Source: Capellini's Motion to Dismiss Denied

That was quick. Here we expected to wait two weeks for Broward Circuit Court Judge Dale Cohen to rule on the motion to dismiss felony corruption charges against former Deerfield Beach Mayor Al Capellini -- and now comes word from a well-placed source that Cohen will deny that motion.Having learned...

By Thomas Francis

September 9, 2009

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That was quick. Here we expected to wait two weeks for Broward Circuit Court Judge Dale Cohen to rule on the motion to dismiss felony corruption charges against former Deerfield Beach Mayor Al Capellini -- and now comes word from a well-placed source that Cohen will deny that motion.

Having learned this after the business day, we'll have to wait till tomorrow for confirmation, but our source is in a position to report reliably on this.

If it's true, it means that the Broward State Attorney's Office can drive a hard bargain in the plea negotiations. It puts Capellini in a tight spot: Should he take the plea, rotten though it may be, at least to spare himself from jail time? Or does he shoot for the moon, trusting his megastar lawyer, David Bogenschutz, to persuade a jury that Capellini had no criminal intent with his double dealings on the Deerfield Park Professional Center, where the then-mayor worked privately as the project's engineer and publicly to win its approval with the City Commission, a story broken by this here paper, courtesy Bob Norman.

Here's a little legal advice Juice will offer at a considerable discount from what Al Cap's paying Bogenschutz: Take the deal.

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