New Fla. Police Chief Defends Side Gig as College Basketball Ref

Fort Lauderdale’s new police chief has a cool but unconventional side gig: College basketball referee.

Chief Larry Scirotto, who took over as chief a few months ago, was on the court refereeing a nationally televised NCAA basketball game last Monday between Notre Dame and Illinois.

Critics within the police department are now questioning whether he’s playing hooky, but city officials say it’s all kosher. Scirotto has permission to moonlight as a ref as long as he’s off-duty and it doesn’t interfere with his job as chief, says City Manager Chris Lagerbloom, Scirotto’s boss.

Scirotto might be the only police chief in the nation with such a high-profile hobby for good reason, said Eugene O’Donnell, a law professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, former New York prosecutor and police officer.

“It makes him a really interesting guy,” O’Donnell said. “But now is not a good time for chiefs to be dabbling in other activities. You just touched down at O’Hare airport and your officer just shot a kid with a cell phone in his hand. The chief can’t be 1,000 miles away doing a high-profile hobby.”

In an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Scirotto defended his outside gig, saying he has a team of pros in place to handle things when he’s out of town.

“I have acting chiefs that are responsible for the organization in my absence,” he said. “If I am away at a game, it’s no different than me being on vacation. I have a flight contingency if something of magnitude does occur to be on the next flight back.”

Scirotto has been refereeing college basketball for 24 years. He goes wherever the Big Ten goes, including Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.

Most of the time, he’s refereeing on weekends. On the rare occasion he’s away on a weekday, Scirotto says he uses vacation time.

“Some people hunt and fish or go camping and boating,” Scirotto said. “I choose to go on a basketball court for two hours and get screamed at by 15,000 fans. That’s how I relax. I love the game. I’ve loved the game since I was a kid.”

At 5-foot-8, Scirotto calls fouls on guys nearly a foot taller than him and half his age.

He’s been yelled at by fans and coaches, but not players, he says. Many don’t even know he’s chief of police in Fort Lauderdale.

‘Losing the locker room’

Scirotto took over as Fort Lauderdale’s top cop on Aug. 16. A retired assistant chief in Pittsburgh, he beat out several internal candidates for the job. He is the department’s first openly gay chief.

The last time Fort Lauderdale hired a chief from the outside was in 1995, more than a quarter century ago.

Some officers might still see their new chief as an outsider and won’t cut him the same slack they would an insider, says Alex Piquero, a University of Miami professor and criminology expert.

“If he came up through the ranks, they might not be so upset,” Piquero said. “You need the support of your troops. And little things like this can create bad relationships. You’ve heard of the coach losing the locker room. It adds one more thing for people to talk about.”

This week, a couple of anonymous posts grousing about the chief’s side job appeared on the website LEO Affairs, an online forum where officers can vent and share department gossip.

One post referred to him as “The Ghost,” saying he disappeared to go “play referee” for Monday’s Notre Dame basketball game. Another post whined that “rules don’t apply to gold badges,” meaning top brass.

Lagerbloom argues the police department will keep on functioning when the chief’s away.

“I was in Atlanta yesterday and the city ran just fine,” Lagerbloom said. “If I get any inkling that it’s going to cause a problem, I will be the first to put an end to it. But I haven’t seen that. There’s a benefit to staying sharp and current in something other than policing. I think it’s healthy.”

Mayor defends right to ref

Robert Borowski, a retired sergeant who spent his career at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, has a different perspective.

If all hell breaks loose, the chief’s expected to be there to oversee things, he says.

“If a critical incident happens in the city, you’re pretty much relying on your chief to be available,” Borowski said. “But if it’s approved by the city, he’s not in violation of policy.”

Mayor Dean Trantalis defended the chief’s right to pursue a hobby outside work.

“He’s been doing it for years,” Trantalis said. “I think there will be disgruntled elements in the police department who perhaps have not yet warmed up to Chief Scirotto being our new chief and may be looking to cast aspersions on his conduct. People were trying to say he was clocking in for duty while he was moonlighting. That’s what I find offensive.”

Longtime resident Fred Stresau said he had no idea the chief was moonlighting as a referee out of state but isn’t too worried about it.

“I’m assuming the structure within the police department is set up to handle a crisis,” he said. “I’m sure some people might be upset, but if they are they must not have confidence in the people under the chief. Sounds to me like somebody wants to bitch.”

‘High hill to climb’

The referee gig was also news to Tim Petrillo, whose portfolio of Fort Lauderdale restaurants includes Yolo.

“I think it’s kind of cool,” Petrillo said. “Wonder if he can get me tickets. He’s probably smart enough to understand his job as chief takes priority.”

O’Donnell argues the optics don’t look good, especially to subordinates.

“To quickly become known as the traveling chief undermines your credibility,” he said. “You have a high hill to climb, establishing yourself as an outsider. That’s not a good sign if your first request is, I’m going to need all this time off.”

O’Donnell says the chief of a small-town agency can get away with things that a chief in the big leagues can’t.

“There’s a difference between the chief of Mayberry being a ref and the chief of a major, diverse, complex city. Fort Lauderdale is big enough that it’s critical to be on the ground and in command. All the mayors and chiefs have to be careful being caught out of town when there’s a crisis. To me, that’s the kicker — being out of town.”

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