Bad Cops

Anthony Costanzo, BSO Detective Accused of Witness Tampering, Has Clean Record

By Rich Abdill Wed., May 23 2012 at 8:01 AM
Categories: Bad Cops
Thumbnail image for anthony-costanzo.jpeg
Broward Sheriff's Office Det. Anthony Costanzo faces charges of witness tampering, evidence tampering, disclosure of confidential information, and felony use of a two-way communication device, all of which could theoretically put him in prison for life.

But a review of county personnel files shows Costanzo as a 13-year officer who, once he was actually hired, worked without any notable violations and, after lackluster performance reviews in the early 2000s, had a record of success that was praised by evaluators.
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Anthony Costanzo
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Bad Cops

BSO Detective Anthony Costanzo Arrested, Accused of Tampering With Case Involving Other Officers

By Rich Abdill Thu., May 17 2012 at 11:27 AM
Categories: Bad Cops
anthony-costanzo.jpeg
Broward Sheriff's Office Det. Anthony Costanzo turned himself in yesterday on charges of witness tampering, evidence tampering, disclosure of confidential information and felony use of a two-way communication device -- all of which are felonies and one of which, witness tampering, which carries a potential life sentence.

The Broward County State Attorney's Office says Costanzo used his cell phone to record video of a discussion he had with a woman about a case of false imprisonment involving two Fort Lauderdale police officers; he then allegedly sent the video to one of the officers.
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Anthony Costanzo, Billy Koepke, Brian Dodge
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Bad Cops

UPDATED: David Harris Testifies in Riviera Beach Cop Corruption Trial; Pat Galligan Does Not

By Lisa Rab Fri., Apr. 20 2012 at 7:08 AM
Categories: Bad Cops, Riviera Beach Cops
Lee Ann Schneider.jpg
PBSO
Schneider is facing charges of forgery and official misconduct.
Update 5:45 p.m: The jury acquitted Det. Lee Ann Schneider this afternoon.

A Riviera Beach detective could spend hundreds of years in prison for helping her boss pad his overtime, while he has escaped testifying at the trial that is largely about him.

Detective Lee Ann Schneider is on trial this week for 152 counts of forgery and official misconduct, accused of repeatedly signing Sgt. Pat Galligan's name to official paperwork. Key testimony in the case came yesterday, when a friend of Galligan's, Riviera Beach Assistant Police Chief David "Curly Top" Harris, took the witness stand. Harris recalled Galligan saying Schneider was following Galligan's instructions when she forged his signature on probable-cause affidavits and property receipts.

"[He] told me he gave Lee Ann Schneider permission to sign his name," Harris said.

Galligan was never charged with a crime and never testified at the trial. Palm Beach Circuit
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Assistant Chief Dave Harris, Lee Ann Schneider, Pat Galligan, Riviera Beach Police Department
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Bad Cops

Lantana Police Chief Arrested, Accused of Crashing Into a Cop Car Drunk on Jungle Juice (UPDATE: He's fired.)

By Rich Abdill Thu., Apr. 5 2012 at 3:26 PM
Categories: Bad Cops
jeffrey-tyson-mug.jpg
To protect and serve (delicious adult beverages).
UPDATE, 3:24 p.m.: Tyson's been fired, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Original post, 10 a.m.:
Brace yourself -- this one's a story about the Boca Raton Police investigating an unmarked Lantana Police car crashing into an unmarked Palm Beach Sheriff's Office car. There's been a lot of crime stuff on the Pulp lately, but this one gets posted because, according to the police report, Lantana Police Chief Jeffrey Tyson is the one who done did the crashin'.

Police say it all started when Tyson was sloppy drunk yesterday around 1 in the afternoon, driving around in a Lantana Police-owned Ford Explorer.
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Jeffrey Tyson
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Bad Cops

Patrick Burt, PBSO Deputy Charged With Stalking, Facing Domestic Violence Charges in Martin County Too

By Rich Abdill Thu., Apr. 5 2012 at 9:00 AM
Categories: Bad Cops
Thumbnail image for patrick-burt-mug.jpg
We told you yesterday about Palm Beach County Sheriff's Deputy Patrick Burt, who authorities said drove his patrol car to Boca Raton (while he was supposed to be patrolling Wellington) to hang up signs about his ex-girlfriend at her workplace on Valentine's Day, calling her current boyfriend a "cheater who pursued another person's fiancé." Police also say he admitted to installing a GPS tracking device on her car.

