Newly Appointed Judge Looks Like A Winner

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

 

I don’t know much about W. Dale Miller.

 

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W. Dale Miller

 

I do know that he is an Assistant Public Defender.

I do know he has clashed with County Judge Jay Hurley, who runs the courtroom where bond is set for criminal defendants.

And I do know W. Dale Miller appears like he is going to lose his campaign for judge.

I’ll tell you why.

He is running against County Judge Nina Weatherly DiPietro. 

Public Defender Howard Finkelstein tried unsuccessfully to block DiPietro from being appointed a judge. She was fired from the Public Defender’s Office several years ago after being accused of sharing information with a prosecutor she was dating– her future husband, David DiPietro. 

Judge DiPietro contended that she only shared public information.  She said that she was harassed for socializing with a prosecutor, a no-no in Finkelstein’s office.

Gov. Rick Scott ignored Finkelstein pleas (No surprise there!) and appointed Ms. DiPietro in April. She replaced County Judge Gisele Pollack, who was removed after being arrested for drunk driving and allegedly drinking before taking the bench.

Pollack now works in Finkelstein’s office.

After her appointment, Ms. DiPietro quickly began her 2016 campaign. She raised roughly $60,000 and kicked in $100,000 of her own on June 30.

Just look at the following campaign contribution report through the end of June:

 

County Court Judge, Grp. 7 Nina Weatherly Di Pietro ( Active- Incumbent) $160,950.00 $1,979.00 $672.22
County Court Judge, Grp. 7 W. Dale Miller ( Active-) $105.00 $287.85

 

If Miller can’t raise more than $105, he should drop out.

DiPietro will be able to raise twice or three times the amount she has already collected. Her husband is a formidable Republican campaign operative.

DiPietro is also an attractive woman. Let’s face it.  That’s an advantage in personal appearances and in ads.

All her campaign ads can rightfully bill her as an incumbent judge, which impresses voters.

But here is the key:  Even if DiPietro proves to be the worst judge in Broward history (At this point, she hasn’t been a judge long enough to determine her effectiveness and conduct on the bench.), how are voters going to know?  A challenger needs money to tell voters about DiPietro’s shortcomings.

Dale Miller has no money.  He has no foreseeable possibility of raising enough to be competitive, according to numerous courthouse and political sources.

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County Judge Nina DiPietro

 

DiPetro looks like a winner….if no one else with deep pockets doesn’t show up to challenge her.

 

 



15 Responses to “Newly Appointed Judge Looks Like A Winner”

  1. Count LF Chodkiewicz Chudzikiewicz says:

    In Manhattan we used to have a sure fire way of getting “moderate” Judges elected. We would go thru the Bar Association membership and find a married Jewish woman with a RICH husband who either a) dotted on her or b) wanted her out of the house (like they used to pick Jewish Women for the Miami Beach City Commission a la Susan Gottlieb and Nancy Liebman), the campaign financing was up to the husband, and everyone was happy.

    With all the multi-millionaire Jewish developers on Fort Lauderdale beachfront, none has a Mother, Wife, or Daughter with a law degree and Broward County residence and is a registered Democrat. Let’s see there is the D family, the R family, the G family, the R family, I mean what about my third cousin’s son, he lives in Parkland, his wife the attorney brings in good money, the kids don’t smoke, drink, or use drugs or drag race or play loud music! Why not sucker my third cousin’s son? There are lots of relatives we could squeeze money out of for the race, and Heaven knows I can …. well you get the picture.

    Gee, someone should call my third cousin’s son…

  2. Fake Ian Richards says:

    I wish you had given this advice to Claudia Robinson.

  3. Chaz Stevens, Genius says:

    Well in Broward, DiPietro’s got her work cut out for her, if she wants to be merely the worst female judge.

    Her competition includes a couple of drunks, one suffering from narcolepsy, and my personal fav — Judge Julian!

    http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2001-12-08/news/0112070864_1_judge-s-home-joyce-julian-circuit-judges

    Good luck Nina! Consider installing a margarita blender in your chambers — MAOS is looking forward to LOTS of blog gold over the coming months.

    Proust!

  4. City Activist robert Walsh says:

    Money talks, and BS walks.

  5. Really says:

    Dale Miller is a Howard kissup. Howard says “jump” and Dale says, “How High?” Howard is behind all of this.

  6. Courthouse In The Know says:

    How come you didn’t mention that Dale Miller’s wife is doing time for Medicare Fraud?

