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Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Michael
Mayo
Published
April 5, 2010
Most
politicians cut plea deals when confronted with the unpleasant news that
they've been caught on tape taking money from undercover federal agents.
Not Fitzroy Salesman.
We should be grateful for the former Miramar commissioner's defiant
spirit.
By fighting federal bribery and extortion charges, Salesman has allowed us
to get the full flavor of South Florida's "pay-to-play" (as he
put it) political culture. Hours of taped conversations with undercover
agents have been played at his ongoing trial, providing a civics lesson we
never learn in school.
Salesman told one agent "it's not a kickback" if a contractor
gets a job from a city and a commissioner makes money on the deal as a
consultant, so long as the job is done well and the payment is made after
the project is finished.
"Then it's not a kickback," Salesman told FBI agent John Osa at
a Hooters restaurant in Pembroke Pines in May 2007. "Then it's the
company dividing the profits the way they want."
He even sounded genuinely concerned about not squandering taxpayers'
money, saying "I have a reputation to uphold."
He also was hesitant about getting cash up front, saying: "I'm not
going to jail for no bull----."
I had to stifle laughter when I heard that in court last week.
We'll see what the jury makes of this.
Salesman's lawyers say Salesman was paid $7,840 for legitimate consulting
work done while he was suspended from office on a DUI charge.
Federal prosecutors say Salesman took money, including $3,340 when he was
an active commissioner, to improperly steer work to a local contractor.
The portrait painted on the 2006 and 2007 tapes, with undercover agents
posing as businessmen and contractors seeking government work, isn't
flattering. And it's not just Salesman who comes off badly.
With hidden microphones and cameras rolling at restaurants, a boat outing
and a local political banquet, we have been treated to a Lauderdale Lakes
commissioner who is now a state representative (Hazelle Rogers) talking
about skirting capital gains taxes on a home sale and a Miramar Commission
candidate (George Pedlar) ignoring campaign finance rules by taking a
$5,000 contribution, 10 times the legal maximum.
Even former Broward County
Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, who has pleaded guilty to money
laundering and bribery charges, hasn't been spared more embarrassment. In
court last week, Osa testified about trying to get sidewalk construction
work from the county and how Eggelletion told him "how he'd take a
large contract and break it up" to get under the county's $250,000,
no-bid threshold and avoid a commission vote.
Eggelletion and former Broward School Board member Beverly Gallagher,
arrested the same day as Salesman in September, avoided trials with quick
pleas. Eggelletion will begin serving a 2 1/2-year prison sentence in May.
Gallagher will be sentenced in June for her bribery offense, with
prosecutors and her lawyers recommending a 37-month sentence.
Salesman is going down swinging. He's no stranger to courtrooms, with two
previous arrests leading to political suspensions. He was acquitted in the
2005 DUI charge, but was found guilty of a misdemeanor gun offense for a
Thanksgiving 2007 incident at a supermarket. Voters didn't return him to
office and he was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
This time, he faces up to 100 years in prison if convicted of all six
counts of bribery, extortion and honest-services fraud.
At the May 2007 Hooters meeting, Salesman instructed the undercover FBI
agent on the finer points of winning Miramar contracts that needed
Commission approval, those exceeding $50,000. Salesman already had helped
Osa's associates land a $34,000 park gazebo job.
Salesman spoke about another company that he "went to bat for"
getting $22 million in city contracts in two years.
"There's no law that says the lowest bid has to win," Salesman
said over wings (sauce on the side) and french fries. "There are
other things that come into play. … I want somebody who builds a
relationship, gives back to the community."
At the same meeting, Salesman said: "Let me tell you how it goes,
because I'm acting in my capacity as a lobbyist. A lot of politicians
won't take the chance of taking money under the table, but we all have our
pet projects. … Let's say I have a charity event and I'll ask if you can
sponsor a table for $1,000. That makes me look good."
With Broward's "pay-to-play" culture finally coming home to
roost, nobody looks so good now.
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