Broward Sheriff Greg Tony lied and ‘misused his public position,’ state board finds

The Florida Commission on Ethics said Wednesday it has found probable cause to believe Broward Sheriff Greg Tony “misused his public position” when he lied to get his first job at the Coral Springs Police Department, among other issues.

The end result could be a recommendation that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis remove him.

The closed-door meeting was Friday and details were only announced Wednesday. Authorities said he provided false information, or did not disclose information:

• During the hiring process for his employment with the Coral Springs Police Department.
• When he provided false information or did not disclose information during the appointment process for his service as Broward County sheriff.
• When completing a notarized Form 68 submitted to FDLE while serving as Broward County sheriff.
• When applying to renew his driver’s license while serving as a law enforcement officer.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement had confirmed in February that it would be sending the results of its investigation to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

[ RELATED: State finds Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony lied about his murder arrest and much more. But he won’t be prosecuted. ]

Lynn Blais, spokeswoman for the Florida Commission on Ethics, said now Tony has two options: He can choose to go to a full evidentiary hearing before a judge with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings. Or he could immediately enter into a stipulated agreement. Either way, the findings come back to the Commission on Ethics for its approval.

Blais said there could be a range of reprimands ranging from a censure, fine or a recommendation to the governor that he be removed from public office.

Tony’s media relations office at the Sheriff’s Office referred the South Florida Sun Sentinel to an attorney to speak on Tony’s behalf. The lawyer, Stephen Webster, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Tony has spoken on his own behalf repeatedly on a local radio show, where he has claimed discrimination, and said he has endured years of slander and attack.

[ RELATED: Gov. DeSantis on Sheriff Gregory Tony: ‘We’re going to review everything’ now that state found he concealed his past on forms ]

The South Florida Sun Sentinel detailed the sheriff’s lies in a news article last year.

The recently concluded state investigation found that Tony repeatedly concealed details about his past on forms for law enforcement jobs — including his arrest pertaining to a killing as a teen, a case in which he was acquitted and he said was self defense.

Tony has multiple issues he faces at the same time: In June, a panel that is part of the state Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, determined there is probable cause for continuing its case against him after reviewing “unlawful acts” in eight cases surrounding his Florida driver’s license paperwork.

Investigators wrote that in 1999 he correctly answered “yes” when asked if his driving privilege had ever been revoked, suspended or denied in any other state. But between March 2002 and February 2019, he submitted 11 applications and on eight of them he answered “no.”

Authorities said his license had been suspended in 1993 for failure to appear for trial or court appearance and in January 1998 for five separate cases of failure to appear for trial or court appearance.

Keeping his police certification hinges on their decision. The commission is part of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and agency spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said Wednesday his case has not yet been scheduled.

[ RELATED: Will Sheriff Gregory Tony face any penalty after investigation into his lies? What we know and don’t know ]

In January 2019, DeSantis appointed Tony to the sheriff’s job, just days into the new governor’s term, following the agency’s botched response to the Parkland high school massacre. A background check raised no red flags about Tony, a Coral Springs police veteran.

Tony landed his first job as a police officer in 2005 with the Coral Springs Police Department when he was 26. He worked there through September 2016.

Tony never disclosed on forms that he had shot and killed an 18-year-old man when he was a teenager living in a rough neighborhood in Philadelphia. The killing was revealed to a Coral Springs police background investigator, who signed off on Tony’s application. It also didn’t come up during the vetting process before DeSantis appointed him in 2019.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel was the first to report the details about his rejection from applying to the Tallahassee Police Department, when he admitted to LSD use. The agency rejected him when he admitted using the hallucinogen, calling it “felony drug use,” although he had not been arrested. He appealed, but the agency denied him, saying it has a “zero tolerance for felony drug use.” He didn’t tell Coral Springs police that on his application and during a lie detector test.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement previously found that Tony stated repeated falsehoods on applications. But the agency said some of the falsehoods happened too long ago to prosecute, and the most recent allegation — that he lied to obtain a new driver’s license — won’t be pursued because the clerk’s memory of the incident is fuzzy.

In February, DeSantis told reporters at a news conference in Miami that he has seen the outcome of a state investigation into Tony’s falsehoods on official applications. When asked about Tony, DeSantis replied, “We’re going to review everything … in the coming days.” DeSantis didn’t elaborate at the time, and he has taken no action.

His office did not respond for comment Wednesday.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com or 954-572-2008. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash