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Judge is right, appeals court says: Lauderdale detective's too attractive
By Paula McMahon
Staff Writer
Posted January 22 2004
He's so good-looking it ought not to be a crime.
Fort Lauderdale Detective Mike Nahum's handsome appearance lost him a criminal case, but there is a consolation prize. He may be the only guy in the world with a court order declaring he is a "very attractive man."
Nahum is so cute that a Broward Circuit Court judge threw out a criminal charge against a West Palm Beach man charged with selling drugs to Nahum during an undercover sting at a gay nightclub in Fort Lauderdale. Judge Susan Lebow ruled the defendant, Julio Blanco, was lured by the police officer into committing a crime in hopes he would be rewarded with sex.
On Wednesday, an appeals court backed the trial judge's decision and ruled the police officer's actions were so "outrageous" that it was entrapment. Blanco had never been arrested before and was not under any suspicion of criminal activity until he was talked into it by police, the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled.
In the frequently dry and dusty world of law, the case gave the courtroom staff a rare opportunity to pause and appreciate the finer things in life.
Dismissing the case, Judge Lebow certified Nahum as cute.
"I make that a finding. He's a very attractive man," she said, according to a transcript.
Blanco's attorney, Kevin Kulik, spoke up to ensure the transcript would accurately reflect Nahum's macho, muscular appearance. "For the record, I would submit he was about 6-2. He was in good shape, you know, a fit individual, young detective, looked to be maybe 30."
The judge was not the only one to notice Nahum's charms.
"Let's just say that all of the women in court that day were paying a lot of attention to him," Kulik said on Wednesday. "After he left the courtroom, they were all like, `Wow.'"
Diligent efforts to get a photograph of Nahum so that readers could judge for themselves proved fruitless. Fort Lauderdale Detective Andy Pallen said Nahum could not be photographed because he is still working undercover.
Fort Lauderdale police and Nahum declined to comment on the case. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Joe Kilmer said agency lawyers would have to review the ruling before he could comment.
It all started in early 2002 when Nahum, who was on loan to an undercover DEA task force, was sent to the club to investigate allegations of drug activity. According to court records, he approached Blanco, 37, who described himself as a lonely gay man who was hoping to meet someone.
The detective arrived with a few friends but soon gave Blanco his undivided attention. They had a few drinks and chatted and Blanco testified that the officer said he wanted to have a "good time" and to "party."
It's now clear that Nahum and Blanco had a very different understanding of the word "party."
Nahum, who is straight, said the term is street talk for doing drugs. Blanco said that to him, it means having a good time or being sexually involved.
As they talked, Nahum asked Blanco for cocaine at least three times.
Blanco said that he refused and on the third occasion got so annoyed that he started to leave.
The officer asked Blanco to stay and, according to court records, said, "Come on, can you get me some?" Blanco testified that he was still very interested in Nahum because he was a very handsome guy.
Blanco finally relented and went to the restroom where he found someone who had no cocaine but did have some crystal meth to sell. He went back to the officer, who gave him $60 to buy the drug.
After he turned it over, the officer bought him a beer and soon said he had to leave. The two men exchanged numbers and Blanco said the officer called him in the following days. Blanco was arrested two weeks later.
While there was almost unanimous agreement that Nahum is hot, one of the appellate judges, former Broward Circuit Judge Melanie May, was not convinced.
"Absent evidence that the officer engaged in behavior to [imply] the promise of a sexual encounter, I cannot agree that the conduct was outrageous," May wrote in her dissent. "The mere fact that the defendant [and the trial court for that matter] found the officer attractive does not make it so."
Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By Paula McMahon
Staff Writer
Posted January 22 2004
He's so good-looking it ought not to be a crime.
Fort Lauderdale Detective Mike Nahum's handsome appearance lost him a criminal case, but there is a consolation prize. He may be the only guy in the world with a court order declaring he is a "very attractive man."
Nahum is so cute that a Broward Circuit Court judge threw out a criminal charge against a West Palm Beach man charged with selling drugs to Nahum during an undercover sting at a gay nightclub in Fort Lauderdale. Judge Susan Lebow ruled the defendant, Julio Blanco, was lured by the police officer into committing a crime in hopes he would be rewarded with sex.
On Wednesday, an appeals court backed the trial judge's decision and ruled the police officer's actions were so "outrageous" that it was entrapment. Blanco had never been arrested before and was not under any suspicion of criminal activity until he was talked into it by police, the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled.
In the frequently dry and dusty world of law, the case gave the courtroom staff a rare opportunity to pause and appreciate the finer things in life.
Dismissing the case, Judge Lebow certified Nahum as cute.
"I make that a finding. He's a very attractive man," she said, according to a transcript.
Blanco's attorney, Kevin Kulik, spoke up to ensure the transcript would accurately reflect Nahum's macho, muscular appearance. "For the record, I would submit he was about 6-2. He was in good shape, you know, a fit individual, young detective, looked to be maybe 30."
The judge was not the only one to notice Nahum's charms.
"Let's just say that all of the women in court that day were paying a lot of attention to him," Kulik said on Wednesday. "After he left the courtroom, they were all like, `Wow.'"
Diligent efforts to get a photograph of Nahum so that readers could judge for themselves proved fruitless. Fort Lauderdale Detective Andy Pallen said Nahum could not be photographed because he is still working undercover.
Fort Lauderdale police and Nahum declined to comment on the case. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Joe Kilmer said agency lawyers would have to review the ruling before he could comment.
It all started in early 2002 when Nahum, who was on loan to an undercover DEA task force, was sent to the club to investigate allegations of drug activity. According to court records, he approached Blanco, 37, who described himself as a lonely gay man who was hoping to meet someone.
The detective arrived with a few friends but soon gave Blanco his undivided attention. They had a few drinks and chatted and Blanco testified that the officer said he wanted to have a "good time" and to "party."
It's now clear that Nahum and Blanco had a very different understanding of the word "party."
Nahum, who is straight, said the term is street talk for doing drugs. Blanco said that to him, it means having a good time or being sexually involved.
As they talked, Nahum asked Blanco for cocaine at least three times.
Blanco said that he refused and on the third occasion got so annoyed that he started to leave.
The officer asked Blanco to stay and, according to court records, said, "Come on, can you get me some?" Blanco testified that he was still very interested in Nahum because he was a very handsome guy.
Blanco finally relented and went to the restroom where he found someone who had no cocaine but did have some crystal meth to sell. He went back to the officer, who gave him $60 to buy the drug.
After he turned it over, the officer bought him a beer and soon said he had to leave. The two men exchanged numbers and Blanco said the officer called him in the following days. Blanco was arrested two weeks later.
While there was almost unanimous agreement that Nahum is hot, one of the appellate judges, former Broward Circuit Judge Melanie May, was not convinced.
"Absent evidence that the officer engaged in behavior to [imply] the promise of a sexual encounter, I cannot agree that the conduct was outrageous," May wrote in her dissent. "The mere fact that the defendant [and the trial court for that matter] found the officer attractive does not make it so."
Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel