Former police officer pleads no contest to block potentially embarrassing trial
Thomas Merenda was facing the possibility of a maximum six-year prison term if convicted of unlawful compensation and misdemeanor battery, charges that stemmed from a May 2012 encounter with two women leaving a Lauderhill strip club. According to police and prosecutors, Merenda's fellow officer, Franklin Hartley, lured the two women from a Lauderhill strip club to a parking lot behind a Tamarac tire shop, where Hartley had intercourse with one victim while Merenda had the other gratify him with a punch to his groin.
Defense lawyer Eric Schwartzreich had repeatedly questioned whether a jury would ever see such an as a 'benefit' under the law prohibiting unlawful compensation by public officials, but the defendant ultimately determined the negotiated plea was better than risking prison time and a trial that could include testimony about his personal proclivities.
At the same time, the victims in the case grew disenchanted with the justice system because it took so long to bring the case to trial and Hartley, who pleaded no contest to unlawful compensation and misdemeanor battery in 2023, was sentenced only to four years in prison and 15 years of probation. Hartley's prison term was suspended by Broward Circuit Judge Michael Usan, giving the former cop a chance to walk away from the episode without spending a day behind bars.
The women were awarded a combined $6.2 million in an uncontested federal civil suit in 2018, but neither officer put up a defense while the criminal case was pending.
Under the terms of Merenda's negotiated plea, the unlawful compensation charge was reduced to a petit theft, while the misdemeanor battery count remained unchanged. Broward Circuit Judge Marnia Garcia-Wood sentenced Merenda to 12 months of probation and a psychosexual evaluation. He can never work as a police officer again.
Adjudication was withheld, meaning Merenda could eventually walk away from court without a criminal conviction on his record.
'He's a plumber now,' Schwartzreich said. 'His life has changed. His family had to deal with those embarrassing headlines. His wife died [natural causes] waiting for trial. And he lost a career that he loved. He may not be jailed, but he was mentally incarcerated during the 13 years it took to reach this point.'
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
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