Apology, And Deal

By THOMAS W. KRAUSE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 13, 2007

TAMPA - Anthony Giancola, the former principal of Van Buren Middle School, stood outside the Hillsborough County Courthouse and said he would follow the advice he gave to thousands of students over his 16 years as an educator.

"I've always told my students the same thing when they got into trouble," Giancola said. "Accept responsibility for your actions, deal with the consequences in a respectful manner, and then move on and don't make the same mistake again."

Tuesday morning, Giancola pleaded guilty to charges of purchasing crack cocaine, possessing crack cocaine and possessing marijuana. He was arrested in February minutes after buying a $20 crack rock from an undercover Tampa police officer in the Van Buren principal's office.

Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman sentenced Giancola to 364 days in county jail and three years' probation. If Giancola completes a drug treatment program in jail, the remainder of his jail sentence will be suspended. Giancola must give up his teaching certificate.

In court, Giancola, 40, attempted to negotiate a deal that would include no jail time, his lawyer James Mancuso said. Timmerman and prosecutors told him that would not be possible. Although many first offenders are let off with drug intervention programs and probation, the judge said that a principal who buys drugs on school grounds needs at least a short stint behind bars, Mancuso said.

When Timmerman asked Giancola if he had anything to say, Giancola offered his apology.

"To my students and my family, the people who stood by me, I apologize for letting them down," Giancola said.

Timmerman said sternly that an apology was needed for Giancola's actions.

"Yes sir," Giancola answered.

Free Until End Of The Month

Giancola was allowed to return home. He has until June 30 to turn himself in. Should he fail to report to jail, the plea bargain will be thrown out, Timmerman said. If he received consecutive sentences on all three charges, he could have faced up to 21 years in prison.

Mancuso said the in-jail drug treatment program lasts 8 1/2 weeks. Giancola might be able to get into the program that starts July 23, which would give him a potential release date as early as mid-September.

Steve Hegarty, a spokesman for the Hillsborough County school district, said Giancola would have to petition the state Department of Education to get his teaching certificate reinstated.

"This was a serious crime that showed extremely poor judgment," Hegarty said. "Those are factors the state would take into consideration."

In February, a confidential informant told a Tampa police detective that a man named Tony wanted to buy large quantities of crack cocaine. Tony, the tipster said, was the principal at Van Buren Middle School.

In a tape-recorded call between the informant and Giancola, the principal said he wanted to buy $200 worth of crack. In a later call, Giancola said he couldn't show up for the buy because he had a meeting he couldn't miss. Instead, he wanted to meet in his office to buy $20 worth of crack.

He Wanted To Smoke Crack In Office

At that meeting, undercover officers sat outside the school posing as parents. An officer and the informant went into the office and completed the deal. Giancola, police said, wanted to smoke the crack immediately. The officer said he wanted to leave first. When Giancola walked them to the lobby, officers closed in and made the arrest. They searched his car and found a small amount of marijuana. He had no previous criminal record.

Giancola resigned from his $74,000-per-year post the next day.

After Tuesday's hearing, Giancola offered apologies but no rationale for his actions.

"There are a lot of things I'd like to say, but there are really two things I have to say," he said. "First, I can't express how sorry I am. … During my period of active addiction, the only person I was really trying to hurt was myself. I came to find out that I really hurt a lot of other people that mean the world to me."

Secondly, he said, he wanted to tell all his former students that it was a privilege to serve them. He said losing that privilege was his fault, and he would accept responsibility.

"Hopefully, people that have become disappointed in me can look back and say, 'At least he did what he always told others to do,'" Giancola said.

Jail, he said, is a natural consequence of his actions. As a result of his drug use, he said, he lost his job, his house and his money.

"It's not poor Tony, poor Mr. G," Giancola said. "I made the worst decision I possibly could have made. Instead of dealing with situations in a constructive way, I turned to drugs. … Look at what's happened to me and don't ever let it happen to you."

After his arrest, Giancola told officers that he slipped into crack addiction in December. Marital problems led to the $300- to $400-a-day habit, he told police.

Giancola has a degree in physical education and a master's degree in the education of emotionally handicapped students. He has been credited for his ability to help children believe in themselves.

Giancola was named Van Buren principal in 2006. Last year, Van Buren was listed on the state Department of Education's list of 75 most improved middle schools.

'He Can Touch Some Lives'

Deborah Carver-Knight, who worked with Giancola at a Hillsborough County center that catered to emotionally disturbed students, was at the courthouse Tuesday and approached Giancola to offer her support.

When Giancola told her he was going to jail, she reassured him that he was an excellent educator.

Carver-Knight said other inmates would benefit from Giancola's presence.

"He can touch some lives," she said. "He will be a mentor if and when he goes to jail."

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813)259-7698 or tkrause

@tampatrib.com.