    Department of Justice
    Office of Public Affairs
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Thursday, April 30, 2015
    Miami-Area Physician Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Role in $5.5 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
    A Miami-area medical doctor was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for his role in a $5.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving fraudulent billings by a psychiatric hospital in Hollywood, Florida.

    Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Shimon Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

    Barry Kaplowitz, 54, of Aventura, Florida, a licensed physician, was convicted of making false statements related to health care matters on Feb. 20, 2015, following a six-week jury trial. In addition to today’s prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida ordered Kaplowitz to pay more than $2.9 million in restitution.

    According to evidence presented at trial, Kaplowitz served as the medical director at Hollywood Pavilion (HP), a state-licensed psychiatric hospital, from approximately 2008 to 2011. During that time, Kaplowitz signed false and fraudulent medical records in order to make it appear that HP’s patients qualified for and received intensive outpatient services, even though they did not. The evidence demonstrated that Kaplowitz signed patient files for over 400 patients certifying that he had provided mental health services to each of them, even though he never saw nor provided any treatment to the patients. HP used these falsified medical records to submit over 2,800 false claims to Medicare totaling over $5.5 million. Medicare paid $2.9 million on those false claims.

    Five other individuals have previously been convicted and sentenced in this case:

    Karen Kallen-Zury, of Lighthouse Point, Florida, HP’s former chief executive officer, was sentenced to 25 years in prison;

    Daisy Miller, of Hollywood, the clinical director of HP’s inpatient facility, was sentenced to 15 years in prison;

    Michele Petrie, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the head of HP’s intensive outpatient program, was sentenced to six years in prison;

    Christian Coloma, of Miami Beach, Florida, the director of physical therapy for an entity associated with HP, was sentenced to 12 years in prison; and

    Christopher Gabel, of Davie, Florida, HP’s former chief operating officer, was sentenced to six years in prison.

    Kallen-Zury, Miller, Gabel and Petrie were ordered to pay more than $39 million in restitution, and Coloma was ordered to pay more than $20 million in restitution.

    The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Nicholas E. Surmacz, Andrew H. Warren and L. Rush Atkinson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

    Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,100 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6.5 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

    To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to: http://www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

    FROM BUDDY:

    Normally, I would not post material about a candidate’s spouse. He or she is not the one running for office.

    In this case, two readers pointed out that I mentioned DiPietro’s husband so it was only fair to mention Dale Miller’s wife.

    Keep in mind that what Miller’s wife was convicted of doing has little or nothing to do with whether he would be a good judge. I could argue that it would make him a better judge because he has an understanding of anyone charged with a crime.

  7. APD says:

    Dale Miller is an honorable lawyer who would make a decent addition to the courthouse.

  8. Another APD says:

    For those of us who knew Nina as a PD, her supporters are putting in all this money and smearing Dale through his wife because they are afraid of what a disaster Nina would be on the campaign trail. As someone who worked with and supported Judge Robinson, it is not all about who has the most money if the candidate is an arrogant snob.

  9. A Knight says:

    I support Dale! He is a very caring person who cares about his community and his family.
    How do you pick a judge? Here are 10 things to consider when voting
    Legal ability
    Trial or other similar experience that ensures knowledge of the law and courtroom procedures.
    A record and reputation for excellent character and integrity.
    Financial responsibility.
    Judicial temperament.
    Mental and physical capacity to fulfill the duties of judicial office.
    Record of community involvement.
    Administrative ability.
    Devotion to improvement of the quality of justice.
    Demonstrated sound judgment in professional life.

  10. Another APD is not who he says he is says:

    Dear “Another APD”, you know who you are are and all of the failed campaigns can’t hide that.

  11. Buddy could argue says:

    “(Buddy)could argue that (Dale Miller’s wife being recently convicted of Medicare fraud) would make Miller a better judge because he has an understanding of anyone charged with a crime.”

    A better judge, seriously ?

  12. Nevins could argue says:

    Apparently embarrassed by the naivety of your argument 🙂

  13. Cohen says:

    I don’t see anywhere that Mr. Miller was ever charged with any crime.

  14. Yet another APD says:

    Howard’s office is in tatters. His comments about Nina all but got her the judgeship, now his support for Mr. Miller will ensure she keeps her seat. Why not put up a real candidate, Howard?

  15. Harrison Bennett says:

    TIME TO REMOVE HELP ME HOWARD!!!