|
Former Judge Richard K. McCarthy of Clearwater, FL; celebrated drunk
During his tenure on the bench in Clearwater, Judge Richard K. McCarthy was charged with the following misconduct by the Judicial Commission.
Over a period of several years, Dick engaged in a course of customary conduct whereby he frequented local bars, namely the Grant Bar or Skelly’s Place, during and after court business hours to consume alcohol.
Dick’s favorite drink was a “Perfect Manhattan,” which is made up of 3-4 ounces of whiskey and a ½ ounce of sweet and dry vermouth.
Dick repeatedly screwed the taxpayers by boozing it up on court time. Here are a few examples:
-
At Dick’s invitation, Maxine Hobson met with him at Grant’s Bar between 2:00 – 3:30 pm. While there, Dick drank 3-4 Perfect Manhattans. Sometime between 4:00 and 6:00 pm, while still at Grant’s Bar, Dick made unsolicited, physical contact with Ms. Hobson.
-
Robert Johns, Dick’s former father-in-law, entered Grant’s Bar at about 2:00 pm. Dick arrived at about 2:15, sat at the end of the bar and offered to buy Johns a drink. After consuming 1-3 Perfect Manhattans, Dick got into an argument with Mr. Johns. During the argument, Dick called Mr. Johns’ daughter a “whore.” (That’d be Dick’s wife.)
-
After boozing it up at the Happy Day Lounge, Dick side-swiped another car and then left the scene of the accident.
-
Dick entered Grant’s Bar and began to booze it up. At 6:00 pm, Dick’s girlfriend arrived and began drinking. Dick then left the bar for about an hour and upon returning ordered more booze; however, the bartender refused because he was drunk. Dick became angry and said, “Wait until you need something.” (A ticket fixed?)
-
At about noon, Dick and a female left the courthouse and went to Skelly’s place; had 3 drinks and returned to the court with the female at 1:15. He then left the courthouse at 1:35 am and returned to Skelly’s and consumed 7 more drinks.
-
At about 11:45 am, Dick left the court and went to Skelly’s and had 3 drinks. At 1:15 he went back to the court; however, before leaving he told the bartender to leave his drink on the bar because he would be back to finish it.
-
At about 12: 10 pm, Dick and his secretary left the court and went to Skelly’s. Dick drank 3 Manhattans between 12:15 and 1:40 pm.
Commission Findings
The evidence proved that Dick repeatedly drank to the point of extreme intoxication in bars close to the court, often during normal working hours when taxpayers reasonably expected he would be working.
Dick was aggressive, confrontational, and abusive, resulting, in a fistfight on one occasion. Local cops were called on more than one occasion requiring them to make decisions on whether to charge a judge before whom they regularly appeared. (And of course they didn’t because Dick was held to a lower standard of conduct!)
|
