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Lawyer Arrested In Playhouse Sting Won't Face Trial

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By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 16, 2008

TAMPA - A local criminal defense lawyer arrested May 21 in a police crackdown on adult businesses in the Drew Park area will enter a diversion program to have a misdemeanor charge expunged.

Victor Martinez, 50, of Tampa, was offered the intervention program by the state attorney's office as an alternative to prosecution and going to trial, said Joe Bodiford, Martinez's attorney.

Bodiford said today he does not yet know what the specific requirements of the program are, but he expects Martinez to complete it in three to six months.

Martinez was released on his own recognizance after his arrest inside the Playhouse, an adult theater at 4221 N. Hubert Ave. Undercover Tampa police detectives found Martinez masturbating inside the theater, authorities said.

Martinez was charged with exposing a sexual organ, a misdemeanor.

The diversion program is a way for Martinez to find a quick and quiet resolution to the incident, Bodiford said.

In 1997, Martinez's wife, Rosalie, left him and their four daughters for accused serial killer Oscar Ray Bolin Jr. Bolin has been convicted and sentenced to die for the slayings of three women. He remains on Florida's death row.

Rosalie Martinez met Bolin when she worked on the defense team during his first trials for the slayings of Teri Lynn Matthews in 1986 and two other women. Martinez told her story on television shows such as ABC's "20/20" and "The Montel Williams Show."

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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