Still Missing FL - Steven Cozzi, lawyer, Largo, 21 March 2023 *plastic surgeon arrested*

[imstilla.grandma]

LARGO, Fla. - Largo police say there are "suspicious circumstances" surrounding the disappearance of Steven Cozzi.

Cozzi was last seen Tuesday, March 21.

Police have been tight-lipped about the nature of the "suspicious circumstances" surrounding the disappearance.

Missing: 'Suspicious circumstances' surrounding Largo lawyer's disappearance, police say

Largo police say there are "suspicious circumstances" surrounding the disappearance of Steven Cozzi, a Pinellas County lawyer with Blanchard Law, P.A.

www.fox13news.com

According to the Blanchard Law Office’s website, Cozzi is an Associate Attorney at the practice located at 1501 Belcher Road in Largo. The firm specializes in bankruptcy law.

Law enforcement presence was seen at that office for the past few days.

Largo attorney missing under suspicious circumstances - IONTB

The Largo Police Department is investigating a missing person’s case for Steven Cozzi under suspicious circumstances. According to police, Cozzi was last seen on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. According to the Blanchard Law Office’s website, Cozzi is an Associate Attorney at the practice located at...

iontb.com

*pls forgive this short title. I hit the wrong key before completing.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Largo lawyer disappears under suspicious circumstances, police say

Office workers in the complex were on edge Friday and said the lobby of their office had been shut down as a crime scene until Wednesday night.

www.wfla.com

 

[LisaCougar]

Cozzi is a lawyer with Blanchard Law, P.A., a firm on Belcher Road in Largo. Jake Blanchard, the managing partner at the firm, tells Shannon Behnken he reported Cozzi missing Tuesday morning after he went to the bathroom and didn’t come back. Blanchard was distraught and said Cozzi’s phone, wallet and keys all remained on his desk. He said Cozzi was his best friend and worked with him for five years.

Largo lawyer disappears under suspicious circumstances, police say

Office workers in the complex were on edge Friday and said the lobby of their office had been shut down as a crime scene until Wednesday night.

www.wfla.com

 

[Spider92]

Largo lawyer disappears under suspicious circumstances, police say

Office workers in the complex were on edge Friday and said the lobby of their office had been shut down as a crime scene until Wednesday night.

www.wfla.com

I wonder what case WFLA had been reporting on and whether it's related to Stevens disappearance.

 

[Anealiz]

Cozzi is a lawyer with Blanchard Law, P.A., a firm on Belcher Road in Largo. Jake Blanchard, the managing partner at the firm, tells Shannon Behnken he reported Cozzi missing Tuesday morning after he went to the bathroom and didn’t come back. Blanchard was distraught and said Cozzi’s phone, wallet and keys all remained on his desk. He said Cozzi was his best friend and worked with him for five years.

Largo lawyer disappears under suspicious circumstances, police say

Office workers in the complex were on edge Friday and said the lobby of their office had been shut down as a crime scene until Wednesday night.

www.wfla.com

"The workers told WFLA there was blood in the bathroom on Tuesday and they smelled bleach."
This quote from your article makes this sound less and less good

 

[megs1477]

"The workers told WFLA there was blood in the bathroom on Tuesday and they smelled bleach."
This quote from your article makes this sound less and less good

I was just coming to post this.

Also, in my experience, when you look at social media in a missing person case, there is speculation and a few negative comments here or there. Not in this case. Everyone seems genuinely shocked.

 

[bombardier]

According to Blanchard Law's official website, they have 3 employees. Jake Blanchard (whose mentioned above as being the reporting party), Steven Cozzi (associate attorney), and Rebecca Watters (paralegal).
If this is true (RW is listed as taking as being in charge of office management so I'm not sure if there are any additional receptionists or assistants), it's a very small amount of people to potentially investigate here.

If it gets removed, here's the blurb under Steven's name;
Attorney Steven Cozzi is Attorney Jake Blanchard's Associate at Blanchard Law, P.A. Steven Graduated from Stetson University with his Juris Doctorate Degree in 2016. During his tenure at Blanchard Law, P.A. Steven has constantly exceeded client expectations and been an asset to the Law Firm. Outside of work Steven enjoys running marathons and spending time with his cat, Saffron.

 

[bombardier]

Here is Steven's LinkedIn page. He has worked at Blanchard Law for the past 4 years. Seems that prior to going back to law school in 2013, he was a stage-hand on Broadway.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-cozzi-esq-323a2681/

 

[Spider92]

According to Blanchard Law's official website, they have 3 employees. Jake Blanchard (whose mentioned above as being the reporting party), Steven Cozzi (associate attorney), and Rebecca Watters (paralegal).
If this is true (RW is listed as taking as being in charge of office management so I'm not sure if there are any additional receptionists or assistants), it's a very small amount of people to potentially investigate here.

If it gets removed, here's the blurb under Steven's name;
Attorney Steven Cozzi is Attorney Jake Blanchard's Associate at Blanchard Law, P.A. Steven Graduated from Stetson University with his Juris Doctorate Degree in 2016. During his tenure at Blanchard Law, P.A. Steven has constantly exceeded client expectations and been an asset to the Law Firm. Outside of work Steven enjoys running marathons and spending time with his cat, Saffron.

Yeah, I don't understand how someone disappears from a tiny law firm on a Tuesday morning without getting noticed, especially if someone took the time to try and clean with bleach. Very odd.

