Dept. of Children spokesman charged w/producing child porn

[junojones]

Jeff said:

Florida, again.

Funny, that's what I almost typed in. I would have probably commented further, but I cut my thumb at work earlier in the day and was reduced to single-hand fumbling.

But yeah, what is it w/ FL?


on edit: removed a paragraph containing a question which pele'sdaughter kindly answered for me.

[junojones]

The two people this Miami man tried to solicit were 16 and 17, which Im sorry to say doesnt come close to raising my ire like say....a CIA wherehouse filled with kidnapped kids circa 1987(finders case) Or a UN cargo ship filled with East Timor child prostitutes(2002)

Yes, surely not as bad, but I do wonder how old the children looked. There's a lot of 'legal' lolita porn produced with girls who are 18 but look much younger, the viewers of such stuff might easily believe the children are far younger (a) the viewers might not be informed of the ages, b) they are inclined to see what they want to see, and they want to see children.) either way, it's grossy illegal and pandering to the worst sensibilities.

I think I originally posted the piece because I found the title to be ironic, sort of a sick oxymoron.

[compared2what?]

Zimmerman free on bond

The guy's facing the rest of his life in prison, as a known pedophile. How can this guy not be considered an imminent threat to disappear? What's $120,000?

Maybe it'll be easier to kill him while he's out?

Could be he knows too much.

About that Balkan smuggling route: As I recall, the stories about Reno Harnish's swift departure from Azerbaijan involved human trafficking to Florida. But I don't think it specified what age of human, or if it did, did not say in so many words that some may have been children.

However, that would be a route that would logically move through Turkey toward the Balkans on its way east, and there is a Turk-Azerbaijan oil pipeline in the works, as well. And...you know. Drugs would come east along those general lines, tool. Plus, as we know, per Sibel Edmonds, nukes pass through Turkey going in the other direction.

Finally, as we also know, weapons, narcotics, and human trafficking go together like a horse and carriage (plus another horse and/or carriage). So I would kind of expect to see all those commodities moving along that corridor toward the Atlantic.

Why they end up in Florida, other than that it is a madhouse of corruption and criminal rivalries, I couldn't say.

[mentalgongfu2]

The guy's facing the rest of his life in prison, as a known pedophile. How can this guy not be considered an imminent threat to disappear? What's $120,000?

I have no intention to defend this individual, knowing nothing more about him or the criminal charges than is posted here, but anyone who appreciates the basic (although not always used) principle in our justice system of "innocent until proven guilty" should also appreciate that the accused is not yet convicted and should not be treated as such. Usually getting bail thru a bondsman requires 10 percent, and $12k would be a very big deal to me. Admittedly, I'm a working class shlub and not on a gov't salary. I don't mean to detract from the rest of the thread, but WE, too, need to check ourselves when we assume the police and media reports are telling the truth simply because it affirms our suspicions.

[brainpanhandler]

I have no intention to defend this individual, knowing nothing more about him or the criminal charges than is posted here, but anyone who appreciates the basic (although not always used) principle in our justice system of "innocent until proven guilty" should also appreciate that the accused is not yet convicted and should not be treated as such. Usually getting bail thru a bondsman requires 10 percent, and $12k would be a very big deal to me. Admittedly, I'm a working class shlub and not on a gov't salary. I don't mean to detract from the rest of the thread, but WE, too, need to check ourselves when we assume the police and media reports are telling the truth simply because it affirms our suspicions.

Agreed, but I think there are circumstances in the american system for which bail is denied. One of those circumstances is when it is believed the accused is likely to run. $120,000 would also be a lot for me, but when weighed against being imprisoned for the rest of one's life as a known pedophile I think that sum would shrink to a pittance. You are of course right to urge caution about jumping to conclusions based on what we can divine from the authorities and the media, however, by that reasoning most of what we conjecture about here on the RI board should be treated with a great deal more caution and reserve than is the norm as none of us is typically on the ground doing actual research with real people in the real world. This guy may well be innocent. If he is, then this is certainly one way to trash his life and reputation and that might be someone's agenda.

I see that the Florida DCF is going to review 13,500 employees' files to see that they all underwent the proper background checks. Why would I believe the results if they are eventually published?

BTW- welcome JJ. Sorry to derail the thread a bit.

[M F Abernathy]

St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
February 3, 2008 Sunday
DCF looks at hiring policy
SECTION: B; Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 1113 words
BY SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER, ALEX LEARY AND JESSICA VANDER VELDE, Times Staff Writers



He was a highly regarded Department of Children and Families spokesman with references in high places.

But the child pornography case against Al Zimmerman has revealed a past that includes charges for drunken driving and grand theft - prompting DCF Secretary Bob Butterworth to review how the agency vets potential employees.

The DCF did not have a policy of fingerprinting potential employees when Zimmerman was hired two years ago, Butterworth said Saturday. So only after state and local law enforcement officials began investigating the recent pornography allegations did they turn up a DUI arrest in Georgia and an outstanding warrant for grand theft in Texas, where Zimmerman worked as a television reporter until 2001.

"We are reviewing our policies to determine, 'Are we doing adequate background checks?'?" Butterworth said.

Details on the previous arrests won't be available until Monday, Butterworth said, but had the agency known of the arrests when Zimmerman applied, "That would have raised a red flag."

On the other hand, he said, "we had other public officers who gave him glowing recommendations, and reporters praised him to me before this. There really weren't any indicators in his background that he would do something like this."

Zimmerman, 40, was charged Friday with eight counts of using a child in a sexual performance, second-degree felonies that could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

He was released Saturday afternoon from the Hillsborough County Jail, where he had been held in lieu of $120,000 bail.

Butterworth fired him Friday.

Excellent references

Zimmerman's affable, outgoing personality garnered him glowing references from law enforcement officials, including future Gov. Charlie Crist, who was attorney general at the time. And after just a year as a regional DCF spokesman, Zimmerman received a stellar evaluation that got him promoted to the state agency's top media relations post, earning $75,000.

But now the people who thought they knew him question their own instincts.

"I felt betrayed," Butterworth said.

"It just blew my socks off," said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley, one of Zimmerman's references for the DCF job. "I was flabbergasted. I thought, 'Well now I can't trust anyone.' Here's a guy who I thought was so nice and friendly, and here it turns out he's a little too friendly."

Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said the investigation began about a month ago when one of the male victims contacted the agency. Investigators in the Tampa police child abuse and sex crimes unit then worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the attorney general's child predator cybercrime unit.

A probable cause affidavit states the crimes occurred between December 2005 and July 2007 in Hillsborough County and between October and this month in Orange County.

Zimmerman offered one of the victims in Orange County money to pose for nude photos and masturbate so that he could create child pornography, according to the affidavit. He has admitted the accusations, investigators say.

They believe one of the victims was under the care of the state at some point. "I would lean toward the person being in the system," Butterworth said, declining to elaborate.

McElroy said there might be more victims in Tampa, and Zimmerman could face additional charges. She said there are no other suspects. "He's the focus of the investigation."

FDLE records show Tampa police arrested him in August 2003 on misdemeanor worthless check charges, but dropped the case.

'Perverts in the Park'

Zimmerman graduated from Syracuse University in 1990 and went to work for WMAZ-TV in Macon, Ga., as a reporter and anchor for the CBS affiliate. In 1995, he moved to the CBS station KENS-TV in San Antonio, Texas, according to his resume.

There, he was remembered for a 1996 piece called "Perverts in the Park."

The segment, shown during that year's November sweeps, included a graphic video of two men engaging in oral sex in a public bathroom. Hundreds of angry viewers called in to complain the footage was inappropriate and should have been better censored.

The piece, the second in a series about park activity, triggered a Federal Communications Commission complaint

In April 2001, Zimmerman got a reporting job at Bay News 9. It was through that job he met Yeakley of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

"We just had a typical guy relationship, nothing outside of work, but you know, sometimes your personalities connect," Yeakley said. "He was just a nice guy."

When called as a reference, Yeakley told DCF officials that Zimmerman is "personable, thorough, upstanding," and noted he does a "great job fostering relationships," according to Zimmerman's personnel file.

Crist, a reference on Zimmerman's 2005 resume, could not be reached. But another reference, former Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin, was shocked.

"This is someone you would never suspect of breaking the law, much less crimes of this nature," said Durkin, now a spokesman for Bright House Networks.

The DCF hired Zimmerman at $50,000 a year and put him to work as a DCF spokesman in Sumter County.

A March 2006 evaluation for his rookie year found Zimmerman "often" exceeded expectations.

"Local reporters trust that he will be open and honest in his response to their inquiries. Although he assumed the role with little or no knowledge of the DCF programs, he has educated himself and developed an understanding of all programs and business processes."

A rising career

DCF later that year promoted him to agency spokesman, based in Tallahassee, where he made $75,686 a year.

