by David Chapman
Staff Writer
John Pialorsi made a career in law enforcement.
With more than 25 years in varying capacities and ranks within the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Fraternal Order of Police, the 61-year-old officially retired from JSO in 1995 and the FOP in 2000.
But, after six years of relaxation, Pialorsi went back to investigating – for The Florida Bar.
In 2006, Pialorsi took on the role as staff investigator for the Bar in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, looking into potential grievance cases in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties and has gone as far as St. Johns and Putnam counties.
“It was an opportunity to renew some of the friendships I had made with attorneys, judges and others from the legal community over the course of my career in law enforcement,” he said.
Pialorsi investigates complaints against attorneys made by clients, judges, other attorneys or even the Bar itself by conducting interviews and compiling facts that he then presents to one of the four area grievance committees, which then disperse penalties.
Those penalties range from reprimands and payment of restitution to suspension and disbarments, but Pialorsi doesn’t have a say in the judgments – he’s just the fact-finder.
“I don’t have an opinion or vote on their decisions,” said Pialorsi. “I present them the facts and just the facts.”
It’s a job that calls upon the skills he learned and the many relationships he fostered during his long career in law enforcement – a path he knew was his future at an early age.
“It appealed to me,” he said. “It really did.”
Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Pialorsi graduated from Englewood High in 1963 and after working for his father’s American Oil gas station off Main and Beaver streets was drafted to Vietnam.
He joined the Air Force, trained and specialized as a classified cryptographer, and spent 18 months in Libya. During that assignment, he saw stark cultural and generational contrasts.
“Outside the base, it was like going back in time 2,000 years,” he said.
While in the service, he also recognized the sense of order and duty that came with the position, and upon returning to the U.S., decided to pursue another structured and dutiful career – law enforcement.
After passing the police test, he joined the JSO in 1972 and after several years and involvement with the FOP, was elected the organization’s president in 1979.
He served five one-year terms and developed many of the legal friendships he still knows today. During Pialorsi’s tenure, the organization made positive gains on increased pension plans and career advancement. During those days, officers salaries were based on the area’s standard of living.
While he helped make strides monetarily, it was an organizational change in philosophy that he considers most important.
“We went from a strictly fraternal organization to a political one,” he said. “The growth was the big thing. We went from having to go to the mayor’s office for support to having political candidates coming through our doors seeking our support.”
He didn’t seek re-election and was appointed JSO Chief of Special Events and Recreation in 1984, where he helped formulate and impose a security plan for a Jacksonville staple – the Florida-Georgia football game.
After a riot-like atmosphere following the 1985 game (that included a torn down goal post being hoisted out of the stadium), officials from both schools threatened to no longer play the game in town unless security measures were taken, he said.
Citing alcohol as the main factor, Pialorsi went to an Oklahoma-Texas game – another heated college rivalry, played in Dallas – and came away with ideas on how to fix security issues.
After taking three-and-a-half weeks to create the plan, it was implemented for the 1986 game and the results were apparent, he said.
In 1987, he was appointed JSO Chief of Human Resources, and led a staff of 70 in an employee screening process, payroll and entrance-level screening for the police academy. It was here he transferred a lieutenant named John Rutherford to head the Northeast Florida Criminal Justice Center.
“The best transfer I have ever gotten,” said Pialorsi of Rutherford, the current sheriff. “John is a great and hardworking guy. He always has been.”
Pialorsi was promoted to the 400-person JSO Chief of Services in 1992, the second highest position within the organization and responsible for the division that is responsible for responding to 911 calls.
It was during the time that computers and the Computer Aided Dispatch were implemented to better assist officers with information about distress calls.
“It really was the infancy of the digital age for us,” he said. “It was difficult to implement it all while still running an operation, because you couldn’t exactly shut it down for upgrading and maintenance.”
In 1995, he retired from JSO and went to FOP to serve as its first business agent. In the position he worked on the organization’s collective bargaining agreement, represented it during all City Council meetings.
He stepped down from business agent in 2000 and said he left to enjoy retirement until he was approached by the Bar in 2006 about becoming an investigator — a job he had no interest in initially.
“I was enjoying retirement,” he said. “But I accepted it and it’s been different.”
He handled almost 60 cases in 2007, with the average case taking three-and-a-half weeks.
Before taking it, he stressed the importance of his family and the need for a flexible schedule, and the Bar understood.
While retirement is on hiatus, Pialorsi is eying his next role – watching his eight grandchildren grow up.
“I’ll do it for another few years, I’m not ready to go yet,” he said. “I have no regrets about anything I’ve done in my career. I’ve enjoyed it.”