Authorities looking for Ferrari Scuderia driver that killed one and ...

The law works well for lawyers and judges, and that's about it. Goodman got sentenced, but bought a new trial. The new trial starts later this year. Meanwhile he is being credited for time served while at his Wellington estate. Justice? I don't think so.

There is a reason that 5 of the 7 county commissioners in Palm Beach county spent time in federal prison. Corruption is a common, and generally accepted practice at the county level. I believe this includes the courts. A friend of mine who was a builder in south Florida considered it normal practice to have $40 and a bottle of rum for every inspection. Nice, huh?

The only person actually in jail from this whole ordeal is one of the jurors.


BT

 

Well then, maybe the entire jury will do time!


BT

 

Bill
With all due respect, I think you have bunch of facts wrong, although you are certainly entitled to your opinions, whatever you rely on for them.

No, he did not buy a new trial. A juror had multiple instances of disobeying the judge affecting the fundamental fairness of the trial. If you followed it in the newspaper, the judge was not too pleased about having to set aside the verdict due to juror misconduct. You correctly note below that the juror went to jail for that. Hardly even a hint of a buyoff of any one involved. Goodman did however reach a civil settlement with each of the parents of the victim, which makes it easier for defense of the criminal matter. So arguably, his wealth helped him some there, as well as being able to afford some of the best lawyers available.

No, he is out on bond. You do not get credit for jail time when you are not in jail. He is NOT on house arrest. Since he is technically not been found guilty, he is entitled to bond out prior to trial. Bond is to make sure the defendant appears at trial. Given the talented legal team assembled, there is no chance he will NOT show up.

Well, since there has been no finding of guilt, not sure why he shouldn't be out on bond. And he is limited to his house, unless meeting with lawyers or doctors. Not like he is galavanting around the globe....

I think it was 3, Masilotto, McCarty and Newell. Koons resigned but I don't think went to jail.
Past tense, but I can certainly understand the cynicism.
[quoted]
I believe this includes the courts.
[/quoted]
Based on what? Some judges clearly not as bright as others, no one has ever suggested any of this group is "on the take". Now, 35 years ago in Miami, different story. Google "Court Broom".

Assuming the implication is that the money and rum was used for the benefit of the inspector, not nice, but how is that a reflection on the court system? A reflection on the building inspectors, who surely are not supposed to be accepting gifts for items they inspect, no more so than the builders should be providing it. There have been a handful of cases over the last couple of years where builders have been criminally charged by the State Attorney for that type of action. 99% of the time, a finding of guilty or not guilty is determined by a jury, not the judge.

Yes, and deservedly so!!! He was the reason the guilty verdict by the jury was set aside, and essentially caused the waste of millions and millions of taxpayer dollars. It will take another 2-3 weeks to try, along with a bunch more taxpayer dollars.

So as not to clutter this up too much, feel free to shoot me a PM for further musings about this.

Regards,
Jerry

 

Jerry, I can only assume you are an attorney.

If 3 of 7 county commissioners went to federal prison for political corruption, and a fourth resigned under threat of prosecution, how many that remained do you think were clean? It is like the cops finding drugs on 3 of 5 passengers and the other two say "No man, I never did that stuff." My friend's experience with the inspectors was simply another example of the corruption that runs rampant. The point being that the police / DA in Miami could very likely be bought or influenced as the culture of corruption is an accepted norm in the region.

My comments regarding judges and attorneys is relative to my experiences with the courts. The courts obviously work for attorneys as the existence of same allows for many (if not most) attorneys to make a living. Are there corrupt attorneys? That is really a rhetorical question. I know several very honest attorneys, and several very dishonest attorneys. Judges? From what I have seen it is like they don't care what the rule of law actually is, they go along with whatever the more connected attorney says in the end. See Roy Black in the Goodman case. He was going to keep throwing stuff at the wall until Colbath conceded a new trial, so Colbath conceded eventually.

My point was that Goodman in fact, did not "get 16 years", and certainly did not go to prison. He will certainly drag this thing out until his last day.


BT

 

BTW, Goodman was serving his 16 year sentence on house arrest while his lawyers appealed his conviction, so even though he was at the time convicted, he was allowed to build credit for time served at the Wellington residence. It will easily be 5-7 years from the date of the offense until the second trial is complete. At the very least he is buying time.

My opinion is that the larger the government, the more likely it is to have corruption.


BT

 

Bill, fair to say I have around the legal community in one form or another for a fair amount of time!

I would say "3" unless there is some evidence to the contrary (although not 100% sure about B.A, former long time commissioner). But we have a funny thing here, called " a presumption of innocence", which both you and I enjoy.

So if your driving record shows you have run 3 red lights in the last year, are you automatically "guilty" when you plead Not Guilty to the 4th one, which you didn't run????

Sad to say, a lot of that remains true in that industry, with Miami being among the most "notorious' in the state. In Palm Beach County, the appointment of an Inspector General was designed to help root out those types of issues (enforcement is debatable as there remains litigation over how the position is funded).

Well, there are bad cops, like any other industry or profession. Google "Miami River Cops". But the DA (actually, SA, State Attorney) in Miami has been in that office in one post or another for over 30 years. She is above reproach. There has never been any allegations of corruption by her (as opposed to a prior SA, who had the criminal justice building named after him and who "retired" as SA in 1976 or1977 to go into private practice)

Can't argue with anyone's experience, only point out that is one data point out of thousands.

