The news is persistently about Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). It has been revolutionary in recent years both in the investigation of crimes and in the exoneration of those convicted in the past. This month, NBC News reported on a "50-year-old Colorado" case that was solved. The evidence led the police to "a career criminal who spent much of his life in and out of prison." The perpetrator is long dead, but there is a benefit in bringing closure.
There are rarely circumstances in workers' compensation that warrant the attention of the media. But such a case made the news in 1963. The story had curiosity, intrigue, and tragedy. Two developers with a "family dream called Tierra Verde" were allegedly killed in an air crash. They were father and son, and the father had "bought 2,000 acres of land in lower Boca Ciega Bay," back in the era when a landowner could dredge and fill. That era has long passed. The federal government began regulating dredging in the 1970s.
The developers had made money in construction. They had "built bridges, tunnels, and military bases." Their company, "Berlanti Overseas Corporation was reported to have contracts worth more than $100 million in the Caribbean." It had been working on a "giant housing project in Cuba in January 1959 when Castro's forces took the island."
The developers convinced the public to fund a bridge between St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg Beach. They fought against the inhabitants who liked their "quiet little town" and were resistant to change. They spent $50 million dredging (about $500 million today). In mid-August, one of the developers, Fred Berlanti, took off from St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport in a private plane. His destination was Miami, intending to pick up his father, the other developer.
That evening, bad weather diverted them from Miami to West Palm Beach, they departed close to midnight. There was a mysterious call supposedly from Fred, from Miami. However, the evidence demonstrated he was in West Palm by that time. One press report noted the "three types of time" and that the "Flight Timetable (is) a Puzzle." Different records or statements may have referenced "Eastern standard, Greenwich Meridian, and military time." The judge involved is said to have contacted "three conflicting witnesses" regarding the potential conflicts. See Sleuthing Addressed Again (January 2018).
The two developers did not return home on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The following Monday, "fishermen found first one, then two severed arms in the 730-square-mile Lake Okeechobee." There were reports of a "plane burst(ing)into flames late Friday or early Saturday." Officials continued to search, and more remains were found. A "torso, almost 20 miles from the spot where the other arms were found" was identified as Fred's.
Incredibly, "there was no sign, nor would there ever be, of the aircraft." The plane simply disappeared. But there was one witness who later testified he saw the plane hidden in a Guatemalan jungle. He also testified to seeing Fred in Guatemala. The press portrayed the witness as a character, and there was criticism of his credibility.
The recovered limbs and torso were "not enough to put to rest the mystery of their deaths." There were "courtrooms and insurance hearings." Press reports said there were allegations that the two Berlantis were murdered. Others alleged that "the Berlantis had disappeared to collect insurance money," essentially to save the Tierra Verde development. There were allegations that the Berlantis had a "confrontational relationship with Fidel Castro's regime" as well as significant debts.
The forensic evidence was disputed. Though the FBI concluded that fingerprints found on the recovered body parts matched the Berlanti's, there was contradictory expert testimony. As the litigation proceeded, that contradicting "expert changed his mind and finally agreed with the FBI." Expert testimony can be challenging, see Daubert's New Day (May 2019).
And, amidst this major news story, "it seemed strangely incongruous that it should all come to rest in a workman's compensation court, a theatre for the common woes of the common man." Odd that even in the days of "Deputy Commissioners" there was a persistent misconstruction of calling things "courts." Mrs. Fred Berlanti had "filed a $14,000 workmen's compensation death claim," and it was contested. There were "months of workmen's compensations hearings" before Deputy Commissioner Silas Daniel. The press opined "The wildly bizarre story that has unfolded . . . is almost certain to have a dull ending."
The press noted that despite all the intrigue and accusations, the case would come down "ironically" to "three rather sterile issues." These were (1) whether Fred was "an employee of the Tierra Verde City," (2) if so "was he working or was he on a personal mission," and (3) "assuming he is dead, could his death be blamed in whole or in part on a previous physical condition." In truth, many disputes come down to "rather sterile issues." If we could just maintain our focus on them.
There was evidence that "Fred was out of the business" before the crash. There was medical evidence that Fred "was suffering from multiple sclerosis and that it had affected his eyesight and use of his legs," though he had not told his wife. Other press reports said the diagnosis was "muscular dystrophy." Whether there was a medical dispute or just bad reporting is lost to the ages. Innuendo can become a fact to be proved or disproved. And some lawyers can run down a dead end with amazing zeal.
The press stressed that the claim was for $14,000 and questioned the time and effort invested in the dispute. Clement Ehrlich of Miami defended the claim. He told the press, the case was "a Viet Nam," and "one move just led to another." The case, it seems, came to have a life of its own in both the press and the hearing room. This is more common through emotion than reason and logic.
But, others contended the degree of defense in the workmen's compensation proceeding related to "set(ting) a precedent for disposal of other life insurance claims - estimated unofficially as high as $8.5 million." The trial before Deputy Daniel was extensive, "day-long." And, the press reports sound as if he thereafter did his own investigating instead of deciding the case on the record presented.
In the end, after two years of litigation, Deputy Daniel awarded the $14,700 in workmen's compensation. This along with "several lots on Tierra Verde and life insurance payments" left the widow "very comfortable." She claimed that in the end, she gave up fighting and accepted what the estate offered. She found the financial experience "mind-boggling."
That $14,700 in 1964 was worth about $148,161.11 in 2024. The sum is coincidentally not dissimilar to the $150,000 cap on death benefits in the statute in 2024. There are some who love the dog whistle of a "race to the bottom" and decreasing benefits in workers' compensation. They rarely have facts to support their hyperbole. Deep dives into benefit comparison do not support any significant diminution in Florida benefits since 1935.
Additionally, Deputy Daniel awarded her attorney $7,000 in fees for litigating the claim.
Would DNA have made the circumstances simpler? Would the results of DNA testing have been accepted, or doubted as "new and novel?" See Daubert, above. As we progress and continue to witness the arrival of new technologies, there is perhaps the temptation to believe each new tool is the next DNA, but with it the fear or anxiety that it could alternatively be the next empty promise.
There are lessons in the history. First, the facts in any case are likely to be disputed. Various witnesses may bring perspectives that are discordant and that perhaps change. That is for the lawyers and parties to pursue, not the judge. Litigation can take on a life of its own. Disputes can persist despite no one being able to explain the forces driving litigation. There is an obligation there. Attorneys must focus on the dispute, not the personalities. There should be professionalism on both sides of the table, and emotions should be relegated to their appropriate role.
And in the end, we should be proud not that trials are sometimes theater. But we should be proud that there is such an opportunity for the "common woes of the common man." Certainly, there is the probability that any trial will "have a dull ending," but the purpose of this system is not intrigue, notoriety, or excitement. The purpose is for ordinary people to have their day in hearing (no, not their day in Quart), to be listened to, and to pursue the outcome they hope for. Dull, is not a bad thing. Due process is not a bad thing. Finality is not a bad thing.
This post is compiled from press reports, and all of the quotes here are from the following articles:
Tierra Verde: Plane Crash Dashed a Dream, St. Petersburg Times, March 1985, Page 4a.
Widow had to fend off speculation, St. Petersburg Times, March 1985, Page 4a.
Mystery, Millions, Intrigue, and the Berlantis, St. Petersburg Times, July 4, 1968.
Adventurer Shocks Insurance Hearing, St. Petersburg Times, September 5, 1964.
