Masilotti charged (Republican County Commission Chairman)

[Judi Lynn]

Masilotti charged
By Tom Dubocq

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

WEST PALM BEACH — Former Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti faces up to five years in prison and forfeiture of $9.5'million in cash and real estate for his leading role in a land deal conspiracy that stretched from 2000 to this past June, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Masilotti, who in a sorrowful resignation letter said he will plead guilty, is expected to surrender Friday at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, where he will appear for the first time before a judge. Still to be determined: when Masilotti formally will plead guilty and when he'll be dispatched to prison.

A federal grand jury charged the 50-year-old insurance broker with conspiracy to violate the federal "honest services" statute, a law that allows prosecutors to charge public officials with corruption even if there was no direct bribe to secure an official act. Public officials - and those caught providing them with financial inducements - can be charged even if there was no specific vote involved.

"As an elected official, former Commissioner Masilotti was legally and ethically required to represent the best interests of his constituents and to perform his duties free from fraud and self-dealing," U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said at a news conference Monday. "Masilotti repeatedly breached that duty and misused his power and his office for personal gain."

Acosta hinted that more defendants could be charged in the case but declined to elaborate. The grand jury's charging document points to a group of prominent lawyers and developers allegedly involved in the series of tainted land deals that made Masilotti millions.
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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/10/31/m1a_MASILOTTI_1031.html

[tblue]

1. Another one bites the dust

[WillParkinson]

2. in a sorrowful resignation letter...

I'm SOOOOOO sorry I got caught!