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Paul Antinori
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Paul Antinori (Born November 26, 1934) in Tampa, Florida is a trial lawyer with over 50 years experience in both Federal and State Trial and Appellate courts across the United States. He is licensed to practice in Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. He is the author of a book titled “A Modest Proposal to Amend the U.S. Constitution” and founder of a moment for a Constitutional Convention through a website petition. The website is a compilation of Constitutional Essays, videos and media interviews throughout the United States on the need to amend the U.S. Constitution. Paul Antinori was elected to the office of State Attorney in 1964 for the 13th Judicial Circuit and prosecuted many high profile controversial cases; he was the youngest State Attorney at the age of 29. Beginning in 2010, he actively started a movement to convene a Constitutional Convention to amend the Constitution with discrete changes to certain key clauses in order to reduce the size of the federal government and restore the doctrine of Federalism. Education Paul graduated from Georgetown Law School in 1959. There he was a member of the National Moot Court Team. Career Paul has over 50 years trial lawyer experience in criminal and civil law. He is Bar certified to practice law in Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. He has argued notable cases in both Federal and State Trial and Appellate courts across the United States. In his early career he specialized in criminal law, including capital crimes, public corruption and serious felonies; later transforming his practice into civil litigation and maritime law. In 1964 he was elected to the office of State Attorney for the 13th Circuit of Florida. By special appointment of Governor Claude Kirk, Antinori personally steered several Grand Jury investigations of public corruption throughout Florida. He was admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1971. He has tried complex criminal and civil cases in Federal Courts in Tampa, FL, Boston, MA, Philadelphia, PA and San Francisco, CA. Cases State of Florida vs. Red Robertson - 1962 Antinori’s career took him into the public spotlight in 1962 when he successfully defended a well known Tampa Newspaper Photographer, Red Robertson, who was charged with first degree murder, in which the state of Florida was asking for the death penalty. This was his first highly publicized murder case as a young defense attorney. Red Robertson was accused of shooting a 72 year old man named James Donahue, who was a former advertiser. Robertson claimed he shot the man in self defense, after the 300 pound man began beating him, causing what he thought to be a heart attack. On May 20, 1962 a jury acquitted Robertson on all charges. This case made Paul Antinori a well recognized trial lawyer in the Florida community. State of Florida vs. Eugene Licata - 1962 In another highly publicized case in 1962 public official Eugene Licata was charged with bribery, and Antinori was his defense lawyer. Licata was accused of soliciting and accepting bribes from prospective barbers. The charges led him to be suspended by Gov. Farris Bryant from the Florida Barbers Sanitary Commission. The Florida Senate refused to confirm the suspension of Licata pending the outcome of this trial. The barbers were said to have paid Licata $150.00 each in exchange, Licata would help prospective barbers successfully pass state tests for master barbers. Licata faced three counts of bribery upon the start of his trial. The three day trial took place in Hillsborough County, FL. The Jury found Licata not guilty on all charges. State of Florida vs. Floyd Cox - 1961 In 1961 Floyd Cox, son of Morris Cox who owned one of the most reputable Chrysler Dealerships in Bradenton, FL.; was shot by his son after an argument erupted. Floyd shot his father in the stomach during the altercation. The argument started when Morris Cox accused Floyd of losing keys to one of his cars. The fight took place right at Morris’s dealership. Morris Cox was a wealthy, well respected figure in the community; the incident shocked many of those who lived in the area. Floyd was indicted by the Grand Jury on charges of assault with the intent to commit murder and aggravated assault. Paul Antinori was the defending lawyer. During the trial, Circuit Judge Robert Hensley granted an amendment of charges for Floyd Cox, dropping his two charges of assault with the intent to commit murder and aggravated assault to second degree aggravated assault. Antinori called key character witnesses to the stand to testify on behalf of Floyd, including his mother Ruth Cox, Rev. Fred Kyle, Dr. Irving Hall, Sheriff Ken Gross and Dr. John Yelivington, as well as his younger brother. His younger brother and other workers on the lot stated that they did not see him shove his father until Morris grabbed Floyd and threatened to stab him. The Jury returned a verdict of “Not Guilty” in the Floyd Cox case, in which he was released immediately. The judge however found Floyd in contempt of court for using profanity. State of Florida vs. Ruth Cox - 1962 In 1962 Ruth Cox, champion