Pubdate: Tue, 09 Aug 2005
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2005 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Author: Missy Stoddard, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

STATE WON'T CHARGE IMPRISONED LAWYER IN DRUG DEATH AT HOME

No state charges will be brought against a former Palm Beach County 
assistant public defender serving a 10-year federal sentence for giving 
drugs to an 18-year-old client found dead in the lawyer's bedroom in 2002, 
a Fort Myers prosecutor said Monday.

Assistant State Attorney Dean Plattner wrote in a memo to West Palm Beach 
police that despite the tragic occurrence, there is insufficient evidence 
to support a criminal charge against Damon Amedeo, 33. Plattner took over 
the case in late 2003 because a relative of the victim, Douglas Rozelle 
III, works in the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office.

In 2003, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley went above sentencing 
guidelines and sent Amedeo away for 18 years for providing drugs to a 
person younger than 21, blaming his drug-infused lifestyle for Rozelle's 
overdose. In March, Hurley reduced the sentence to 10 years after a federal 
appeals court ruled that the legal justification used to increase the 
sentence could not be applied. Amedeo is appealing the sentence.

At the time of Rozelle's January 2002 death, Amedeo was working for the 
teen's father, West Palm Beach lawyer Douglas Rozelle Jr. The elder Rozelle 
had asked Amedeo to help his son through the drug court system. Amedeo 
worked for the Public Defender's Office from 1997 until January 2001.

Federal agents arrested Amedeo after finding videotape in his home showing 
him and Damon Rozelle using drugs and Amedeo performing oral sex on an 
apparently unconscious Rozelle. Amedeo told authorities that he and Rozelle 
had sex and that he found Rozelle dead in his bedroom several hours later. 
Autopsy results showed Rozelle overdosed on a combination of drugs.

Plattner's memo states that while Amedeo's actions "were ethically and 
morally reprehensible," there is not enough evidence to prosecute him 
successfully.

"Our decision was based on the law and evidence related to our possible 
charges," Plattner said Monday. "We're aware he was serving federal time as 
well, but our decision is based on the review of our evidence."

Plattner said he met with the Rozelle family to let them know of his 
office's decision. Douglas Rozelle Jr. died in March 2004 at age 52.

Staff Writer Shahien Nasiripour contributed to this report.
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