Bob Dillinger, longtime Pinellas Public Defender, dies

Bob Dillinger, who served as the Public Defender for Pinellas and Pasco counties in the Sixth Judicial Circuit until his retirement in 2020, has died. He was 72 years old.

Official information about Dillinger’s cause of death or when he passed have not been publicly released, but sources tell Florida Politics he died over the weekend.

Dillinger had battled cancer for years. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007, according to the Tampa Bay Times, and had undergone nine rounds of chemotherapy as of his retirement in 2020.

Dillinger led the Public Defender’s Office for 24 years, providing legal service to those accused of crimes who could not afford a private attorney. He was a strong advocate for eliminating causes of crime and recidivism, spearheading changes to his office to focus on social issues such as homelessness and mental illness.

Dillinger, a Republican, was also an advocate for kids, including through the Beth Dillinger Foundation named after Dillinger and his wife, Kay’s, daughter, Beth. She died by suicide in 2006, the Times reported. The foundation provides scholarships for kids who can’t afford to continue their education and runs the Nourish to Flourish Program, which feeds kids who lack access to nutritious food.

The program’s website says it began as a result of the staggering statistics about chronically hungry kids in Pinellas County at the time Dillinger took office, in 2012, which at that time stood at 7,000. To date, the program has provided more than 375,000 meals to kids in need, according to the website.

Dillinger’s first job after obtaining his law degree from Stetson University College of Law in 1976 was at the Public Defender’s Office, but he didn’t stay long, leaving the office for private practice in 1981, before later returning as the elected Public Defender.

Sara Mollo, the current Public Defender, told the Tampa Bay Times that the Office extends its “deepest sympathies” to the Dillinger family and praised the longtime public servant for “his dedication, kindness, and the positive impact he had on our clients and office.”