Not sure what that means. Ignoring that probably 2/3 of attorneys never litigate (set foot inside a courtroom), the courthouse does provide a place for litigation attorneys to provide services if you don't want to represent yourself, which you are almost always able to do. How is that any different than saying auto repair shops "work" for mechanics as it allows for many mechanics to make a living. They are providing a service, so what is the issue? I often times go to a mechanic who can do in 1 hour (with proper equipment) that might take me as a DIY'er 3 or 4 hours. It is cheaper to take the extra time to work to pay for the service. I don't have a problem with that.

Actually, like any industry to profession, I am sure there are some. Than goodness we don't worry about corrupt people in say, politics, or mortgage lenders, auto dealerships, or even people who own (or formerly owned) one or more Ferrari's......

Disappointing if they are corrupt. I have seen several attorneys who are borderline competent, but I wouldn't consider that corrupt per se.

Not so from my years of observations around the state, but a lot of the judges often make mistakes, not so much because they don't care, but more often because they don't understand. They get cases right a lot more often than wrong, but EVERYONE gets a right to appeal a judge's decision to an appellate court. Hopefully they correct the vast majority of "mistakes". No system will be perfect, and no one has figured out a better system yet.

Well, true about "throwing stuff at the wall", but the result was to the contrary. As good as Roy Black is, his client got convicted by the jury. Colbath didn't "concede", he was forced to throw out the verdict because of multiple instances of juror misconduct. It had nothing to do with Roy Black's representation of John Goodman during the trial itself. So, stated as you did, the most connected attorney didn't win, he lost.

Well, he was sentenced to 16 years, but once the verdict was set aside, he gets another trial. So you can't sentence him for a crime that he has not been found guilty of, although because of the procedural history, Goodman's sentence would be capped at 16 years.

As to credit time served, (I believe "community control"), I do not think he is getting credit for time served, but I would have to check. I believe he is out on bond to assure his appearance with special conditions attached to that. "House arrest" is an alternative to being kept in jail, so you may be correct. Even if so, if he gets 2 years credit time served and 12 or 13 years of "jail time" after a conviction (very little gain time, you now serve most of your sentence) , not exactly a party. If a conviction is overturned, it is the same as no finding of guilt, how do you give back the time he served if he is jailed??


Now, maybe if Goodman had taken an interest in Ferrari's instead of Bentleys, we wouldn't be having this discussion!!!

Regards,
Jerry

 

Jerry, you seem to be a very thoughtful and interesting poster. If you find yourself in the Atlanta area and have some free time, let's grab a beer and have a good discussion, mostly about Ferraris!


BT

 

I heard two things about Goodman just this week and it was something I had not heard before. First was that he typically used a driver but his long time driver called out the night of the Scott Wilson death, so he was drunk driving himself around. It doesn't mitigate anything, but I thought it was interesting. Also, contrary to what Jerry posted above I heard the prosecutor is going for 20 years with the new trial. Keep in mind this was local Welly layman chit chat and not from an attorney. IMO 16 years is too short of a sentence for the crime.

 

Would love to, but let's stay off of I-75/85 during rush hour!!

Likewise, if you return to your Florida roots in Palm Beach County, let me know!! Bench racing is fun, the older I get, the better I was!!!!

Regards,
Jerry

 

Just saw this after mention of Rad being involved in another thread. Really shocking. I only know Rad through his 430 Scuderia advice in terms of track setup. It was clear he spent tons of time on the track and was likely a great driver - his advice was always scary-accurate.

What a horrible situation. I can't even imagine...the one guy was trapped under his dead partner until he could be extracted. Jesus...makes me ill.

I just hope the victims are able to move on with their lives, but I'm sure it will take years to do so.

If this is Rad, he should stand and face the music; even if it means the effective end of his life as well. Certainly the fact that he cannot be found is incriminating.

 

Wow, this happened a while ago....has he not been convicted still?

 

Convicted? As far as I know no one has even been charged yet. Nice work, Dade County State Attorney, FDLE and FHP, or whoever (if anybody) is in charge of this investigation.

 

Looks like Radomin Delgado has been arrested and charged.

 

Link to the article:

Ferrari driver arrested in fatal hit and run, FHP said - Sun Sentinel

 

This article includes two older news report videos from shortly after the accident that provides a little more info than I recall seeing before: Red Ferrari Driver Arrested in Fatal 2013 Hit-and-Run Crash: FHP | NBC 6 South Florida

 

If he is indeed guilty I hope he is not only convicted criminally in court but also both he and his spouse financially ruined.
This is the type of behavior that gives sports cars a bad reputation

 

Given the sequence of events I wonder whether something came out of the settled civil suit that the FHP was able to use in their case.

Justice at last.

 

Sounds like DNA evidence on airbag was a critical piece of evidence. Assuming they had that for a long time already, so I wonder what took them so long to charge him.

 

There are two cases being discussed here, are you sure there was a settlement of a civil case in the Arrojas death, the one that criminal charges were just filed for against Delgado?

 

That's what the Sun Sentinel article said.

 

I am no lawyer but it seems to me there must have been some sort of arrangement with the DA or he would not have settled a civil suit. Wondering if DA postponed so the suit could be settled. Everyone comes out better that way. If he pleads guilty I think that will be an answer.

 

Thanks for the link. I hope the LEOs spent all this time building an airtight case.

I wonder if that rag the Sun Sentinel would have identified the make of the accused's car if it had been a Mercury or a Kia.....

 

Finally! The civil suit probably caused some action, must have had some damming evidence in that claim

 

Terrible situation...glad the victim is persevering and looking forward.

 

Actually, the victim is dead.