Zimmerman moved in January 2007 to a rented house at 218 Sinclair Road, a quiet, tree-lined street in Tallahassee. Interviewed Saturday, neighbors said he was not around much, but they sometimes saw him jogging. Until recently, he had a roommate, also seldom seen.

Next-door neighbor David Anderson and his wife knew something was wrong Thursday evening when a sport utility vehicle pulled up outside the house. Just before 8 p.m., at least 15 FDLE agents went inside the cream-colored house with green trim. Two hours later they left with a computer, monitor and several boxes, Mr. Anderson said.

"They said they had been watching his computer activity for a while," he said.

Zimmerman has a MySpace page, www.myspace.com/alzim, where he last logged in on Monday. He says his age is 36, not 40, and lists his status as "swinger" and sexual orientation as "straight."

Under "Who I'd like to meet," he wrote: "Someone who hates to cuddle afterwards ."

Staff writer Stephanie Garry contributed to this report.

[M F Abernathy]

St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
February 5, 2008 Tuesday
DCF aide met victim on job
SECTION: B; Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 789 words
By MELANIE AVE and Dong-Phuong Nguyen, Times Staff Writers


The former spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Families, now facing child pornography charges, met one of his two male teenage victims through his job, the agency's leader confirmed Monday.

The victim, who was 16 or 17 at the time of the crimes, was in the custody of the DCF when he met Al Zimmerman, who was fired upon his arrest Friday on eight charges of using a child in a sexual performance, DCF Secretary Bob Butterworth said during an afternoon news conference.

"There are indications," Butterworth said, "at least one victim he met through his job."

Butterworth declined to say anything further about the victim, who likely came into the state's supervision after an abuse or neglect complaint was lodged against a parent or guardian.

It's unclear how he met the other teenager.

Authorities suspect Zimmerman - a highly lauded public information officer and former television journalist - was distributing the photographs he took of the two teenagers posing naked and masturbating. His arrest report says he offered the victims money for the photos.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized Zimmerman's home and work computers.

The teenagers, now ages 17 and 18, were 16 and 17 when the crimes happened between December 2005 and Friday. Authorities say Zimmerman admitted the offenses.

Also on Monday, Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said Zimmerman, 40, may have victimized more children, based on interviews with witnesses and victims, one of whom contacted the police last week.

"We believe there are victims that may be embarrassed to come forward because of the sensitive nature of their case," McElroy said. "We want to reassure them that their identity will be protected."

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey said the investigation by his agency, the attorney general and the FBI continues, but he added, at this point, authorities are aware of only two victims.

News of Zimmerman's arrest continues to reverberate across the state, from the top of the DCF to the ranks of reporters who he dealt with daily for stories about the agency. Butterworth said he had no indication his colleague was capable of such offenses.

Zimmerman, who is affable and outgoing, was first hired by the DCF as its spokesman in Citrus, Hernando, Marion, Lake and Sumter counties. He was promoted to the more visible statewide job in Tallahassee after positive evaluations and accolades from reporters and others.

Butterworth said he will not allow "the criminal acts of this one individual" to compromise the integrity of the department.

"We are moving forward and doing great things each and every day to protect the people of this state," Butterworth said.

Butterworth also expressed dismay that Zimmerman's criminal record did not come to light through the hiring process until the child pornography case surfaced. Even though his prior arrests for writing bad checks and driving under the influence may not have kept him from the job, he said they should have been checked out thoroughly.

Zimmerman was hired by the state in 2005, before the November 2006 policy of seeking fingerprints from all new employees, not just those who care for children.

Records show an outstanding Texas warrant exists for Zimmerman for bad checks.

In 2003, Zimmerman was arrested in Tampa on charges of writing bad checks, but the charges were dropped after he paid $433.59 in fines. Another check charge in Texas from 1998 was dismissed. In 1993, he was convicted of driving under the influence in Georgia.

Because of the arrests discovered in Zimmerman's background, Butterworth said the DCF will review all the files of its 13,500 employees hired before the fingerprinting policy was changed to make sure their records are clear.

Zimmerman was released from a Hillsborough County jail on Saturday on $120,000 bail. If convicted of all eight charges, he could get 120 years in prison.

Efforts to reach Zimmerman at his parents' home in a gated Lakeland community were unsuccessful. A reporter's call to their home was not returned.

In related news Monday, an assistant statewide prosecutor asked a Hillsborough judge to revoke Zimmerman's bail. But Circuit Judge Walter Heinrich said the Attorney General's Office must first file a written motion and notify Zimmerman and his attorney.

