Pinellas surgeon’s defense team accused of killing Pinellas’ lawyer’s withdrawal

The defense attorney for Pinellas’ plastic surgeon, accused of murdering Largo’s lawyer, has withdrawn from the case citing the ethical dispute.

Judge Pinellas on Thursday granted the request from Thomas Kosovsky’s lawyer after the hearing. The development is expected to delay Kosovsky’s first-degree murder trial, which is scheduled to begin on May 19th with Stephen Kozzi’s death. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Defense attorney Bjorn Brunvand, J. JervisWise, Amanda Powers Sellers and Debra Tuomey filed a motion to withdraw on Wednesday, citing an unspecified “ethical conflict of interest.” Judge Joseph Brune granted the motion at a hearing Thursday.

In a telephone interview after the hearing, Brunband said that one of the factors that prompted the request for withdrawal was the comments made by Kosowski during a prison video visit with his mother. Comments revealed this week showed that Kosovsky was unhappy with the representatives of the Blanc band.

“He would give her instructions on how to make sure I didn’t get paid, how they would file complaints with me, how they would sue me,” Brunband said.

When Kosovsky was asked in court on Thursday if he wanted to fire Brunband and hire another lawyer, “He just doesn’t respond to that,” the Brunband said.

Brunvand urged Bulone to request a withdrawal but told him he was concerned about other issues that he didn’t find comfortable discussing them in the public court, so he asked if Kosowski could meet personally with the judge without him. Kosowski objected to it and said he would waive the privileges of his lawyers and clients, but Brunvand held it firmly.

“The judge agreed that it’s pretty clear that if the law could hurt a client, I don’t need to go into detail about these types,” Brunband said.

Bulone then granted an allegation to withdraw on May 9th to set up a hearing. Kosowski has to decide whether he wants to represent himself or hire another lawyer.

Even before Thursday’s unfolding, it is doubtful whether the trial will begin on May 19th. Blanband filed an allegation on Monday to continue the proceedings, saying he and his counsel do not have enough time to provide effective defenses for Kosovsky.

The move states that the discovery material for the case is “very enormous and not complete.”

“The defense team has been very keen to carry out the deposition of discoveries and review the vast amount of discovery and consulting confidential experts based on new experts listed by the state, but additional time is needed to assess the same,” the motion states.

Kosovsky, 46, is a plastic surgeon who worked in Pinellas County and Miami. In 2023 he represented himself in a lawsuit filed over a medical claims dispute. Cozzi represented one of the defendants.

The doctor and lawyer faced each other in a series of depositions, some of which were reportedly controversial. After one meeting, the witness recalled, and the doctor charged the lawyer in the toilet at the law firm.

Cozzi disappeared one morning in March 2023 after coming out to work at the Lago office. Surveillance video showed he arrived at the office but never left. He did not call for a phone hearing in Kosovsky’s case scheduled for the morning, but Kosovsky did.

A fellow lawyer found Cozzi’s phone and personal items at his desk. There, his computer was open to unsecure email texts. Investigators will find blood in the office toilet. The video also showed the person who believed that the detective was Kosovsky and entered the law firm that morning with a cart, leaving behind a large object on it later.

The cell phone records, among other evidence, led authorities to claim Kosovsky for murder. Cozzi’s body has not been found.