Joseph A. DeMaria was quoted in the Daily Business Review article, "Not a Good Track Record, Pizzi Case Latest Instance where Prosecutors Failed." Full text can be found in the August 18, 2014, issue, but a synopsis is below.
Although federal and state prosecutors alike have seen ample success unmasking corrupt officials in Florida counties, such as Broward and West Palm, as well as eliciting guilty pleas, many of these prosecutors tend to falter in trial, especially in Miami.
Joseph DeMaria, who previously prosecuted public corruption cases for the U.S. attorney's office, commented that corruption cases provide hurdles that other criminal cases do not.
He explains, "First of all, you are starting out with someone who is a legitimate person. They are someone the voters felt confident enough to elect. That is different from a street crime, a Mafia case, a drug case. In those cases, you start off with a person not being legitimate."
The other reason public corruption cases are hard for prosecutors is that many are based on an undercover sting, he said. DeMaria concludes by stating, "If they don't do it right, if they don't follow the evidence all the way, if you are going to try to set somebody up, you've got to follow the money all the way."
Originally published by Daily Business Review.
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