Ex-Michigan judge slain by son in Florida, police say

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — The son of a disgraced former Michigan judge is accused of killing his father and dumping the body on an abandoned golf course near his Florida home.

Investigators aren’t saying much about the death of James “Skip” Scandirito, 75, who resigned a judgeship in Macomb County, Michigan, in 2000 in the face of sexual misconduct charges. But they’ve arrested his only child, James Anthony “Jimmy” Scandirito, 49, and charged him with murder.

The SunSentinel reports police went to the elder Scandirito’s Boca Raton home on April 1 after his son reported him missing. Detectives began searching for the man, while noting inconsistencies in information provided by the son.

Scandirito’s body was found April 4 on the site of the Ocean Breeze Golf Club, where the former judge used to work in the pro shop.

The son was arrested April 9 when an Alachua County Sheriff’s deputy spotted a Toyota Prius on Interstate 75 near Gainesville. The deputy stopped the driver for a stolen license plate and discovered he was wanted on a warrant from Palm Beach County.

Detectives from Boca Raton went to Gainesville to interview Scandirito and he has been charged with murder, according to Art Forgey, an Alachua Sheriff’s spokesman. A lawyer wasn’t listed on jail records.

The elder Scandirito moved to Florida after resigning his position in Michigan and was hired by the Florida Department of Children and Families as a senior attorney representing caseworkers and abused children. He was fired in 2003 when the agency learned of allegations that Scandirito used his position as a Michigan district judge to help five women with traffic tickets, drunken driving arrests and a bad check charge in exchange for sex.

At the time of his firing, Scandirito told The Associated Press he was contesting the decision to revoke his law license for predatory sexual misconduct.

“I did a very good job and there were a couple of allegations. And instead of fighting it, I moved to Florida,” he told the AP in 2003.

On his job application, Scandirito wrote that he had 20 years of experience as a trial attorney and had handled hundreds of juvenile court cases. When asked on the application his reason for leaving the position of trial court judge, Scandirito, then 59, wrote: “Retired to move to Florida.”