Former mayor pleads guilty in Tallahassee public corruption probe
A former Tallahassee mayor and his former chief of staff pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to three charges relating to fraud in a federal corruption probe.
Scott Maddox and aide Paige Carter-Smith pleaded guilty to wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit tax fraud, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. In return, prosecutors agreed to drop most of the charges against them in a 48-count indictment.
“We hope these defendants will now come forward, fully accept their responsibility and cooperate by providing truthful information in this case and about any potentially criminal conduct beyond the scope of this particular case,” U.S. Attorney Larry Keefe said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
The pleas involve the duo’s dealings with a development firm that was an FBI front company and ride share Uber. Prosecutors said Maddox would send clients to Governance, Carter-Smith’s lobbying firm, and she would then pay Maddox for his influence on the city commission.
Uber paid $40,000 to the consulting firm over several months in 2015, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The firm then paid Maddox $40,000.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Maddox admitted to accepting money and filing an amendment approved for Uber. His vote on rules for Uber, he said, would have been the same even if the ride-share company hadn’t paid Carter-Smith, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
“We view ourselves as victims of extortion in this case, which is why we’ve cooperated fully with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office throughout this process,” an Uber spokesman said in an email to the Miami Herald.
In the FBI front-company charges, agents posed as developers pursuing real estate projects in Tallahassee, WCTV reported. Businessman J.T. Burnette helped arrange the front company’s three-year $10,000-a-month payment to the lobbying firm to get their project authorized. Burnette is also facing charges.
“I will not comment beyond the allegations set forth in the proceeding indictments,” Keefe said in the press conference. “Other than to say that Mr. Burnette is presumed innocent until proven guilty and that the United States is eager to proceed the trial.”
The plea comes almost a week after Maddox’s lawyers filed a request in federal court to change his plea.
Maddox, who chaired the state Democratic Party from 2002-05 and served as Tallahassee’s mayor from 1997 to 2003, was indicted in December as part of an FBI probe into corruption at Tallahassee City Hall.
Maddox and Carter-Smith face up to 45 years in prison, according to WCTV. Their sentencing is Nov. 29.
Maddox’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
This story was originally published August 6, 2019 at 1:21 PM.