Monday evening, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office said prosecutors had not yet decided whether to seek a bail rehearing.

McElroy said any teenager who had contact with Zimmerman in any way should contact the Police Department at (813) 231-6130.

Times staff writer Colleen Jenkins contributed to this report. Melanie Ave can be reached at mave@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8813.


======

Palm Beach Post (Florida)
February 3, 2008 Sunday - FINAL EDITION
PORN PROBE NETS DCF WORKER
BYLINE: By JENNIFER SORENTRUE Palm Beach Staff Writer
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 909 words


A Department of Children and Families spokesman was arrested on child pornography charges Friday for allegedly offering at least two teenagers money in exchange for photographing them in sexual acts.

Al Zimmerman, 40, was charged with eight felony counts of using a child in a sexual performance, but Tampa police said Saturday more charges could be filed in the next week. He was released from the Hillsborough County jail on Saturday afternoon after posting $120,000 bond.

At least one of the teenagers involved had ties to the child protection agency, DCF Secretary Bob Butterworth said. Officials said they could not release any information on the link, citing an ongoing investigation.

The incidences occurred as recently as Friday and date to December 2005, according to an arrest report.

The teens were 16 and 17 at the time of at least one of the incidences, and at least one is from Orange County, the report said.

Zimmerman, who worked at the department's Tallahassee headquarters, was put on paid administrative leave Thursday afternoon when Butterworth learned of the law enforcement investigation. He was immediately fired Friday after his arrest.

"Here is an agency that is really trying hard to regain a very good image. Unfortunately, this particular activity hurts the image,'' Butterworth said. ''All of us feel like he absolutely betrayed us."

Zimmerman, who lives in Tallahassee, could not be reached for comment.

He was arrested Friday afternoon in Lakeland, where his parents live. A call to their residence was not returned.

Zimmerman was hired by DCF in March 2005 to be a public information officer for the department's field office in Wildwood. He was transferred in August 2006 to Tallahassee, where he was responsible for answering questions from the media, drafting press releases and putting together a newsletter, said Erin Geraghty, DCF communications director and Zimmerman's former boss. He had no direct access to children, Geraghty said.

As spokesman, Zimmerman earned $75,686 a year.

DCF chief Butterworth said the agency did not conduct an extensive background check on Zimmerman at the time he was hired, and he was not fingerprinted.

Although it was not the department's policy to do criminal background checks for Zimmerman's job classification, it was customary at the time, Butterworth said.

Had they done the check, DCF officials would have found three items that may have put up red flags, Butterworth said.

State records show that Zimmerman was arrested in 2003 on misdemeanor charges for writing a worthless check. The charges were eventually dropped.

He was arrested for driving under the influence about 15 years ago in Georgia, and he may have an outstanding warrant for grand theft in Texas, Butterworth said. The theft was for less than $500.

"If we would have had these three, he may or may not have been hired," Butterworth said. But Butterworth said there was "no indicator that he would have been involved in what he is involved in now."

DCF officials plan to review the agency's background-check policy. The department began enforcing a more extensive policy in August 2006, Butterworth said.

"I want to make sure that it's being done and it's being done systemwide," he said. "I want to go back and make sure that all of our employees have undergone the appropriate investigation and screening."

Before being hired by the agency, Zimmerman worked for Bay News 9, a 24-hour local cable news station in the Tampa Bay area. He also has worked for television stations in Georgia and Texas and is a graduate of Syracuse University.

Gov. Charlie Crist was among five references listed on Zimmerman's résumé when he applied for the DCF job. Crist, who was the state's attorney general at the time, was not one of the references DCF officials called.

A spokeswoman for the governor said Crist knew Zimmerman through his reporting job in Tampa Bay but does not remember being asked to be one of his references.

If convicted, Zimmerman faces up to 120 years in prison.

Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the attorney general's office continue to look for other possible victims. DCF is cooperating with the investigation.

"Every photograph, every image, every lasting impression of a child's sexual abuse perpetuates this horrible crime over and over again," Attorney General Bill McCollum said in a statement. "CyberCrime knows no boundaries, targets all demographics, and should never fail to galvanize us into action to protect our children from these predators."

Zimmerman's arrest is another black eye for DCF, which has faced criticism since 2002, when it was discovered that a Miami investigator had lied about visiting the foster parents of 4-year-old Rilya Wilson. The girl had been missing for a year and has never been found.

