Bernie McCabe: Prosecutorial Impunity
Posted on Friday, 6 of November , 2009 at 10:12 pm
COMMENTARY
© By June Maxam
PINELLAS COUNTY, FLA—Why is Bernie McCabe still the state attorney in the Florida counties of Pinellas and Pasco?
Why does the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune and other media in that area treat Bernie McCabe with kid gloves and provide virtually no news coverage of the chief law enforcement officer of Pinellas and Pasco Counties?
Why are there never any investigative reports or in-depth articles in the Florida media regarding McCabe or the operations, prosecution records and other actions of the state attorney’s office?
Does Bernie McCabe have a dossier on people, operating in the style of J. Edgar Hoover?
Why do both the Florida Bar and the Florida Commission on Ethics say that despite McCabe’s highly controversial tenure in the state attorney’s office since the early 70s that there are no complaints on file against him?
Just what is McCabe’s criteria for vehicular homicide, manslaughter by culpable negligence and reckless driving with serious bodily injury?
Are there separate rules for the politically connected and influential and another set for everyday people?
Why was St. Pete Beach resident Aaron Rimar allowed to get away with murder?
This week in Pinellas County, a 19-year-old was sentenced to serve six months in jail as the result of an Aug. 29, 2007 motor vehicle accident. Adam Sanford was driving a Isuzu Trooper and had just left Wesley Chapel High School with two friends. They had just begun their senior year but then tragedy struck. As Sanford passed a car on the right, when he steered back to the roadway, he overcorrected and flipped the vehicle.
His passenger, 17-year-old Matthew Laidley died. Sanford’s other passenger, 17-year-old Katelin Kaiser was seriously injured. Sanford had no prior criminal record. He had a clean driving record. He had no alcohol or drugs in his system.
Sanford was charged with vehicular homicide, manslaughter by culpable negligence and reckless driving with serious bodily injury. He faced up to 35 years in state prison. State sentencing guidelines dictated a minimum sentence of 10 years.
Sanford was sentenced this week to six months in the Pasco County Jail to be followed by 10 years of probation. He must present monthly speeches to high school students and for the next 10 years, on the anniversary of the crash, report to jail to spend the weekend.
Apparently Sanford’s parents have no political persuasion, aren’t rich, powerful or influential.
And then there’s the case of Aaron Rimar, now 35, of St. Pete Beach. He snuffed out the life of 33-year-old Heather Whalley and seriously injured her husband in April 2008 while under the influence of illegal drugs, driving recklessly and according to witnesses, speeding and talking on a cell phone. By his own admission, Rimar had taken Oxycodone prior to driving, a controlled substance.
But Bernie McCabe refused to charge Rimar, the son of a prominent, rich and influential businessman. Rimar was ticketed for a traffic infraction and fined $500 and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.
Isn’t a life worth more than $500?
Rimar got away with murder on April 10, 2008 and thereafter. He was granted impunity in death by Bernie McCabe.
Sanford had a clean driving record, no drugs or alcohol in his system.
Although Rimar had a deadly drug cocktail of four controlled substances in his bloodstream, none of which he had legal prescriptions for, he wasn’t criminally charged when his van jumped a curb along Blind Pass Road in St. Pete Beach and mowed down the mother of three and her husband, Seth as they ambled along a sidewalk.
Rimar’s driving record prior to the accident consisted of 21 driving citations including a speeding conviction less than a month before the fatal accident on April 10, 2008 for traveling 50 mph in a 35 mph speed zone and he had a long history of speeding and careless driving.
Despite his long record, he still had a valid driver’s license just as he does today. Rimar’s van inexplicably veered out of control, went up on the curb and traveled along the walkway a distance before striking the Whalleys who were walking on the sidewalk, throwing them like rag dolls for about 50 feet. The van continued down the sidewalk, struck a palm tree and overturned, landing in the street.
