A plea deal could be reached in the federal corruption case against suspended Broward School Board member Beverly Gallagher, her attorney indicated Friday after Gallagher briefly appeared in court in Fort Lauderdale.

``Certainly, those conversations are always entered into with the government,'' attorney David Bogenschutz said after Gallagher waived her right to a preliminary hearing, which could be a sign that plea negotiations are under way.

If no agreement is reached, Bogenschutz said he expects a grand jury to indict Gallagher by her next scheduled court appearance on Nov. 20.

Gallagher, 51, pleaded not guilty last month after being arrested as part of a corruption sting that also resulted in the arrests of suspended Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion and former Miramar City Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman in separate cases.

Gallagher is accused of extortion, bribery and wire fraud for allegedly accepting $12,500 from FBI agents posing as consultants for contractors who were trying to break into the school district's construction business.

On Friday, Gallagher appeared before Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum but did not talk to the media. Gallagher was accompanied by one of her grown daughters, Annie.

Bogenschutz said he has talked with Gallagher about the case for more than eight hours since she hired him last week. The change of attorney was also made official in court Friday.

``There is a tremendous amount of information we've already been provided by the government and by her,'' Bogenschutz said. ``We're not dragging our feet on this. It's just a question of getting up to speed.''

Gallagher is the latest high-profile elected official who called on Bogenschutz after running into trouble with the law. Others include former Sheriff Ken Jenne and former Deerfield Beach Mayor Al Capellini.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@