More evidence to support Amendment 4 in November ... by gimleteye

I'd like to interview Patte Atkins-Grad, the Tamarac city commissioner who probably looks better in campaign flyers than this mug shot. Atkins-Grad faces eight felony charges, including two counts each of bribery and unlawful compensation, three counts of official misconduct and one count of conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation, for trading her vote for a suburban sprawl zoning request. Despite significant citizen opposition, the zoning request flew through the city commission bought and paid for, by developers like the Chaits of Prestige Homes. It is time for voters to take back government from special interests whose idea of an economic recovery is just more of the same. Click 'read more' for the full Sun Sentinel story, a newspaper whose editorial board nonetheless opposes Florida Hometown Democracy.

Posted on Sat, Jun. 26, 2010
Accused of corruption, Tamarac commissioner is arrested, suspended from office

PAULA MCMAHON AND LISA J. HURIASH
Sun-Sentinel


BSO
PATRICIA ATKINS-GRAD
Tamarac City Commissioner Patricia "Patte" Atkins-Grad was arrested Friday on charges she took $6,300 in illegal payments from developers to lease a BMW and pay for her election victory party in exchange for voting for their project.
Atkins-Grad, 64, a Democrat elected to the commission in 2006, turned herself in at the main jail Friday morning after the Broward state attorney's office obtained a warrant for her arrest on public corruption charges. She was released on bond in the afternoon and Gov. Charlie Crist suspended her from office pending the outcome of the case.

Her lawyer said Atkins-Grad is dedicated to her city and her job, and that she will fight the allegations.

Her arrest, months after former County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion pleaded guilty to accepting gifts and cash from the same developers, Bruce and Shawn Chait of Prestige Homes, is the first in what is expected to be a new volley of criminal charges against other Broward politicians, said sources with knowledge of the investigations, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.

Reached Friday afternoon at her home, where a silver BMW bearing a blue "Positively Patte" bumper sticker was parked outside, Atkins-Grad said her arrest was a miserable experience that was undeserved because she is innocent.

"I'm not the average elected official," she said. "I never felt like a politician, I just felt like giving back to my community."

Atkins-Grad faces eight felony charges, including two counts each of bribery and unlawful compensation, three counts of official misconduct and one count of conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation, state attorney's spokesman Ron Ishoy said.

The bribery and unlawful compensation charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years on each count, while the other charges carry a five-year maximum.

Atkins-Grad is accused of letting the Chaits buy her support with campaign donations, some of which she returned, even before she was elected on March 13, 2006. One of her first actions after taking office, prosecutors said, was a meeting with Shawn Chait where she accepted $4,000 cash to help pay for her victory party at Diamante's Banquet Center.

In December 2006, prosecutors say, Atkins-Grad expressed an interest in a luxury car and Shawn Chait paid $2,300 of the $3,100 or so due on the lease of a BMW 525i three months later.

During that time, Atkins-Grad voted in favor of the Chaits' massive construction plans at City Commission meetings without disclosing the payments or potential conflict of interest, as required by law, prosecutors alleged.

The Chaits' now-stalled building project drew strong protests from many residents who opposed what would have been one of the biggest developments in Tamarac in recent memory. The developers planned to build 728 homes on 153 acres near Florida's Turnpike and Commercial Boulevard, but the project was put on hold as the economy and the housing market soured.

Ken Malnik, Atkins-Grad's attorney, said it was too soon to respond to the specific allegations against her, but attacked the Chaits' reputations.

"The Chaits were in a lot of trouble and it's our position that they are not worthy of being believed. They were looking at some serious charges and now it's my understanding they are getting some kind of a sweetheart deal in exchange for making these kinds of allegations against other people," Malnik said.

Broward prosecutors, including special prosecutions chief Tim Donnelly, declined to comment but the affidavit in Atkins-Grad's case makes several references to campaign donations from the Chaits to Tamarac Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco, and it is clear that many elected city or county officials who voted for the Prestige Homes projects are now under scrutiny.

Dave Bogenschutz, the attorney representing the Chaits, who are named as co-conspirators in the court documents filed against Atkins-Grad, said there's a lot more to come, but wouldn't name names.

"I don't think that the last shoe has dropped with respect to the Chaits," Bogenschutz said. "This is not the end of the line for officials being charged with respect to this case."

Several sources with knowledge of various aspects of the investigation told the Sun Sentinel that among current and former public officials under scrutiny because of alleged interactions with the Chaits are county commissioners Stacy Ritter and Ilene Lieberman, School Board member Stephanie Kraft, Tamarac Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco and former Tamarac Vice Mayor Marc Sultanof.

Also under investigation on other allegations are County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin, Ritter and her husband, lobbyist Russ Klenet, and Kraft, the sources said.

None of the individuals have been charged with any crimes.

Earlier this month, state prosecutors credited Eggelletion's cooperation for helping to unravel unspecified cases involving the Chaits.

Eggelletion is serving 2 1/2 years in prison for a federal money-laundering conspiracy conviction and a state bribery conviction. He began cooperating with state prosecutors after his September 2009 arrest when he was caught in an undercover FBI sting.

In April, Eggelletion also pleaded guilty to taking a bribe. He admitted that he accepted a $3,200 golf club membership and $25,000 in cash from the Chaits for voting in favor of their Tamarac project.

Eggelletion gave sworn testimony against the Chaits earlier this year and prosecutor Jeannette Camacho recently said his statements helped prosecutors bring criminal charges against the Chaits, who began cooperating and provided information about other suspects. Camacho would not elaborate.

The Chaits are charged with bribery of a public official, unlawful compensation and perjury. They have reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, the details of which are not yet public, and are scheduled for a change of plea hearing in August.

Tamarac political insiders have been buzzing about allegations of official misconduct for some time, but Atkins-Grad's surrender and jailing Friday aroused sympathy in some quarters and satisfaction in others.

"I really feel bad," said Commissioner Diane Glasser. "It's not a pleasant thing to go through, not a pleasant thing for anybody."

State Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Parkland, whose district includes Tamarac, said the Chaits had a lot of local influence.

"I don't know who they were paying off but clearly they were," Ring said.

Asked about the allegations involving the developers, Flansbaum-Talabisco, Tamarac's mayor, said: "As long as there's an investigation going on, you're welcome to call Sam [Goren, the city attorney]. I'm not going to address anything. Right now for the day, I'm done. I'm not commenting about anything, period."

Patti Lynn, a city activist who ran against Atkins-Grad in 2006 and 2009, called Atkins-Grad's arrest a wake-up call to pay more attention to city government. "They are not a good commission. They don't think for themselves at all. … [Atkins-Grad] had no idea what she was doing. She had done no community service at all."

A special commission meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday to discuss the process of appointing someone to fill Atkins-Grad's seat. Her District 2 seat, which includes the Woodlands, Concord Village, parts of the Mainlands, and the Lime Bay condos, is expected to be filled by mid-July.

Staff writer Scott Wyman and staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/26/v-print/1702233/accused-of-corruption-tamarac.html#ixzz0s3GUmMYY