F. Dennis Alvarez, former Hillsboro chief judge, died at 79

TAMPA — Frank Dennis Alvarez, a longtime chief judge in Hillsboro County who defended reforms that became a staple in the local criminal justice system and helped many prominent lawyers’ careers, passed away Thursday at his Tampa home.

His best friend, Simon Kanasi, said Alvarez was in hospice care. He had a heart transplant about 15 years ago and had experienced a decline in health in recent years. He was 79 years old.

“He was a court icon and a great friend,” Kanashi said. “There was no place where he could go because people didn’t know who he was.”

He was once said to have known politics like a jeweler. The jeweler was a politician who knew stones, always smiling, always shaking hands, and really loved the city that made him.

Alvarez was born in Ibor in 1945. The son of a cigar worker with Spanish and Italian roots, he grew up in West Tampa.

He dabbled in politics as a child and placed bumper stickers on a car supporting late Tampa MP Sam Gibbons. He thought he wanted to one day be mayor of his hometown.

EJ Salcines, a former Hillsboro lawyer and appellate judge, came to know Alvarez at a young age. They remained friends for the rest of their lives.

“I’m sure he respects me,” Sarshins said. “He always called me the ‘boss’. ”

Alvarez attended Jesuit High School and the University of South Florida.

He was a senior at the university when Salsins campaigned to be elected top prosecutor in Hillsboro County. At a stop for the North Stampa campaign, Alvarez chatted with his old friend. Alvarez said he thought about law school.

Sarsin encouraged him to take the entrance exam and apply. Alvarez became one of the first to attend the University of South Texas School of Law, Sarsin’s alma mater, on a long line of future Tampa lawyers.

He began his legal career in 1974 as an assistant state attorney at the Salusins ​​office. He later worked in personal practice before running without opposition to become a county judge in 1980.

Four years later, he again ran unopposed for the seats on the circuit bench.

In 1988, his fellow jurists selected him as Chief Judge.

“He took the oath very, very seriously, so he was an exemplary judge and lawyer,” Sarsinz said.

Alvarez led the judiciary as the county’s population blossomed and its court system became more complicated. His colleagues believed in his ambitions for success in the following decades.

He assists in the creation of the first adult and juvenile drug courts aimed at addressing the roots of substance abuse and allows defendants to avoid criminal convictions for low-level drug offences if they complete treatment programs. It was a novel concept back then.

The success of the Drug Court in Tampa has attracted public attention and set the mold on future problem-solving courts, including Veterans’ Treatment and Mental Health Courts.

Alvarez also established a special department to deal with domestic violence cases and a “Rocket Docket” to clear the boy’s backlog.

As a powerful judge, he occasionally appeared at the heart of prominent cases.

He played a very important role in the OJ Simpson saga when the Tampa man was summoned to testify at the murder trial of the former soccer star. Alvarez presided over the subpoena hearing.

He also managed a fierce dispute lawsuit over the property of Hugh Culverhouse, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner.

As the face of the local judiciary, he took oaths to countless lawyers and fellow judges. He was appointed local legal Giants attorneys Harry Lee Co III and Mark Over.

When construction of the new courthouse building began in 2000, Alvarez was one of those who pushed to name the new facility of the late George Edgecomb, the first African-American judge in Hillsboro County. Four years later, the county dedicated the building at the corner of Twiggs and Jefferson Streets in George Edge Comb Court House.

His widow, Doreta Edgecomb, said she understood Alvarez’s fairness, but she knew what he believed, even if it was standing alone.

“He was friendly. He loved the law, and I thought he was a friend,” she said.

fellow civil servants and politicians described Alvarez as a solid loyal person who is a confidant whose advisors are highly demanded.

“If you’re at war, you want him at Foxhall with him,” former Hillsboro tax collector Doug Belden said of Alvarez in 2001.

He had good reputations, but in Alvarez’s final years he ran a local courthouse. The controversy included allegations that the judge raised funds for the campaign for a politician, and another allegations where the judge had an affair with the enforcement officer and peeked at a colleague’s office a few hours later.

In Fallout, the state commission investigated the handling of fraud, and the large ju judge criticized his leadership.

He was 55 when he announced he would retire on the bench in 21 years. He emphasized that his departure had something to do with the court’s dispute, and said he had planned to return to his personal life for a long time.

A year later, he launched a brief campaign to become mayor of Tampa, but the prospect of a court scandal making a nasty attack spurred advice on bowing.

However, there were other factors as well. He dealt with heart problems for most of his life and underwent bypass surgery when he was 34 years old. When he became an elderly person, he needed a new mind. From a hospital bed in 2010, he told the Tampa Bay Times that his health issues made politics less important.

“You come here and you don’t even think you’ll even play it anymore,” he said.

The transplant that year gave him another 10 and a half years. He worked to the end.

Alvarez’s robust legal background and influence made him a mediator very well for civil disputes in his later career.

He continued to work in the community. He chaired the foundation of the Boys and Girls Club in Tampa Bay. He was a respected member of the crew of the Knights of San Yago, seeking to preserve Tampa’s Latin heritage.

“The city of Tampa has lost some amazing people,” said Richard Gonsmart, a restaurateur who helped the family find the crew. “There are a lot of young lawyers who will follow up for his guidance and leadership.”

“He was one of my role models,” said Ronald Ficalotta, who served as Hillsboro’s chief judge from 2015 to 2023.

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Sabela met Alvarez at a meeting of local government organizations during his early career as an attorney for the Hillsboro Sheriff’s Office. The cooperation between the local office and the court was something Sabela said was designed by Alvarez.

“I hope all judges can maintain the 13th Circuit where Dennis took it,” Sabela said.

Former mayor Bob Buckhorn said Alvarez embodied his blue-collar roots, the values ​​of the city’s immigrant families and enduring loyalty to those who know him.

“He has risen to the highest ranks of Tampa’s legal profession, and his imprint on the many young lawyers he has led will ensure that his contributions will continue to live on for decades,” Buckhorn said. “He was my friend and I miss him.”