But one difference between the Sanford homicide and the Rimar homicide is that a real police investigation was conducted in the Sanford case. The other appears to be money.
Minutes before Rimar plowed into the two pedestrians, witnesses told The North Country Gazette that Rimar was speeding and talking on a cell phone.
But incredibly, although several witnesses contacted the St. Pete Beach police department to report that Rimar had passed their vehicle on the right, “hauling ass”
just minutes before he struck the Whalleys, the witnesses were never called in by the police for an interview.
One may say that they didn’t want to hear the truth because they didn’t want to charge Rimar.
The Pinellas state attorney’s office of Bernie McCabe didn’t want to interview them either. In fact, last November, seven months after the fatality, McCabe’s office issued a memorandum to the St. Pete Beach Police Department and investigating officer Robert Micklitsch saying that assistant state attorney Jason Thomas, “having conducted a State Attorney investigation in the above-styled cause (DUI manslaughter) recommends the filing of a no information”.
“After consultation with a toxicologist and neurologist in regards to the laboratory results and quantification analysis of Aaron Rimar’s blood, the state is unable to establish that Aaron Rimar was under the influence of chemical or controlled substances to the extent that his normal faculties were impaired when causing the death of Heather Whalley.
What about charges of vehicular manslaughter, manslaughter by culpable negligence and reckless driving with serious bodily injury, charges that were lodged against Sanford who was operating with no alcohol or drugs in his system. Why weren’t they lodged against Rimar?
There was no public explanation how or where Rimar obtained the illegal drugs in his system. According to the police report, he was not under a doctor’s care prior to the accident, had no pre-existing medical conditions. That by itself should have garnered him a criminal charge of criminal possession of controlled substances.
No one has ever addressed that issue.
McCabe has refused to release the Rimar accident file under a Public Records Request, citing confidentiality although the case is closed and there has been no confidentiality request by Seth Whalley. McCabe has refused to release the toxicology reports or the rest of data on which he claims he made his decision not to prosecute Rimar for DUI manslaughter or any other criminal charge including illegal possession of drugs. He claims that Rimar wasn’t impaired and wasn’t driving recklessly. What’s he hiding and why? And why isn’t anyone, especially the Pinellas County media, asking questions?
Two toxicology reports were completed, indicating that the four prescription drugs in Rimar’s blood stream were all highly addictive and all sedatives with side effects of drowsiness, impairment of judgment and dizziness.
Where’d Aaron Rimar get his deadly drug cocktail? Why wasn’t he searched after his van jumped a curb and he plowed into the Whalleys as they ambled along a sidewalk, hand in hand? Why wasn’t his van searched? Why wasn’t the van impounded and subjected to an inspection by a certified mechanic?
Why didn’t the St. Pete Beach Police Department criminally charge Rimar the day of the accident? Why wasn’t he charged with anything? Why wasn’t an accident reconstruction team from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement called in? Since when did the possession and ingestion of four controlled substances without a legal prescription become acceptable in Pinellas County?
Why is Aaron Rimar with his record of more than 20 traffic violations still licensed to drive? With his criminal record including shooting at a patrol car and police officer, how has he avoided state prison? Looks like Bernie McCabe has protected this character for a long time. There are just too many questions surrounding this case, especially those mounting concerning the cover-up, all the way to of the office of Gov. Charlie Crist.
One person is dead and another was seriously injured on April 10, 2008, just like in the Sanford case. But Sanford was criminally charged, Rimar was not. Why?
Sanford was held accountable. Rimar was not. Why?
A long overdue investigation of the state attorney’s office of Bernie McCabe is warranted. McCabe refused to criminally prosecute Aaron Rimar in the death of Heather Whalley and serious injury of Seth Whalley despite the facts and circumstances of the case, claiming that Rimar didn’t act recklessly on that sunny spring day in April when his negligent actions snuffed out a life.
Why is Bernie McCabe being allowed to grant impunity in death? 11-06-09
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