golfer, a well known socialite in Bradenton, FL, sister of the famous St. Louis Cardinals Superstar Jerome “Dizzy” Dean, and wife of Morris Cox was indicted by a Grand Jury and charged with aggravated assault for the shooting of her former husband and his mistress Opal when they came to confront her in her home to ask for a divorce. Upon entering her home, Ruth was enraged and felt threatened so she grabbed a pistol and shot her husband and Opal. Morris Cox owned a prestigious Chrysler Dealership in Bradenton, Florida and was also well off and rich. Antinori defended Cox who pled not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. She claimed she shot both Morris and Opal in self defense when they came to her home. She testified that she just knew they were there to kill her. Antinori called a battery of psychiatrists to testify to her mental state. Dr. Louis Tsavaris diagnosed Cox with borderline schizophrenia. He believed she had this condition prior to 1950. He also called her sons Floyd and Earl to testify on her behalf as well, stating the mental condition of their mother over the years. The Jury returned a verdict of not guilty after only an hour of deliberation. United States of America vs. Shoup Voting Machine Corporation John Womack Et Al - 1972 In 1972 a scandal of epic proportions rocked the Tampa Bay area in what many of the locals say was the “Scandal of the Century”. The scandal involved John Womack, a corporate officer for the Shoup Voting Machine Company, and three Hillsborough County Commissioners, all of which were indicted by the Federal Grand Jury in Philadelphia, PA under Rico Conspiracy for paying bribes to the public officials of Hillsborough County Florida. Shoup Voting Machines were one of the most recognizable machines used for voting throughout the 70s and 80s. According to witnesses, Womack sold 200 new voting machines to Hillsborough County for $2,653.00 each, on the recommendation of the Election’s Board. The County Commissioners made the purchase. These machines were purchased by John Womack for $25.00 each. He was a principal representative for the Shoup Voting Machine Company A special prosecutor, US Attorney Robert Ozer from Washington D.C. was appointed to prosecute John Womack and other conspirators. Paul Antinori was his defense attorney for John Womack. The jury trial was conducted in Philadelphia, PA where Womack was the principal defendant. The trial would last 4 weeks in Philadelphia, where Antinori successfully defended Womack, he was acquitted on all 4 counts of bribery of a Public Official. Following his trial, Womack was later prosecuted by the State of Florida for perjury, that case was moved to Palm Beach County, and Paul Antinori once again defended Womack. He was again acquitted of the state charges. The case did leave casualties as Martin Schott, the President of “Shoup Voting Machine Company” pled guilty and was sentenced accordingly. Ronald Budd, the County Elections Board Chairman also resigned his office and was a key government witness at the trial. State of Florida vs. Norman Cannella - 1979 In the late 70s Paul Antinori was faced with defending another high profile case. This time it was Norman Cannella, who was the Chief Assistant State Attorney for E. J. Salctnes. He was indicted by a Grand Jury and charged with taking bribes. The trial had one unusual twist. After the end of the Government’s case against Norman Cannella, Antinori made a motion to Chief Justice of the District Court, Judge Terrell Hodges to acquit Norman Cannella. After hearing the testimony from the government, Judge Terrell Hodges granted the motion and dismissed all charges against Norman Cannella. He was immediately released walking out of the court a free man. State of Florida vs. Dr. Louis Tsavaris - 1980 In 1980 one of Tampa’s most famous and respected Psychiatrists in the 70s and 80s Dr. Louis Tsavaris, who also was a key witness in the Ruth Cox case, was indicted and charged with 1st degree murder. He was accused of strangling to death one of his patients whom he was involved with a romantic liaison with. His defense was she fractured the larynx bone while having rough sex with Dr. Tsavaris, and that her death was not deliberate. Paul Antinori was hired as his defense council, and together they had to try the case in front of Chief Justice Harry Lee Cole, who at the time was known as the “Hanging Judge”. To help defend Tsavaris, Antinori recruited a star witness; a well respected pathologist from Scotland Yarde, who made the trip from England. The jury found Dr. Tsavaris guilty but on a lesser charge of manslaughter. Judge Harry Lee Cole sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Egypt Lake Residents vs. Tampa Electric - 2003 In 2003 Antinori received national attention when he took on a case pro bono. The case was to stop Tampa Electric Company from building giant 125 foot power transmission poles through the Egypt Lake community. The community was begging for help, but most attorneys would not take the case. They simply wanted the poles removed and future pole construction to stop. Antinori managed to convince a judge not to throw out the case demanding Tampa Electric remove the poles from the Egypt Lake Community. With the help