The Sun-Sentinel reports Burt is being held in Palm Beach County Jail, but those aren't his only problems.
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Bad Cops

Imprisoned Rapist Applied to Fort Lauderdale Police, BSO Before Crimes

By Rich Abdill Wed., Apr. 4 2012 at 7:45 AM
Categories: Bad Cops
michael-ragusa.png
via Miami New Times
Michael Ragusa
Michael Ragusa grew up in Fort Lauderdale. When it came time for job hunting, he applied to the Broward Sheriff's Office and the police departments in Fort Lauderdale and Cooper City, among others. They all rejected him.

But Miami hired him as a police officer -- even though his application included "numerous incidents of illegal sexual activity and dishonesty," according to documents uncovered by Broward Bulldog editor Dan Christiensen with Miami New Times.

He spent three years on the force; then, in 2008, he pleaded guilty to rape and attempted rape and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
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Bad Cops

BSO Sergeant Accused of Falsifying Records Is a Teacher at FAU, ITT Tech

By Rich Abdill Mon., Mar. 26 2012 at 1:14 PM
Categories: Bad Cops
Thumbnail image for bso_shield.JPG
​A Broward Sheriff's Office internal affairs investigator who admitted to lying in a report earlier this year is teaching criminal justice classes at the ITT Technical Institute in Fort Lauderdale, according to documents just released.

Sgt. Mary Guess, who has worked in BSO internal affairs for 14 years, is being investigated by both the Broward State Attorney's office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for authoring a report that led to the firing of Lt. James Murray, according to the South Florida Times.

She's also listed in BSO documents as an employee of both ITT Tech and Florida Atlantic University.
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Broward Sheriff's Office, ITT Technical Institute, Mary Guess, Veronica Landsmann
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Finally!

Eric Brody, Left Brain-Damaged by Speeding BSO Deputy, Finally Gets Compensation Bill Passed

By Rich Abdill Tue., Mar. 6 2012 at 7:40 AM
Categories: Bad Cops, Finally!
brody-car.jpg
File photo
BSO Deputy Christopher Thieman was speeding because he was late to work; he left Brody's car looking like this.
​Eric Brody was 18 years old when a speeding off-duty Broward Sheriff's deputy T-boned his car on Oakland Park Boulevard and left Brody in a coma. The officer was later fired for falsifying police reports in an unrelated incident; Brody woke up six months later with permanent brain damage.

A jury awarded the Brody family more than $30 million, but a Florida law requires any judgment of more than $200,000 to be ratified by the Legislature. Yesterday, after 14 years and multiple failed attempts, the Florida Legislature passed the compensation bill for Brody -- but he'll never see that $30 million.
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Eric Brody
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Bad Cops

Florida House Finally Considering Bill to Sort-of Compensate Eric Brody

By Rich Abdill Fri., Feb. 17 2012 at 7:30 AM
Categories: Bad Cops, Politics
brody-car.jpg
File photo
Brody's car after A BSO deputy swerved into it in March 1998.
​Fourteen years after a speeding Broward Sheriff's Office deputy left 18-year-old Eric Brody with permanent, debilitating brain damage, it looks like the Florida Legislature is getting close to paying Brody's family the money it's owed -- OK, actually about a third of the money it's owed.

A court found the Broward Sheriff's Office culpable for more than $30 million in damages in 2005 after Deputy Christopher Thieman T-boned Brody on Oakland Park Boulevard; Thieman was speeding in his cruiser because he was running late for work. Thieman was fine; Brody was in a coma for six months. Because of a Florida law protecting public institutions from being sued for more than $200,000, the judgment has to be passed through the statehouse.

The Senate passed its version of the bill early last month, and the House's ...
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Bad Cops

PBSO Lt. Daniel Burrows Arrested, Charged With Stealing Pills From Colleague Dying of Cancer

By Rich Abdill Fri., Jan. 27 2012 at 12:55 PM
Categories: Bad Cops, Getting High, Palm Beach, Scumbags, WTF
burrows-mug.jpg
Dan Burrows, alleged to be pretty much the worst friend since that Iscariot fella 2,000 years ago.
​Deputy Sheriff Michael Collister was hired by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in 1983. He served on the SWAT team, won awards, saved lives. In May 2010, after 27 years on the force, he was diagnosed with stage-IV bile duct cancer -- essentially a death sentence. According to police, his friend spent last December shaking him down for the pain medication he'd been prescribed but was too weak to defend.

Collister died two weeks ago. His "friend," 46-year-old Palm Beach County Lt. Dan Burrows, has now been charged with theft, drug possession, and exploitation of a disabled adult, and if the rest of the world is lucky, he'll go to prison for around 15 years if he's convicted.
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Bettee Collister, Daniel Burrows, Michael Collister, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
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