| After 35 years as a prosecutor, John Perikles is retiring from the State Attorney’s
Office. Though being an Assistant State Attorney was not something he grew up
thinking he would dedicate his entire legal career to, this grandson of Greek
immigrants has become one of the most respected lawyers in our community. |
| John was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, and raised in Rockville, a town just 5 miles
away. He has an older brother who works in IT. His mother is from Delaware and his
father is from Cleveland. Both pairs of grandparents emigrated from Greece. John’s
maternal grandfather owned a restaurant, like many other Greek immigrants, in
Washington D.C. |
| His dad was in the United States Air Force and then became a pilot for Eastern
Airlines. He also had his own crop-dusting business. John dreamed of being in the Air
Force like his dad. “As I got older my mother dissuaded me and I went on to study
Political Science at George Washington University in D.C.,” explains John. “I had
thought about going into politics but later, I decided it wasn’t for me. So, I went to law
school at Georgetown University. My mother worked and her entire salary went to pay
for my law school. |
| The summer after his second year of law school, John interned in the Judge Advocate
General's Corps (JAG Corps) in Germany. “It was an amazing and enriching
experience.” |
| While in law school John interviewed with the SAO. Why was he interested in coming
to Miami? “Well, first there was the TV series ‘Miami Vice’ and Miami was a dynamic
and exciting city. I had also heard that at SAO you get trial experience. Others I had spoken to, had told me that in L.A. and New York, it would be 2-3 years before you get
a felony trial." |
| John remembers his second interview with now-State Attorney Katherine Fernandez
Rundle at the Florida House and recalls that “it was quite impressive.” |
| “My third interview was with then State Attorney Janet Reno and that was intimidating.
She was over 6 feet tall and then she was throwing hypotheticals at me before I sat
down in my chair. I was told that the third interview was going to be a walk in the park,
but I felt like I was at the bottom of a pool.” |
| He began at SAO in August of 1989. “When I started it was a bit intimidating because
many in my class had more direct experience. They had either interned at the SAO or
at other prosecutors’ offices.” |
| After completing his time in County Court, John was promoted to a C in the Felony
Division. “I was assigned to Judge Ellen Morphonios which was a very trial-active
courtroom. I had never had a felony trial, so I had to learn and survive. I remember that
in one week we picked three juries which is not common in most courtrooms.”
“I remember having over 300 cases set for trial in one week. We were carrying 5-6
boxes of case files. My caseload was almost 400 as a C Prosecutor." |
| A case that has stayed with John even after all these years is the State v. Joseph
Mackey. The Defendant was a roofer and the boyfriend of the mother of the 2-year-old
girl he killed. “I remember her angelic face. It was my first death penalty case. Mackey
was taking care of her while the mother was at work. He pounded the child’s head into
AstroTurf. It was an incredibly emotional case. Mackey got a life sentence.” |
| John was assigned to the Narcotics Unit after being an A prosecutor. “It was very
exciting and active during that time.” |
| “I had a case with a huge heroin drug ring that involved 7- 8 Defendants. All were
charged. Police had tons of evidence against all of them except for one. His defense
lawyer didn’t believe his client when he said he was not guilty. The defense attorney
never asserted his client’s innocence, he only tried to get a better prison plea offer. He
basically let his client sit in jail for a year. The defendant could barely speak as a result
of a gunshot wound to his throat. Then he got a new lawyer who actually listened to
him and came to me saying that we got the wrong guy. He asked me to listen to the
undercover voice recording of the real culprit. We did some work and realized that the
police had arrested the wrong person. The actual culprit, who had the same general
appearance and nickname as the man sitting in jail, was killed soon after the drug deal
incident in a police shooting. It took both attorneys to solve this and do the right thing.” |
| In 1995, John became a Felony Division Chief. A few years later he received a request
from SA Fernandez Rundle to be a part of Special Prosecutions. “In 1998 I joined the
Public Corruption Unit. Two years later I went to the Organized Crime Unit where I
worked for 10 years.” |
| “I first worked directly with the State Attorney during my time in public corruption. At
first, it was intimidating, but I learned that she let me speak freely and she is accepting
of ideas. Over the years we established a great working relationship. I believe she
trusts my judgment.” |
| “John’s often low-key manner when first approaching a problem belies his thoughtful
churning of ideas while developing the best resolution at hand, “said State Attorney
Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “In every instance, I can recall, I have never seen John
waiver in the face of difficulty or complexity. His quick ability to grasp the core issues
of a situation and simplify what best needs to be done have made him not just an
excellent prosecutor but a superb advisor and friend.” |
| Then in 2013, the State Attorney asked John to be her designated Executive Director
of the South Florida Money Laundering Strike Force. “It is a multijurisdictional South
Florida HIDTA (High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas) initiative that targets local,
national, and transnational money launderers. I did that for five years.” |
| Because of his ability to excel and thrive in the areas to which he had been assigned,
John was asked to lead the Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) in 2016. “Economic Crimes
was never on my radar and is very different from the other types of crimes we deal with
as prosecutors. These are among the most difficult cases to put together because ECU
overlaps with things that are civil. You must be familiar with mortgages, finance,
lending, probate, etc.… Something that looks civil could be criminal and vice versa.” |
| John has worked closely with State Attorney Fernandez Rundle on presenting several
important matters to the Grand Jury. “In the fall of 2017, I called witnesses to testify
before them regarding the issues facing condominium owners. As can be seen in their
report, the members of the Grand Jury were shocked by DBPR (Department of
Business & Professional Regulation) and the lack of protections for property owners.
They gave specific suggestions as to what laws needed to be enacted.” |
| “For years I have worked with the State Attorney to pass legislation with more teeth,
more clarity, and consequences that will protect homeowners.” |
| John explains that ECU cases, especially those having to do with condos and HOAs,
are difficult because of the stacks of documents and administrative papers that need to
be reviewed. “It can take weeks or even months to go through the paperwork to determine if a crime was committed. And that is if they obey the subpoenas and turn
over records. In the Hammocks case took us years of litigation to get the records. And
then we had to review them all.” |
| In addition to going to townhalls, community meetings, workshops, and conferences, “
John even went to Tallahassee and testified before House and Senate committees. |
| Various new laws that address condominium and homeowner associations include much
of the language that was written by John. |
| When he reflects back on 35 years of being a prosecutor, John looks back with
appreciation and satisfaction that he was able to serve our community. “This job can
be very rewarding because you get to do the right thing. The most important thing for
someone who wants to be a prosecutor is to be truly motivated to do this job.” |
| “The greatest thing about working here is the people. Friends that I have met here are
still my friends. We created strong bonds, socialized outside the office and that
comradery carried us through. We had fun doing our job.” |
| Besides gaining a wealth of legal experience and friends, John met his wife Marie at
the SAO and fell in love. “I was about five years in, and she had started a few years
after me. After being married, I remember having lunch one day while we went over
gruesome homicide pictures. It’s odd for most people but that is what we did many
times." |
| Now that John is retiring, he will be able to enjoy relaxing lunches, travel, work on his
boat, and get to that Honey-do list that Marie has for him. |
| John Perikles thank you for your decades of service and for fulfilling our mission of
keeping our community safe. |
