Bernie McCabe was the State Attorney for Pinellas and Pasco counties for nearly three decades before he passed away on Friday at the age of 73.
What You Need To Know
- Longtime State Attorney Bernie McCabe was 73
- His next term was to begin Tuesday
- McCabe called “one heck of an advocate”
“Everybody knows Bernie and everybody has a Bernie story,” said defense attorney Kevin Hayslett. “I think he leaves incredible shoes to fill because of his integrity, his honesty, the way he dealt with the office.”
Hayslett said his first job out of law school back in 1987 was as an assistant prosecutor at the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office, where McCabe had risen to the upper echelons. In 1992, Hayslett said he helped campaign for McCabe’s first election to become the top prosecutor, which Bernie won.
“I think that he had the balance of being tough but also fair,” said Hayslett. “All of us got together that knew Bernie and we worked on his campaign.”
McCabe remained the top prosecutor ever since with his elections going uncontested. McCabe’s new term was set to begin on Tuesday. Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett has been appointed as acting state attorney. Voters will elect a new state attorney in 2022.
According to our partners at the Tampa Bay Times, McCabe told the newspaper last February that he suffered from an “adverse health effect” and was working from home but planned to return to the office. Hayslett said after the pandemic hit, nobody could keep McCabe from popping into his office at the Pinellas Criminal Justice Center in Clearwater.
“The only fault that Bernie had is that he’d be here working, walking around, wandering around,” he said. “People are like, ‘Hey listen, you need to be away from everybody else,’ but you couldn’t keep him from the job.”
McCabe never publicly revealed what health condition he suffered from.
Hayslett posted a tribute to McCabe on Facebook that features a photo he took in October of 2019 that shows the top prosecutor and Public Defender Bob Dillinger walking down the courthouse hallway.
“How interesting is that? These are the guys that have done battle, head-to-head battle, disagreed on an issue,” he said. “Here they are in the hallway having a human moment. Two really legends of Pinellas and Pasco County criminal justice.”
Hayslett posted on social media that “Bernie’s client was the citizens of Pinellas and Pasco county. They lost one heck of an advocate.”
