John B. Goodman founded the International Polo Club Palm Beach. It was a joint task force between Summerfield Johnston, Jr., Mickey Tarnapol, and Goodman himself—header of the project. It has grown to become one of the largest polo clubs of all time and is home to many natural playing fields which were once the lush green fields of Wellington, Florida.
Goodman became very wealthy from his inherited ownership of Goodman Global Holding, Inc., which—at the time—was not only the largest privately held air conditioning and heating equipment manufacturer in the United States, but was also worth an astounding $1.43 billion dollars when he sold it to Apollo Management. It wasn’t until the horrible accident on February 12th, 2010 that John B. Goodman’s name became common knowledge.
A Convicted Criminal
Goodman was cruising near the grounds of his polo club in a Bentley when he failed to obey a stop-sign. He collided with the car of Scott Patrick Wilson, 23, which was then propelled and overturned into the body of water where Wilson drowned.
Perhaps the worst choice Goodman could have made was leaving the scene. He failed to stop and call emergency services until an hour later. This failure to act resulted in hit-and-run charges; had he stayed at the scene of the accident, he may have been able to pull Wilson out of the wreckage before he drowned to death (in a perfect situation).
Roy Black—the criminal defense attorney hired by Goodman—suggested Goodman claim a vehicular malfunction to be the cause of the crash. This attempt proved to be a waste of time. His BAC (Blood-Alcohol Content) was more than twice the legal limit when examined 3 hours after the crash; Goodman claimed he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.
Black defended Goodman vigorously stating that Goodman became intoxicated after the crash by drinking to ease the pain of his newly obtained broken wrist. He says the trauma from the crash caused Goodman a mild traumatic brain injury which resulted in disorientation and confusion which lead to his failure to alert authorities. His cell phone allegedly dead at the time as well—Goodman had to walk to the closest place he could to find a phone.
A Second Hearing
Being found guilty of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in March, 2012, Goodman was sentenced to 16 years in prison and $10,000 in fines just 2 months later. This hearing, however, was claimed to be faulty.
The original jury in 2012 included a 70-year-old man by the name of Dennis DeMartin. DeMartin was later found guilty of lying in court and violating court orders and in turn entitled Goodman to another, proper trial. It’s clear now, however, that regardless of DeMartin’s misconduct, Goodman is going to remain a guilty man.
His retrial—which lasted 15 days—concluded that, as determined by the original jury, he was in fact guilty as charged. Statements were just not lining up; criminally negligent acts were being declared by the jury (like speeding). He was found guilty once again of DUI Mansalughter and Vehicular Homicide on Tuesday, October 28th, 2014 and will likely be sentenced in late December, 2014 or early January, 2015.
For more updates on current legal news, rights, information, and for legal assistance, contact Dolman Law Group today or visit our website at www.dolmanlaw.com.
Dolman Law Group
800 North Belcher Road
Clearwater, FL 33756
(727) 451-6900
800 North Belcher Road
Clearwater, FL 33756
(727) 451-6900
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