Slavin was nailed by a police informer and could have faced 30 years in prison. Slavin deserves the jail time, but the absurd potential sentence in this case is an example of how prosecutors can force pleas from people who are unwilling to risk an effective life sentence. Slavin knows that better than most people. He has handled cases as a prosecutor in Sarasosta and then later represented people charged with trafficking oxycodone, possessing marijuana and doctor-shopping.
Slavin was fired in 2002 after he was accused of obstructing a DUI investigation. He was a passenger in the car and told a friend how to answer questions from the officer and advised him to refuse a breathalyzer test. He was then hired by the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office.
According to news reports, police received a tip that Slavin was accepting drugs as payment. What I find intriguing is that, if Slavin had done this before, I assume that he or his wife were trafficking in drugs rather than just consuming all these pills themselves. However, no such charges were brought against him or his wife. If he was a drug user, one would expect that to have been mentioned as part of sentencing, including a drug rehabilitation program.
Slavin graduated from the University of Maryland College Park and earned his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law.
The next step for Slavin will likely be a bar proceeding if he does not surrender his license voluntarily.
Source: Tampa Bay as first read on ABA Journal