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This is the third installment of a seven-part investigative series into Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, a man who built his career on lies, violence, and manipulation. The series charts Tony’s misdeeds from the streets of Philadelphia to the most powerful political office in South Florida.
PART THREE
“He’s living a lie. He’s misusing his public office. And he’s benefiting, clearly.” -Jim Waldman, Florida Commission on Ethics member, former Broward legislator, and Coconut Creek official.
According to FDLE, "a cop can lose state certification for lying on a law enforcement application or making some other false statement, which is considered a 'moral character violation' " in Florida.
If this were the case, Greg Tony should never have been allowed to wear a badge. When he applied to the Tallahassee Police Department in 2004, Tony admitted that he once used LSD. His application was rejected due to the disclosure. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Applying to the Coral Springs Police Department (CSPD) the following year, Tony was asked to answer on his application whether or not he had ever used hallucinogens. He answered ‘No.’ He also answered that he had never been arrested.
The CSPD conducted a Computer Voice Stress Analyzer (CVSA) exam on Tony. The screening is an attempt to reveal past deception. It analyzes voice frequency to detect inaudible voice vibrations that occur under stress. Increased vibration indicates a potentially untruthful answer.
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel:
In preparation for his lie-detector (CVSA) test, Tony replied no to all of these questions:
Had law enforcement ever been called because of something he was involved in?
Had he ever caused the death of another person?
Had he ever been in a fight that involved a weapon?
Had law enforcement ever questioned him as a suspect in an investigation?
Had he ever been arrested or charged, even if the charges were dropped, sealed, expunged, or he was found not guilty?
Had he ever used a hallucinogenic drug?
When asked about the most serious thing he had ever done in his life, he responded “fighting.”
Then, during 31 questions during his voice stress test, he made similar omissions. Tony said no to direct questions about whether he had ever used hallucinogens, falsified any information on his application or ever been arrested or detained.
Knowing [what we know] now, I would not have hired him,” Former CSPD Chief Duncan Foster recalled. “All things being equal, there are more qualified candidates who did not have involvement with the criminal justice system to the extent that he did.”
The FDLE investigated the deceptions. They were eventually dismissed.
“Although it appears that Tony knowingly and willfully [misled] public servants in the performance of their official duties by making false statements in writing on his official applications (regarding his traffic citation, drug use and arrest history) ... a criminal prosecution of these actions would be negated” by the Florida statute of limitations, FDLE agent Keith Riddick wrote in a memo.
When petitioning for sheriff appointment in 2019, Tony lied to the governor’s face about these and a litany of other serious disqualifiers. The only document Tony provided to the governor’s office while stating his case to be sheriff was a one-page biography. The page, of course, omitted the 1993 murder and subsequent arrest, his history of drug use, his numerous traffic violations, and his falsified applications.
This, and more, came out soon after Tony took his oath of office. Ironically, Tony was swearing to “well and faithfully perform the duties of sheriff” while actively concealing his criminal history from the person who appointed him, making the oath itself fraudulent from the moment he raised his right hand.
Governor DeSantis had backed himself into a corner. Tony had come recommended by Andrew Pollack. Though Pollack had no law enforcement background, he had political capital. His daughter, Meadow, had been tragically murdered in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) High School shooting. He had the ear of DeSantis and had a gym buddy with law enforcement experience—Greg Tony. Tony later claimed he didn’t want to be sheriff, that Pollack had urged him.
“This man (Pollack) called me and asked me to take this position,” Tony said at this year’s MSD remembrance. “And, I told him twice I didn’t want it.”
Tony claims that he ultimately relented. He did it only for the people. Nothing could be further from the truth. During the same ceremony, Pollack said Tony first reached out to him after the tragedy, asking how he could help and what he could do.
Tony attempts to appear as the unwilling savior instead of the unrelenting opportunist. Yet, Governor DeSantis continues to praise the wayward sheriff. This baffling dynamic leaves any serious observer wondering who holds the leverage in their professional relationship.
The Story Continues in Part Four: Greg Tony continues his pattern of deception, using the sheriff’s office for self-promotion and enrichment. From cronyism to taxpayer abuse, there is nothing Tony believes he can’t get away with.
This investigation is built on court records, police reports, interviews with current and former law enforcement officials, public records, and extensive newspaper coverage of Gregory Tony's corruption. Some juvenile records referenced in this series appear to have been sealed or destroyed, raising additional questions about Tony’s past that remain unanswered.