 

[bombardier]

questions I have:
The law office was part of a multi-business office building. was the bathroom only in the office or was it a communal bathroom? that would increase the amount of potential people to look at.
The comment about blood and bleach, at the moment, seems to only be coming from 'the workers'. Will LE confirm those details?
If I had a coworker who excused themself to go to the bathroom and didn't return, I would assume they left the office for something or had a family emergency. Why was his business associate immediately concerned? Just due to the items left behind?

edit - video attached to this news story answered my question. It appears to be a bathroom in the lobby of the law office, which is visible from the outside as well. Not the most discrete place for a crime to be committed.

Largo lawyer disappears under suspicious circumstances, police say

Office workers in the complex were on edge Friday and said the lobby of their office had been shut down as a crime scene until Wednesday night.

www.wfla.com

 

[Anealiz]

I was just coming to post this.

Also, in my experience, when you look at social media in a missing person case, there is speculation and a few negative comments here or there. Not in this case. Everyone seems genuinely shocked.

His husband seems heartbroken and everyone on the husbands posts seems worried/scared. This is truly an odd one.

 

[Anealiz]

questions I have:
The law office was part of a multi-business office building. was the bathroom only in the office or was it a communal bathroom? that would increase the amount of potential people to look at.
The comment about blood and bleach, at the moment, seems to only be coming from 'the workers'. Will LE confirm those details?
If I had a coworker who excused themself to go to the bathroom and didn't return, I would assume they left the office for something or had a family emergency. Why was his business associate immediately concerned? Just due to the items left behind?

The business associate being concerned makes sense to me- if his phone, wallet and keys are left behind, how would he hear about an emergency or even leave?

 

[Marysmith]

This is so bizarre. But seems solvable with cameras likely in the building and area. I hope he’s ok somehow…

 

[PayrollNerd]

It almost sounds like a kidnapping, except for the bleach….. very odd.

 

[ATTWGPod]

I was just coming to post this.

Also, in my experience, when you look at social media in a missing person case, there is speculation and a few negative comments here or there. Not in this case. Everyone seems genuinely shocked.

Well, this is weird. I have a missing persons podcast, and Steve Cozzi was a friend of mine from high school. I just got off the phone with a few friends. No one knows what's going on right now. Another person we graduated with, Mahsa Saeidi, is a reporter down in Tampa, so I'm trying to see if she has any information as well. My first instinct is to look at the case he was handling. He's not a criminal attorney, but one of the news articles said that they had been covering the case he was working on. Apparently, he does some work in family law, but his case has to be a pretty big deal if WFLA is covering it.

Edit: just saw the video posted above. I'm glad to hear there's video footage. The reporter also said she doesn't believe this is connected to the case he's working on, which isn't family law.

 

[Colombiano89]

I use to live in Tampa and know Steven and am completely shocked and saddened. His partner and family are completely distraught. I am hoping the police have a lot of leads and I am sickened by the reports about what was found in the bathroom. There are so many questions I have right now

 

[DavidQT69]

So, just speculating or adding to theories here, but I have been an Investigator for over 20 years and with every crime there is a transfer of evidence. Something is taken but something is left. Nobody just disappears out of the blue, it's physically impossible. I know the article said "suspicious circumstances" but there may be other answers. I'm curious to know if this bathroom has any type of windows. I'm also curious what the footage shows. Could he changed clothes and left looking like another person? Maybe he made off with a large amount of money? Could he have stumbled on a case he was working with powerful people involved that scared him? Could the blood and bleach smell been planted to get people to stop looking for him? I just have a hard time hearing that someone disappears without a trace; evidence is ALWAYS left behind, it's just a matter of finding it, whether it be footage, physical evidence, witnesses, etc. It's physically impossible to just vanish, SOMEBODY knows something. Another possibility is since it has been established he was gay and has a husband, potential hate crime?

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

A Pinellas County attorney is missing “under suspicious circumstances,” according to the Largo Police Department and social media posts.

Largo police issued a four-sentence media release on Friday afternoon that said Steven Cozzi, 41, was last seen on Tuesday and that an investigation into his disappearance was “active and ongoing.”

“The Largo Police Department is investigating a missing person’s case for Steven Cozzi under suspicious circumstances,” the news release states.

Police declined to release any other information.

Largo lawyer missing under ‘suspicious circumstances,’ reports say

Steven Cozzi was last seen at his office at Blanchard Law in Largo on Tuesday, according to reports.

www.tampabay.com

 

[LisaCougar]

Nothing new this afternoon. Has he left on his own accord? But without his keys, wallet and cell phone where would he have gone?


On Facebook, Michael Montgomery, who says he is Cozzi's husband, posted the following: "My husband, the love of my life is missing since Tuesday. I will not stop until we bring him home. Anyone with information should contact the Largo Police Department at 727-587-6730."

Tampa Bay attorney missing under 'suspicious circumstances,' police say

Steven Cozzi hasn't been seen since Tuesday, March 21, the department said.

www.wtsp.com

 

[megs1477]

Well, this is weird. I have a missing persons podcast, and Steve Cozzi was a friend of mine from high school. I just got off the phone with a few friends. No one knows what's going on right now. Another person we graduated with, Mahsa Saeidi, is a reporter down in Tampa, so I'm trying to see if she has any information as well. My first instinct is to look at the case he was handling. He's not a criminal attorney, but one of the news articles said that they had been covering the case he was working on. Apparently, he does some work in family law, but his case has to be a pretty big deal if WFLA is covering it.

Edit: just saw the video posted above. I'm glad to hear there's video footage. The reporter also said she doesn't believe this is connected to the case he's working on, which isn't family law.

Off topic, but I love Mahsa!
I tried to look up the case you are referring to, but there wasn't anything that fit on the website. I'm assuming it was something in pre-production. Looking at the types of cases she usually covers, they are pretty minor investigations compared to something like this.
I am interested to know how many people work in the building and if there are any other restrooms. How much time would someone have had without foot traffic in the area?