Son accused of killing father, a retired Michigan judge, after remains found on Florida golf course

James Scandirito Jr. was arrested in Alachua County. He faces a charge of first-degree murder. (WPLG)

BOCA RATON, Fla. – A Fort Lauderdale man was arrested Monday after he killed his father and dumped the remains at an old golf course in Boca Raton, police said.

James Scandirito Jr., 49, is accused of killing his father, James Scandirito, a retired judge from Michigan, days before the remains were found last Wednesday at the now-shuttered Ocean Breeze Golf Course, according to WPLG.

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According to a probable cause affidavit, Scandirito Jr. killed his father and then, after stealing a license plate, fled across the state in an attempt to avoid being caught.

Scandirito's Ford Escape was discovered by police on Easter Sunday at Knowles Park in Delray Beach, but the 74-year-old Boca Raton man was nowhere to be found.

An associate medical examiner later identified the remains as those of Scandirito.

Investigators concluded that Scandirito was killed on or about March 28, but they haven't said how he died.

Scandirito Jr. was being held without bond at the Alachua County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder. He was expected to be extradited to Palm Beach County.

Scandirito resigned as a Michigan judge in 2000 amid allegations that he used his position to solicit sex from women. Some of the women who accused Scandirito of making advances toward them had criminal cases pending before him.

After retiring to Florida, Scandirito worked as an attorney for the Florida Department of Children and Families, but he was fired in 2003 after the agency learned he had been disbarred in Michigan stemming from the allegations.

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