Felonies

Largo Woman Charged with DUI After Accident Injures Toddler

Dona Joyner of Largo was charged with child neglect and driving under the influence with accident and injury, after a single car accident in October injured a two-year-old. Joyner was arrested Sunday after test results showed that her blood alcohol... [Read More]

Hillsborough Dentist Charged with Two Counts of DUI Manslaughter

Riverview dentist Matthew R. Moye was charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter, two counts of vehicular homicide, DUI with property damage or personal injury and battery on a law enforcement officer this weekend after a single car accident that... [Read More]

Personal Trainer Gets Death Sentence in Clearwater Double Homicide

Former personal trainer Richard T. Robards was sentenced to death Friday for the 2006 murders of Clearwater couple, Linda and Frank Deluca. Robards was convicted earlier this year. The jury recommended a death sentence by a 7-5 vote but a... [Read More]

80-Year-Old Pleads Guilty in Brooksville Lottery Scheme

An 80-year-old Brooksville woman pleaded guilty earlier this month to organized fraud and illegal structuring of financial transactions. Doris Siegel admitted to scamming elderly friends and neighbors of more than $1 million in a lottery scheme. Siegel and her criminal... [Read More]

Tampa Pain Clinic Doc, Assistant Sent to Prison for Medicare, Prescription Fraud

Dr. Jeffrey Friedlander was sentenced earlier this month to nine years in federal prison for conspiring to defraud Medicare and for illegally prescribing drugs oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone and alprazolam. His physician’s assistant Troy Wubbena received a ten year sentence for... [Read More]

Brandon Man Pleads Guilty to Murder, Avoids Death Penalty

Earlier this month, twenty-year-old Brendan Lee Terry pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder and kidnapping, related to the murder of Robert Brewer in May. Terry was sentenced to 30 years in prison, avoiding a possible death sentence... [Read More]

Bradenton Man Sentenced for Tax Fraud

Joseph Nelson Sweet of Bradenton was sentenced to 10 years in prison earlier this month for his involvement in a Tampa-based tax avoidance scheme. As a result of the advice that Sweet sold to 1,300 people nationwide, the government believes... [Read More]

Tampa Mortgage Broker Sentenced to Federal Prison for Fraud

Tampa mortgage broker Peter Bakowski was sentenced to 15 years, 8 months in federal prison for false statements related to a mortgage fraud scheme this month. He was also ordered to pay $16.1 million in restitution. According to court documents... [Read More]

Former St. Petersburg Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to Prescription Fraud

Former St. Petersburg pharmacist Adam Nagy pleaded guilty earlier this month in a Tampa federal courtroom to conspiring to act outside the scope of his professional pharmacy practice by dispensing and distributing oxycodone. Nagy, who is only 30 years old... [Read More]

Life Sentence in Bradenton Murder Trial of Quadriplegic Teen

Defense attorneys and prosecutors in Bradenton had an interesting job last week as the trial of Ta Heem Blake began. The lawyers were charged with selecting a jury from a 76-member jury pool in the quadriplegic teenager’s first-degree murder trial.... [Read More]

Mistrial Declared in Tampa Case Against Buju Banton

A mistrial was declared Monday afternoon in the federal drug trial of reggae star Buju Banton. Jurors, sitting in the federal court in Tampa, advised the judge that they were divided over the verdict after three days of deliberations. “We... [Read More]

Ditullio Murder Trial Rescheduled for December

A Pasco County judge this week rescheduled the murder trial of John Ditullio Jr. (who is represented by the Law Offices of Bjorn Brunvand) for December 6th. Ditullio faces first-degree murder and attempted murder charges related to the March 2006... [Read More]

St. Pete Medical Office Receptionist Charged in Prescription Fraud Case

Jean Campbell was a receptionist at a St. Petersburg doctor’s office. She was arrested last week by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on drug charges related to prescription drugs. Campbell has been charged with four counts of obtaining a controlled... [Read More]

Ditullio Capital Murder Trial Postponed

The second murder trial of John Ditullio Jr. was continued this week by Pasco County Circuit Judge Michael Andrews, at the request of Ditullio (whose defense attorney is Bjorn Brunvand of this office). The case was first tried last December... [Read More]

Mistrial Declared in Hillsborough Drug Trafficking Case Against Doctor

A Hillsborough County jury deliberated for over five hours last week after hearing evidence in the state’s prosecution of Dr. John Mubang for drug trafficking. Five jurors voted to find the Mubang not guilty; the other juror believed he should... [Read More]