More recently, former Secretary Lucy Hadi resigned after being found in contempt of court for not moving inmates to state hospitals if they were incompetent to stand trial. Before that, Jerry Regier left the position after an investigation showed he accepted favors from contractors. Regier had replaced Kathleen Kearney, who resigned after Wilson disappeared.

Last year, a child protection task force criticized DCF officials because a 2-year-old foster girl was missing for four months before DCF notified police to begin searching for her.

Staff writer Kelly Wolfe, researcher Niels Heimeriks and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

~jennifer_sorentrue@pbpost.com

+++++++++



Is this the same Bill McCollum who used to be a Republican congressman from Florida? If it is, expect a very superficial 'investigation' of this incident.

[theeKultleeder]

Yeah, we get it.

All you pervs obsessed with child-sex are either in on it, or have a strong compulsion to participate.

Oh yeah - I mean YOU.

[Jeff]

tKl, that comment's uncalled for and frankly outrageous. Please cool the flaming ad hominem.

[Avalon]

"It just blew my socks off," said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley, one of Zimmerman's references for the DCF job. "I was flabbergasted. I thought, 'Well now I can't trust anyone.' Here's a guy who I thought was so nice and friendly, and here it turns out he's a little too friendly."

People have a really hard time understanding that sex offenders can be friendly, witty, helpful, and charming in social situations. That's one of the major hurdles they have to get over in order to understand what's going on.

[chiggerbit]

http://tinyurl.com/25xz8a


Floridians were shocked last week when police announced that the spokesman for the state's Department of Children and Families had been arrested and charged with peddling child pornography. But buried in news accounts of the case was a curious detail: the official in question had listed the state's current Republican Governor, Charlie Crist, as a reference when he applied for his post in 2005.


Gov. Crist returned to the news as the nation awaited the outcome of the Republican presidential primary in Florida. The Sunshine State's governor's endorsement of Sen. John McCain late in the campaign may have helped push McCain across the finish line to take the state's 57 delegates. Crist's endorsement also contributed to ending the campaign of Rudy Giuliani, who had heavily courted the governor's thumbs up.

Just after the Florida electoral contest, Tampa Bay police announced the arrest of Al Zimmerman, the spokesman for the state's Department of Children and Families. Zimmerman, a former TV reporter, was charged with 8 child pornography counts after taking photos of two underage boys performing sexual acts. Some evidence indicates that he may have met one of the boys on the job, and that he may have had additional victims. He could face up to 120 years in jail.

While the news prompted state officials to say they were reviewing the personnel files of state employees for red flags, Zimmerman appeared to have come highly recommended when he was appointed to his post in 2005. Among the five references he listed, one of them was Crist, then the state Attorney General under Gov. Jeb Bush.

Crist's office has implied that the governor had little direct connection to Zimmerman, and that the listing of top state officials as references was a routine matter.

An AP report noted that the governor, "does not recall authorizing a recommendation for Zimmerman, but added that he often is asked to give them, spokeswoman Erin Isaac said Sunday."

But according to some earlier accounts, Crist was directly aware of Zimmerman and his work as on-air talent for a Tampa-area TV station.

"A spokeswoman for the governor said Crist knew Zimmerman through his reporting job in Tampa Bay but does not remember being asked to be one of his references," according to a Sunday report in the Palm Beach Post.

Regardless of how well Zimmerman and Crist knew one another, state officials made it clear that Crist was never formally contacted prior to the spokesman's hiring in 2005.

Prior to his appointment as a spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Families, Zimmerman appears to have had a colorful past. News reports indicated that he faced an outstanding warrant in Texas for theft. Additionally, he was arrested on DUI charges in Georgia in the 1990s. In 2003, he was arrested for passing a bad check in Florida, but the case was dropped.

As a reporter, Zimmerman also made waves. According to the Tampa Tribune, a report that Zimmerman completed called "Perverts in the Park" provoked controversy when it aired in Texas in 1996. The TV report focused on a public restroom in a park in San Antonio where gay men met for trysts. And when the news item was broadcast, Zimmerman forgot to digitally blur explicit sexual images recorded with a hidden camera.


It also appears that Zimmerman may have contemplated a career in online pornography as far back as the 1990s. News reports indicate that he and his brother bought the URL, "boxersorbriefs.com," but never began using it.

While Zimmerman appears to have engaged in illicit activity online, he also created a public trail that might have exposed him to controversy had it been uncovered prior to the his arrest. On his MySpace profile, Zimmerman describes himself as not only a "Government Employee," but also as a "Swinger." He remarks that he's looking for "Someone who hates to cuddle afterwards," as well as, "a friend that likes to pay for everything."

