Gov. Appoints Chief Deputy as Interim Sheriff

Friday afternoon, Governor Rick Scott announced that Chief Deputy Bob Gualtieri -a longtime employee of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office- will take over as Interim Sheriff when Jim Coats retires next month.

Gualtieri, 50, will be sworn in as Sheriff on Nov. 7 and will serve until January 2013, when the winner of the November 2012 election for Sheriff takes office. Gualtieri is also a Republican candidate in the 2012 race for Pinellas County Sheriff. 

"The Governor congratulated me on my appointment. I thanked him, said I appreciate his vote of confidence and that I intend to serve the citizens of Pinellas County to the best of my ability," said Gualtieri.

Gualtieri began his career at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office as a Detention Deputy at the Pinellas County Jail in 1982. He then became certified as a law enforcement officer and joined the Dunedin Police Department in 1983, before rejoining the Sheriff's Office as a Deputy Sheriff in 1984. 

Gualtieri worked in various divisions throughout the Sheriff's Office during the next 15 years including working narcotics investigations, where he was recognized as an expert.

He left the Sheriff's Office to pursue a law degree and graduated from Stetson College of Law in 2002, then joined the Tampa law firm of Ford & Harrison LLP in private practice. Sheriff Coats asked Gualtieri to return to the Sheriff's Office as General Counsel in 2006.  In 2008, Sheriff Coats appointed Gualtieri to be Chief Deputy and second-in-command. 

Chief Gualtieri manages the day-to-day operations at the Sheriff's Office, and is responsible for the agency's $220 million budget. He is also in charge of Pinellas Safe Harbor, a jail diversion program and the county's largest shelter for the homeless. Gualtieri is also involved with the Sheriff's Police Athletic League (PAL) and the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches. 

Last month,  so he can spend more time with his wife, Cat, who is battling cancer.  with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.