Lacy Stoltz hadde aldri sett for seg at hun skulle stå i skuddlinjen. Hun gransker korrupsjon blant Floridas dommere, men så langt har det skjedd relativt lite. Men det er helt til hun treffer Greg Myers, en advokat med en historie å fortelle. Myers representerer en tyster som har informasjon om en dommer som er involvert i organisert kriminalitet. Sammen med sine kriminelle samarbeidspartnere har dommeren sørget for at det har blitt bygget et casino i et indianerreservat. Minst to av de som protesterte mot utbygningsplanene er døde. Dommeren har en stor formue, og har eiendommer rundt i verden. Hun leier privatfly og hennes hemmelige hvelv er overfylt av sjeldne bøker, kunst og juveler. Ingen har hatt en anelse om hva hun har drevet med. Før nå. Lacy må etterforske saken. Men er hun klar for å sto opp i mot den mest korrupte dommeren i amerikansk historie? En dommer med kontakter som ikke skyr noen midler?
We expect our judges to be honest and wise. Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the orderly and efficient flow of justice.
But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It’s rare, but it happens.
Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption.
But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history.
What’s the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month’s cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It’s a sweet deal: Everyone is making money.
But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous.
Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.