of then Hillsborough County Commissioner and now US Congresswoman Cathy Castor, Antinori devised a compromise that would please his 75 residents he represents, the county and Tampa Electric. The end result was Antinori won a lucrative financial settlement for each of the homeowner. The amicable settlement of the case was a huge victory for both Antinori and the homeowners of Egypt Lake. The court refused to order removal of the power transmission poles, but allowed the case to proceed for compensatory damages resulting from devaluation of homeowner’s properties along the pole line. State Attorney In 1964 Antinori ran for and was elected State Attorney for the 13th Circuit Court of Florida. He ran against the incumbent State Attorney Paul Johnson. It was a tight race in which Antinori won, but the results were challenged and recounted. The win was deemed the “rebellion of the people”, citizens who were tired of Johnson’s power policies. Antinori voiced his opposition to the death penalty while running for office. He was also appointed by the Governor of Florida during his tenure as State Attorney as Special Prosecutor in Charge of Grand Jury Investigations throughout the state of Florida. State of Florida vs. Ray and Janet Babson While he was State Attorney, Antinori’s opposition to the death penalty immediately led to controversy in a high profile case involving the death of a police officer. Officer Krikava was shot while interrupting a burglary in progress at an exclusive dress shop on Dale Mabry Hwy by Ray and Janet Babson. This was the first case Antinori prosecuted as State Attorney, he was barely sworn in before this came across his desk. The newspapers and community were demanding the death penalty. In Antinori’s view Florida procedural law placed the prerogative of determining the death sentence in capital cases with the jury, leaving the prosecutor the task of securing the guilty verdict. The death penalty was still on the table as punishment for the Babson’s who were convicted of 1st degree murder. The jury returned a verdict of life in prison by a narrow margin. Antinori never pushed for the death penalty during the trial, he decided to leave that up to jury to decide. It created significant public and news journal backlash because a police officer was killed. State of Florida vs. Sosa/Green - 1965 In one of Tampa’s most sensational murder cases, Antinori prosecuted the son of Mr. and Mrs. Martinez, Jose Manuel Sosa who hired a hit man, Richard Austin Green to kill both his parents. The Martinez family owned and operated a well known bakery in Tampa and were well respected and loved within the community. Do to the premeditated nature and cold bloodedness of the murders, Antinori changed his position on the death penalty; and asked the jury for the ultimate penalty in this case, death by electric chair. Antinori successfully prosecuted the case and obtained a sentence of death by both men. Both men were granted an appeal, and went on trial a second time. Because of excessive publicity, the venue was transferred to Orlando. This time the jury found them guilty of 1st degree murder as well, but they gave them mercy and sentenced them to life in prison without parole. Both men died in prison. The reduced sentence came again, by a slight margin, a margin that spared the life of these two convicted murders. State of Florida vs. Michael Wade - 1966 In September 1966, 18 year old Michael Wilbur Wade was indicted by Grand Jury and brought to trial on 1st degree murder of 16 year old Barbara Trombly. State Attorney Paul Antinori was the prosecutor in the case. Trombly’s body was found in a secluded section near Kennedy Boulevard. It appeared she had been sexually assaulted with her pants to her ankles and her blouse up around her shoulders. The parties met at a popular dance club in North Tampa. Wade testified he left her at the dance, and she was alive at that time. Her body was staged to look like she was sexually assaulted, but the coroner’s report stated otherwise. The jury convicted Michael Wade of 1st Degree Murder and recommended mercy. He was sentenced to life in prison. State of Florida vs. Crockett Farnell - 1966 This case was probably the highlight of Antinori’s prosecuting career. In 1966 Hillsborough County School Superintendent Crockett Farnell was charged with grand larceny and embezzlement. The charges stem from personal use of school supplies and materials. Farnell was connected to some of the highest ranked persons in the State Government - some of whom personally appeared to plea for leniency at the sentencing hearing - and was respected ex-football coach. Prosecuting this case could have been political suicide for State Attorney Paul Antinori, yet he made it his mission to personally prosecute Farnell, playing no favorites because he held public office. Following the Grand Jury’s indictment, Florida Governor Haydon Burns suspended Farnell and replaced him with Calvert Craig. His accomplice, James Johnson was said to have transported building supplies and workers during school hours to Camp Oconee, a camp owned and operated by Farnell. The theft of materials and supplies from the school board never happened in one large sum, rather over a period of 10 years on