Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony on Tuesday defended himself against accusations that he withheld information to receive a Florida driver’s license, testifying in a hearing that could help decide if he keeps his certification as a law enforcement officer.

At issue was whether Tony was truthful in February 2019, when he visited a driver’s license office in Lauderdale Lakes to obtain a replacement license. A state investigator said Tony “was untruthful in his answers” to questions, but Tony testified he had been attesting at the time of his application “to what’s in front of” him, such as his biographical information.

“I’ve been an outstanding citizen (in) this state since I came here at 18,” Tony said during testimony held via Zoom.

Administrative Law Judge Robert Kilbride will issue a recommended order on the matter 20 days after attorneys for both sides submit their proposed orders. They’ll have 10 days to do it after transcripts are available.

In 2022, a three-member panel — part of the state Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission — determined there is probable cause for the case against Tony, including “moral character” standards, due to Tony’s statements on forms.

The hearing this week was the latest in a string of state proceedings examining whether the sheriff did or didn’t disclose required information on official forms.

If Tony were to lose his certification, he would lose the ability to act as a law enforcement officer in Florida. It would have no bearing on whether Tony retains the role of Broward Sheriff, however: Civilians can hold the elected position of sheriff.

Tony’s lawyers have argued in court filings that he “did not commit the misconduct alleged and has not violated officer standards.” They also argue the state “cannot prove the alleged felony offenses by clear and convincing evidence.”

On Tuesday, Tony said he had not been asked any questions by the driver’s license clerk about his license history: “I don’t recall any of those questions being asked at the time,” he said, and that he had no motive to lie.

But Florida Department of Law Enforcement Assistant General Counsel Natalie Bielby took issue with Tony saying he had not been asked the questions. She played a recording from the radio show “First News with Jimmy Cefalo” when Tony was a guest in June 2022 to address the situation.

“On my driver’s license applications I’ve said ‘yes’ a few times, I’ve omitted and missed one or two here and there,” Tony said at the time.

Bielby also tried to discredit Tony, questioning if he had not been truthful on applications, although Bielby was shut down by the judge. Tony’s defense attorney Louis J. Baptiste said Bielby could allude to “uncharged criminal activity” and “there’s no way to unring this bell,” and “if they can’t charge him it shouldn’t be brought in.”

A past state inquiry

An investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, looking into Tony’s falsehoods on official applications, was concluded about two years ago, determining that the sheriff would not be charged criminally. FDLE at the time said some of the sheriff’s falsehoods happened too long ago to prosecute, and one of the allegations, that he lied to obtain a new driver’s license, also wasn’t pursued.

“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, a memo from an FDLE agent stated at the time.

But the issue of Tony’s driver’s license was heard Tuesday by the state Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, which has the power to pursue a case if the alleged “misconduct violates state officer standards.” The panel, in June 2022, found probable cause to pursue the case, which surrounds his Florida driver’s license paperwork.

A hearing underway

The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission on Tuesday had planned to consider “unlawful acts” in eight issues surrounding the driver’s license paperwork. But at the start of the hearing Tuesday morning, Bielby dismissed three of the eight issues.

FDLE investigators said that Tony correctly answered “yes” in 1999 when asked if his driving privilege had ever been revoked, suspended or denied in any other state. But between March 2002 and February 2019, he submitted 11 applications and on eight of them he incorrectly answered “no,” including multiple times when he was a sworn police officer, investigators said.

Tony’s driver’s license had been suspended five times when he lived in Pennsylvania, Bielby told Kilbride.

On one of those applications he was already sheriff, having been appointed by the governor in January 2019. The time also overlaps with his employment with the Coral Springs Police Department, where he landed his first job as a cop in 2005 when he was 26. He worked there through September 2016.

In South Florida in February 2019, Tony visited a driver’s license office in Lauderdale Lakes to obtain a replacement license.

Several witnesses testified Tuesday, including a former employee with the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. A former clerk at a driver’s license office in Lauderdale Lakes, Brittni Wong, remembered assisting Tony with his paperwork for a replacement license on Feb. 1, 2019, and remembered how busy the office was because it was “Take Your Child To Work” day, how he had been brought in the back door because of his status, and Tony posing for photos.

“I felt rushed,” she testified, saying another employee was standing behind her. She answered “I do not recall” when asked if she properly asked Tony if his license had ever been suspended as she was required to do, but also testified she had told FDLE investigator Keith Riddick during his probe that she did ask Tony the question.

Riddick testified Tuesday morning that Tony “was untruthful in his answers to those questions.”

But Sonia Colon — who knows Tony and was called as a defense witness as an employee with the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to talk about the process — testified it’s possible for an agency employee to rush through the questions by hitting “tab, tab, tab” to auto-populate the responses.

The FDLE attorney tried to discount her testimony, having her acknowledge she wasn’t in the Lauderdale Lakes office, and that she was more than an expert witness: Colon testified the pair once had a romantic relationship, and they’ve been friends since age 8 in Philadelphia.

“We are close, but not close to commit perjury,” Colon said.

She testified they once lived in the same two Tallahassee apartments, and she’s served as a reference for Tony on job applications over the years.

“I don’t see how it’s (their friendship) relevant,” she told Bielby, drawing the rebuke of the judge who said it wasn’t Colon’s place to decide what is relevant.

You don’t want Tony to lose his law enforcement certification? Bielby asked her.

“If he’s entitled to his license, no, ma’am,” she said.

Tony testified Tuesday there were hugs and kisses from the public while he was in the driver’s license office, and people taking selfies while he was handling his paperwork.

“It was hectic, a lot of moving parts were taking place,” he said, so he could leave the building and get back to work.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at . Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash