Florida prosecutors get to work clearing convictions in crack entrapment cases

Rafael Olmeda, South Florida Sun Sentinel on Jan 3, 2025

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The lawbreakers were easy enough to find. They came looking to buy crack cocaine from undercover officers in the late 1980s and early ’90s, drugs that were manufactured by the cops themselves in what seemed at the time to be an efficient way of dealing with the scourge of rampant illegal drug use.

The courts would eventually come to the realization that there was illegal conduct on both sides of those transactions, but not before thousands of addicts were rounded up and thrown in prison, their criminal records forever stained with the label of convicted felon.

“As the chief law enforcement officer for Broward County, I find the actions of my predecessor to be a miscarriage of justice,” said Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, acknowledging his agency’s role in the scandal. “Law enforcement officials must never become so desperate in our pursuit to apprehend criminals that we compromise our own integrity; moreover, we must never intentionally create situations whereas we ourselves are violating the rights of the people we serve — even if they are criminals.”

The Broward State Attorney’s Office announced last month that it will unilaterally identify the hundreds and possibly thousands of tainted cases and seek to remove the arrests and convictions from the records of those caught in the entrapment.

State Attorney Harold Pryor called it a matter of correcting a mass injustice. The cases were invalidated in 1993, but the convictions were never formally vacated, meaning they could still be used to keep people from voting, finding work and getting a place to live.

The records of the arrests are old enough that the state no longer has a legal obligation to retain them.

“I am of the opinion that the state has an ethical duty and obligation to correct this injustice before destruction (of old records) is initiated,” Pryor wrote in a letter to Tony before going public with the case-clearing plan.

In the initial announcement, the State Attorney’s Office said those affected did not need to contact prosecutors about their cases, promising to review the records and file the documents needed to vacate the arrests and convictions. Those who believe they are affected can call 954-831-6543 or email casereview@browardsao.com, but all the cases will be identified and cleared regardless of whether the office is contacted.

As many as 2,600 cases could be affected, according to a State Attorney’s Office estimate.

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