Former Judge Found Slain on Abandoned Golf Course

The son of a disgraced former Michigan judge is accused of killing his father and dumping the body on an abandoned Florida golf course, per the AP. Investigators aren't saying much about the death of James "Skip" Scandirito, 75, who resigned a judgeship in Macomb County, Michigan, in 2000 in the face of sexual misconduct charges. But they've arrested his only child, James Anthony "Jimmy" Scandirito, 49, and charged him with murder. The Sun Sentinel reports police went to the elder Scandirito's Boca Raton home on April 1 after his son reported him missing. Scandirito's body was found April 4 on the site of the Ocean Breeze Golf Club, where the former judge used to work in the pro shop. The son was arrested April 9 when an Alachua County Sheriff's deputy spotted a Toyota Prius on Interstate 75 near Gainesville.

Scandirito has been charged with murder, according to an Alachua Sheriff's spokesman. The elder Scandirito moved to Florida after resigning his position in Michigan and was hired by the Florida Department of Children and Families as a senior attorney representing caseworkers and abused children. He was fired in 2003 when the agency learned of allegations that Scandirito used his position as a Michigan district judge to help five women with traffic tickets, drunken driving arrests and a bad check charge in exchange for sex. At the time of his firing, Scandirito told the AP he was contesting the decision to revoke his law license for predatory sexual misconduct. "I did a very good job and there were a couple of allegations. And instead of fighting it, I moved to Florida," he told the AP in 2003. (More murder stories.)