Former Miramar commissioner convicted of bribery, extortion

Former Miramar commissioner Fitzroy Salesman was convicted late yesterday afternoon of two counts of bribery and two counts of extortion under color of official right. The jury acquitted him of two counts of honest services mail and wire fraud. Sentencing has been scheduled for July 8, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Court Judge James I. Cohn.

The charges were the result of an FBI undercover investigation. According to the evidence presented at trial, the undercover FBI agents posed as “quasi” lobbyists, seeking to obtain construction contracts with local government entities for two undercover FBI agents who were posing as construction contractors. In July 2007, Salesman accepted a total of $3,340 to steer construction contracts with the City of Miramar to the undercover FBI agents. Salesman actually obtained two contracts—the construction of a gazebo and the renovation of a gym floor—for the undercover FBI agents. Among the evidence presented to the jury during the trial was a videotape of Salesman accepting $3,000 in cash from the undercover agents.

U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman stated, “Yesterday’s verdict, combined with the previous guilty pleas of Josephus Eggelletion and Beverly Gallagher, sends a loud and clear message to public officials that “pay-to-play” in Broward County is over. Public officials who fail to heed that message will be vigorously prosecuted.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge John V. Gillies added, “This verdict demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to bring to justice those who use their elected position for personal profit.”

Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service in connection with the investigation of this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey N. Kaplan and Neil Karadbil.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Related posts:

1. Former Miramar commissioner indicted after September arrest for fraud
2. Broward School Board member Gallagher pleads guilty to bribery
3. School board member Gallagher indicted on bribery charges
4. Three Broward elected officials arrested in federal probe
5. Broward School Board Member Gallahger sentenced for Bribery

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Posted by Andrea Freygang on Apr 8 2010. Filed under Broward County, Ethics in Broward, FPL, Local news, Money, margate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry