<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Michael Von Zamft presents closing arguments in the case of, Francisco Oliveira Jr., the man accused of shooting and nearly killing Latin songwriter Estefano. Here, Von Zamft displays evidence in the case.<\/p>\n
AL DIAZ<\/p>\n
MIAMI HERALD<\/p>\n
The veteran prosecutor ousted from the case of a Miami gang boss \u2014 which unraveled after allegations of prosecutorial misconduct \u2014 could face discipline by the Florida Bar.<\/p>\n
A complaint filed by the Florida Bar against now-retired prosecutor Michael Von Zamft stemmed from Von Zamft\u2019s handling of the case of Corey Smith, who had been sentenced to death for killing four people in Liberty City in the 1990s. Smith\u2019s case was back in Miami court in 2024 after he was granted a new death penalty sentencing hearing.<\/p>\n
ID Photo Corey Smith Florida Department of Corrections <\/p>\n
A Bar grievance committee found probable cause to file the complaint against Von Zamft from \u201cjudicial findings and sworn testimony establishing that former Assistant State Attorney Michael Von Zamft engaged in serious professional misconduct…\u201d<\/p>\n
The nine-page complaint, which was filed last Friday in the Florida Supreme Court, mostly focuses on the findings made by Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Andrea Wolfson, who removed Von Zamft and prosecutor Stephen Mitchell from Smith\u2019s case in March 2024. Mitchell remains under investigation by the Bar.<\/p>\n
When reached by the Herald Wednesday, Von Zamft\u2019s attorney Andrew Steven Bolin said Von Zamft \u201cappreciates having the opportunity to prove his conduct did not violate the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evidence withheld from defense<\/p>\n
According to the complaint, Von Zamft did not disclose cooperation letters regarding Tricia Geter, Smith\u2019s ex-girlfriend and a key witness in the case. The letters \u201cestablished that the witness was provided benefits in exchange for her cooperation\u201d but were not turned over to the defense \u2014 despite prosecutors being required to do so.<\/p>\n
Von Zamft wrote letters to federal prosecutors in north Florida, who were handling a cocaine case against Geter, regarding Geter\u2019s cooperation with police in Miami. At the time, Geter had been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for distribution of cocaine. That sentence was reduced to five years.<\/p>\n
Van Zamft, the complaint said, \u201creacted in a variety of ways from alleging [the letters] were false, to not remembering them, and finally remembering some of them. When pressed about whether the letters were provided to Smith\u2019s attorney, respondent testified, \u201cI would hope not.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Deter Heller, left, defense attorney for Clifford Friend, the Lighthouse Point man charged in the 18-year disappearance of his wife, and Michael Von Zamft, prosecutor, right, during a hearing in Judge Beth Bloom\u2019s courtroom, Friday, April 13, 2012. Von Zamft won a conviction in the case. MARICE COHN BAND MIAMI HERALD File <\/p>\n
The complaint also mentioned how witnesses in Smith\u2019s case were taken to the Miami Police Department and given favors in exchange for their cooperation. Geter testified that she and other witnesses were given food, drinks, tobacco products, visits from family and friends and even conjugal visits.<\/p>\n
Those details were also never disclosed to Smith\u2019s defense attorneys.<\/p>\n
A jail call played during a hearing revealed Von Zamft\u2019s attempts to place witnesses together in a prison courtyard to \u201crehabilitate\u201d their testimony, according to the complaint. In the call with Latravis Gallashaw, one of Smith\u2019s co-defendants who became a state witness, Von Zamft lamented how he couldn\u2019t rely on Geter to testify in Smith\u2019s resentencing. Gallashaw is a convicted murderer in a case that involves witness elimination.<\/p>\n
![\"Convicted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MIA_COREYSMITHSENTENCING218.jpeg\" "\\"MIA_COREYSMITHSENTENCING218\\"")
Convicted murderer Corey Smith\u2019s former girlfriend Tricia Geter, is questioned under oath this week by Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Stephen Mitchell, during a hearing to determine if Miami-Dade prosecutors are too compromised to participate in the re-sentencing phase of Smith\u2019s trial. Jose A. Iglesias jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com <\/p>\n
\u201cIf I call her and she refuses, then I will find a way to make her unavailable, and then I can read her whole testimony,\u201d Von Zamft said in the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would want to do that?\u201d Gallashaw responded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t want to do it,\u201d the prosecutor replied. \u201cI\u2019d rather she testified and did a good job. But can I count on it? No.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolfson, the complaint says, found that Von Zamft \u201clacked candor, withheld required disclosures, failed to acknowledge misconduct, and made misrepresentations during the evidentiary hearing.\u201d The judge also concluded that the prosecutor\u2019s philosophy was to win at all costs.<\/p>\n
Last year, prosecutors ultimately dropped the death penalty against Smith. He was resentenced to 30 years in prison after reaching a plea agreement with the state.<\/p>\n
![\"Convicted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MIA_11COREYSMITHSENTENCING.jpeg\" "\\"MIA_11COREYSMITHSENTENCING\\"")
Convicted murderer and gang leader Corey Smith, center, thanks his attorney Craig Whisenhunt after he pleaded guilty to second degree murder on several charges in Courtroom 4-1 at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, as the State dropped the former first degree murder charges. Left to Right: Whisenhunt, Allison Miller, and Smith. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com Judge under fire, too<\/p>\n
Judge Bronwyn Miller is also facing discipline in connection to Smith\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
A state oversight panel in October found probable cause to file formal charges against Miller, a former prosecutor and current judge on Miami\u2019s Third District Court of Appeal.<\/p>\n
![\"Judge](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/40-Judge-Bronwyn-Mille_fitted.jpeg\" "\\"40-Judge-Bronwyn-Mille_fitted.jpeg\\"")
Judge Bronwyn Miller of the Third District Court of Appeal Courtesy Third District Court of Appeal <\/p>\n
The panel cited concerns over Miller\u2019s texts with Miami-Dade\u2019s State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, her former boss, during the resentencing of Corey Smith. Miller, as a prosecutor, had secured the death penalty against Smith decades earlier.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: State oversight panel finds Miami judge\u2019s texts \u2018appear to be coercive,\u2019 questions her impartiality<\/a><\/p>\n Miller indicated in the text messages to Fernandez Rundle she was trying to protect her reputation, which she felt was tarnished during the resentencing proceedings. The state oversight panel found that those texts \u201cappear to be coercive.\u201d<\/p>\n Judge Miller is seeking that the disciplinary charges be dismissed<\/a>, arguing she did not attempt to \u201ccorrupt the process\u201d but sought to \u201csecure justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_6789.jpg\")