The profile furthermore lists Zimmerman as straight, but a friend joked in his comments section that he was gay, prompting another friend to remark, "if we all stopped commenting on everyone's sexual persuasion, maybe the press wouldn't have anything to report."

[brainpanhandler]

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/feb/13 ... nied-bail/

Ex-DCF Official Seen As Risk, Denied Bail


By THOMAS W. KRAUSE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2008

TAMPA - It came down to a matter of trust.

A federal magistrate Tuesday denied bail for former Department of Children & Families spokesman Al Zimmerman.

Zimmerman was arrested Monday on a federal charge of producing child pornography. On Feb. 1, he was arrested on state charges of using a child for sexual performance. DCF fired him after his first arrest.

Prosecutors said he met at least one of his teenage victims through his job and he used that position to entice troubled teenage boys with alcohol and money.

The mission statement of DCF, Magistrate Mark Pizzo said, is to protect the vulnerable.

"The bail format is reduced to one word - trust," Pizzo said in court Tuesday. The risks Zimmerman took through his profession show a lack of trust, Pizzo said.

Prosecutors also contend Zimmerman asked DCF colleague and sex partner Michael Hernandez to get rid of evidence by throwing away his home computer and wiping clean his laptop. Hernandez was fired along with Zimmerman, DCF officials said.

Ties To The Community

In an attempt to persuade Pizzo to grant bail, Zimmerman's lawyer, Brian Albritton, said Zimmerman has strong ties to the community. He also said Zimmerman had no problems appearing in court during previous criminal proceedings.

Zimmerman had three previous arrests on charges of writing bad checks and one previous charge of driving under the influence. His lawyer said Zimmerman was convicted on the DUI charge, but the check charges were all dismissed.

Pizzo, however, corrected Albritton. He said Zimmerman was citied three times for failing to appear in court on the previous charges and still has an outstanding warrant in Texas from one of the bad check charges.

Pizzo said, by law, bail has two purposes: to make sure the defendant shows up for court and to ensure the defendant will not commit another crime if released before the trial. He said he can take into account the nature of the charges and he does not take the production of child pornography lightly.

Throughout the proceeding, Zimmerman paid close attention, often holding his chin in his hand. He expressed little emotion.

Albritton called Zimmerman's mother to the witness stand to help prove that Zimmerman has strong ties to the community and was not a flight risk.

Beverly Zimmerman testified that she has lived in Lakeland for more than 45 years. Her children were born and raised there.

Zimmerman is exceptionally close to his family, she testified. Even when living in Tallahassee and working for DCF, he would call home every night or two to check in.

Al Zimmerman has lived with them since his Feb. 1 arrest. In that case, he was released on $120,000 bail.

Beverly Zimmerman testified that she and her husband secured the bail with their house and were willing to do so again. They said they hoped he could continue to live with them while he awaits trial.

"He has already helped us out a great deal," she said. "We enjoy having him there."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Murphy-Davis called to the witness stand an investigator for the Florida Attorney General's Office. Michael Baute testified that Zimmerman has made attempts to destroy evidence.

Before authorities could serve a search warrant on Zimmerman's Tallahassee home, Zimmerman realized that he was under investigation.

Evidence Destroyed

Baute testified that Zimmerman called a DCF technology worker, Hernandez, and asked him to go to his home, take his home computer and destroy it. He also asked Hernandez to wipe clean the hard drive on his DCF-issued computer, Baute testified; he told him it was because authorities were looking for child pornography.

Baute testified that Hernandez was a co-worker and friend of Zimmerman's who had become his lover.

Two days after Hernandez discarded Zimmerman's home computer in a dentist's office trash bin, Zimmerman asked him to go by his home to see whether law enforcement was there. Baute testified that when Hernandez pulled into the driveway, an officer followed him. Hernandez was on the phone with Zimmerman at the time and warned him about the officer, Baute said.

Hernandez, Baute testified, showed authorities the trash bin but it had already been emptied.

Current DCF spokeswoman Erin Geraghty said Hernandez had worked for DCF since 2001, when he was still in high school. He had passed a background check.

Federal prosecutors have 30 days to bring Zimmerman before a grand jury for possible indictment. They would have 70 days after an indictment to bring him to trial, unless he waives his right to a speedy trial.

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

[NavnDansk]

Marilyn Monroe seemed to have quite a few abusive foster care guardians, seems that child protective services has been incompetent or worse for quite a while.