Former teacher Debra Lafave arrested

By Rebecca Catalanello, Justin George and Saundra Amrhein, Abbie VanSickle, Times Staff Writers
Published December 04, 2007

TAMPA - Former Greco Middle School teacher Debra Lafave was arrested today, accused of violating probation, Hillsborough County jail records show.

Lafave (left), who has been on house arrest for a 2003 case involving sex with a male student, was having "intimate discussions" with a 17-year-old female coworker while employed at Danny Boy's Restaurant in Sun City Center, Department of Corrections spokeswoman JoEllyn Rackleff said.

Lafave talked with the coworker about their boyfriends, Rackleff said, violating terms of her probation that prohibit her from having unsupervised contact with minors.

According to the violation of probation form, on several occasions, Lafave discussed with the girl "non-work related issues such as family problems, friends, high school, personal life, boyfriend issues and sexual issues in both private one-on-one conversations."

The 17-year-old's mother declined to comment.

The manager of the restaurant said everyone there was "shocked'' by the arrest. His first inkling of a problem came three weeks ago when Lafave's probation officer called to say she could no longer work there, said manager Scott Griffin, 28. He had no idea what the problem was until reporters started calling today, Griffin said. The 17-year-old girl and Lafave have worked together for two years, according to Lafave's attorney.

Griffin said he grew up with Lafave in Ruskin and hired her as a waitress in Jaunary 2006. He said she never waited on minors and he never saw her talk or act inappropriately with a minor or anyone else. Hostesses knew not to give her a table with minors, he said.

"We don't understand this at all,'' Griffin said. "We are completely blown away.'' Her last check is still at the restaurant waiting for Lafave to pick it up, he said.

Cloud Miller, a Kaplan University Criminology professor and former Florida Probation and Parole Commission hearing officer and St. Petersburg probation officer, said probation officers have no leeway in reporting suspected probation violations. If they hear about something, they are mandated to report it to the courts. It's up to a judge to decide whether the violation occurred, he said.

The incident shouldn't be perceived as minor, he said. The courts gave Lafave a chance to stay out of prison and expected her not to contact juveniles, he said. As a former teacher, teenage girls could look up to her and respect her views, advice or counsel on sexual matters or relationships, he said.

"Somewhere along the line," Miller said, "the message has to be sent that this type of behavior won't be tolerated."

Miller speculated the violation could lead to prison time.

Lafave resigned from Danny Boy's restaurant in November, following a directive of her probation officer, Michael Cotignola, her violation report states. She now works as a receptionist at her mom's business, Joyce Beasley's Plaza Barber Shop in Ruskin.

She has been attending a sex offender treatment program since December 2005 and was last said to be making "steady progress" according to the report authored by Cotignola.

Lafave's 2003 case made national headlines. She was booked Tuesday at 1:48 p.m. and released without bail.

By late afternoon, news media were calling the restaurant. Larry King wanted Griffin on his show and CNN was on hold. A regular walked in and asked Griffin: "Are they bothering Debra again?''

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, attorney John Fitzgibbons said he saw little common sense in the day's development.

"I can only characterize this as somewhat of a bizarre and unusual violation," Fitzgibbons said.

He called LaFave's actions "girl talk" between two coworkers at a restaurant.

He said he learned of LaFave's arrest this afternoon through a phone call from her mother.

He described the relationship between Lafave and the coworker as a workplace relationship and said the documents in the case speak for themselves.

"This is it," he said. "There's no more. There's no less."

He said the probation officer appeared to be following a strict interpretation of LaFave's probation terms. Under that interpretation, "Her voice can barely meet the ear of anyone under the age of 18," Fitzgibbons said.

Criminal defense attorney George Tragos said there's a zero tolerance climate in Florida when it comes to sex crimes in lieu of recent high-profile cases involving sex offenders such as John Couey.

"Even the slightest offense is going to cause probation officers to ask for a warrant," he said.

But if Lafave shouldn't have held any one-on-one conversations with teens, he wondered why a probation officer may have allowed her to work at Danny Boy's restaurant, where she was bound to come in contact with children and teens who might eat or work there.

Lafave's ex-husband, Owen Lafave, had harsh words of advice for her.

"Try staying out of trouble and away from children," he said. "It's not working out well for her."

Lafave, a 29-year-old Tampa banker, said he learned of Debra Lafave's arrest when he got out of a meeting and found his cell phone filled with messages from reporters.

"You know, I'm not surprised," he said. "You know, here is someone who threw away her husband, threw away her career to go live with her parents and work at a deli."

Lafave said he hopes his ex-wife will be punished with time behind bars.

"I thought the original sentence was lenient, and I thought she should go to jail," he said. "I think now that she has violated her probation, she should go to jail. I think at least a year in jail. You know, it needs to be a deterrent. Everyone needs to know that if you act as inappropriately as she has, you go to jail."