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Straight Time's Never Easy, Even For Lafave

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By DANIEL RUTH | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2007

Such is the curse of being a former movie critic, but when Debra Lafave, Tampa's answer to Mrs. Robinson, got busted this week on a probation violation, I couldn't help but recall an old Dustin Hoffman flick, "Straight Time."

In the 1978 film, Hoffman played Max Dembo, a somewhat sleazy burglar who attempts to stay out of trouble after serving a prison term.

Unfortunately, his parole officer is the sadistic M. Emmet Walsh, who so relentlessly leans on Max that the small-time crook decides he's better off returning to a life of crime. Alas, unpleasant things ensue.

So too, it seemed - interesting - that as Lafave approached a court date in which her lawyer John Fitzgibbons was about to ask a judge to suspend the third year of her house arrest sentence, the former schoolteacher would get busted on allegations of having naughty talk with a 17-year-old restaurant co-worker.

You would have had to have been living in a soundproof burka since 2005 not to know Debra Lafave's ooh-la-la tale of her seduction of a 14-year-old student.

Too Darn Hot!

Lafave managed to avoid a prison term on charges of lewd and lascivious battery, largely on Fitzgibbons' rather imaginative legal argument that his client was too darn hot, too sexy, too ha-cha-cha to spend time in the big house.

And although serving a house arrest term is very difficult to complete successfully, it appeared Lafave had managed to fulfill the first two years of her sentence without incident - until this week.

Probation officer Michael Cotignola arrested Lafave on charges she engaged in conversations touching upon sexual issues with a 17-year-old co-worker at Brandon's Danny Boy's Restaurant.

Lafave is also accused of having unsupervised contact with the minor, thus violating the rules of her house arrest, although the restaurant was filled with customers and other workers.

Chitchat

Cotignola has recommended Lafave be sent to prison for the violations, which could result in 30 years in the slammer - all for engaging in coo-ca-choo chitchat.

Now this is no defense of Debra Lafave. She preyed upon a young man. She committed a crime. She also had a very able defense attorney negotiate a difficult, but still preferable to prison, sentence for her behavior.

But by now, Debra Lafave has probably figured out there is an unspoken, yet very onerous adjunct to her sentence.

For years to come, as long as she is under any form of criminal justice supervision, Debra Lafave will always be under intense scrutiny. No breaks, no second chances, no trust - none, nada, zippo.

She must wake up every morning knowing the slightest comment or gesture might be construed as a violation of her probation.

She must wake up every morning knowing there is no shortage of people out there who would love to see her sent to the slammer for a very long time, including her ex-husband, Owen, who is still awfully touchy over being cuckolded by a 14-year-old boy.

Debra Lafave has been given a life sentence as Debra Lafave, perhaps the most famous sex offender in the world. And that is a prison from which there is no escape.

Keyword: Book of Ruth, to read and comment on Daniel Ruth's blog.

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