protecting the obviously corrupt sheriff, Ken Jenne. That isn't just incompetence. It's injustice, more proof that Satz is a very bad seed. And there's no better replacement than Al Milian, who was employed in Satz's office for many years as a pitbull prosecutor. Milian would be tough on criminals -- including those holding elected office and leech off the public trough. Broward County needs this guy.
He fought Satz and convinced the jury to strike a chord for decency. It's a tune we don't often hear in Satz's Broward County -- and it was music to Milian's ears.
Write Comment
Email to Friend
Print Article