a small scale. Antinori decided to try each defendant separately, Farnell was first and Johnson did not testify against Farnell. In December1966, Farnell was convicted on the counts of embezzlement and grand larceny, and was suspended from office. Although the conviction was later reversed on appeal the case was a victory for State Attorney Paul Antinori. He never returned to the office of School Superintendent. Later Governor Claude Kirk appointed Antinori as a special prosecutor in charge of Grand Jury Investigation of Woodrow J. Darden, School Superintendent of Brevard County Florida who was indicted, tried and convicted by a jury in Brevard County and removed from office in 1967. Bid for Congress In 1968 Paul Antinori challenged third term incumbent Sam Gibbons. Congressman Gibbons served on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in Congress and was a close ally to President London B. Johnson. Antinori’s bid for the seat was unsuccessful in a hard fought election. Antinori ran his campaign in opposition to the liberal policies of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” and the dovish policies toward the Viet Nam War. The Congressional race was his last involvement in politics for Antinori and he pursued the legal profession exclusively after that point. Movement to Amend the U.S. Constitution Antinori has embarked on an aggressive movement to modify four specific clauses in the constitution by way of a “Constitutional Convention” to be called by 2/3 of the states of the union. Antinori proposes to amend four key clauses in the Constitution which include the General Welfare Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, the Commerce Clause and the Supremacy Clause. These clauses are the fountain head source of big government. From these clauses the Federal Government regulates and spends public monies to excess. The Constitutional Convention is being called to reduce the size of the Federal Government. The movement to amend the Constitution is offered as a permanent solution for the calamitous state of affairs confronting the nation including an unsustainable national debt, slow economic growth rate, high unemployment, fiscal imbalance, and loss of personal freedoms and liberties. In addition Antinori charges that big government produces social consequences which are undesirable to a majority of Americans. He maintains that the “corruptive expansion” of the provisions of those clauses over the years beginning in 1937 by the supreme court, with the complicity of the Presidents and Congress, have allowed the federal government to exceed its powers originally limited under the Constitution. To start this movement, Paul Antinori wrote a book titled “A Modest Proposal to Amend the U.S. Constitution”. The book stands as a guide to educate and inform American citizens regarding the U.S. Constitution and how it has been corrupted over the years. The book offers a solution of a Constitutional Convention to amend the Constitution. In addition to the book, Antinori has published several series of videos and essays that provide a detailed argument in favor of a Constitutional Convention and a need to amend the specific clauses blamed for big government namely the Commerce Clause, the Spending Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause and the Supremacy Clause. He states that health care, insurance, welfare, benefits for the poor, the sick and the elderly, education, law enforcement, moral conduct, worker safety, wages, prices, production, manufacturing, pollution, mining, agriculture, product quality, tort law and more are, for the most part, constitutionally are the responsibility of the States under the 10th Amendment, not Washington D.C. In his book Antinori analyzes the Constitutionality of current Federal laws coming out of Washington such as The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, better known as “Obamacare”, Cap and Trade Provisions, environmental regulations, immigration laws and entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. He discusses the Constitutional issues with regard to these policies in the book. His plan for accomplishing this mission is a carefully worded Petition to be sent to the State Legislators by citizens in all the states. The amendment process according to Article V of the U.S. Constitution states that to call a Constitutional Convention, two-thirds (33) states would have to apply to the Congress to call a Constitutional Convention to propose amendments. Proposals to amend the Constitution would be submitted to all the States and required ratification by three-fourths of the states (38). The movement is gaining momentum as citizens in several states have already submitted petitions calling for a convention. Paul has appeared on National TV and radio shows talking about his movement and gaining exposure for the task at hand. ADD REF Chamber of Commerce and TEA Party Meeting Paul has been invited as a guest speaker by groups and organizations to address his movement for a Constitutional Convention. Media A Modest Proposal to Amend the U.S. Constitution; Published 2010 by Ludvik Books ISBN: 978-0-615-38415-3 Written by Paul Antinori 
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