County Employee Pleads Guilty To Accepting Bribes
NORTH MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – A former Miami-Dade Public Works employee, charged in a bribery scam, pleaded guilty.
Garfield Perry, 66, of North Miami Beach, pleaded guilty to conspiring to accept bribes in connection with programs receiving federal funds and to commit extortion.
As a county employee, Perry oversaw street-lighting projects for the Department of Public Works.
According to court documents, he accepted payments from a vendor on two home mortgages, one car loan, two home insurance policies, and eight credit cards.
In return for bribery payments, Perry helped ensure that the contractor's lighting products were used in the county's street maintenance projects, according to court documents.
Perry is the county's second roadway lighting coordinator to be charged with the same conspiracy offense. Earlier this year, George Brown, 51, of Hollywood, who held Perry's job after him, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from the same contractor and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Brown, charged last year, admitted he accepted $13,000 in household appliances and other merchandise from the vendor.
To pull off the scheme, Perry allegedly directed the contractor to make checks payable to third parties and, after the checks were cashed, decided how the proceeds would be split.
His sentencing is scheduled for July 29th at 9:00 a.m.
Perry could face up to five years in prison.
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