CBS4 Exclusive: Two City Supervisors In Broward Busted For Bribery
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BROWARD (CBSMiami) – Two supervisors in two different Broward County cities are facing criminal charges of bribery.
Investigators say Carl Ervin, former Dania Beach Public Works supervisor, and Jami Moore, former superintendent of Deerfield Beach Parks, sold out their ethics in exchange for gift cards and, in one case, car repairs.
This episode came to light when the assistant city manager in Dania Beach blew the whistle on Ervin, said Det. John Calabro of the Broward Sheriff's Office's Public Corruption Unit.
Wal-Mart gift cards were the enticement that led to Ervin's downfall, Calabro wrote in the arrest report.
BSO says Ervin bought more than $30,000 worth of chemicals for Dania Beach from salesman Bob Feldman.
In exchange for that large piece of business, Feldman is accused of supplying Ervin with Wal-Mart gift cards.
Calabro wrote in the arrest report…"(Ervin) stated that at first Bob gave him $10.00 gift cards but later they increased to $25.00 and that normally Bob would give him two for each purchase he made."
Calabro said the purchases that Ervin made sent up a red flag.
"The volume of these products almost filled up an office in Dania Beach," Calabro said.
For Deerfield Beach Parks Superintendent Moore, it was fire ant killer that gave him away.
Specifically, Calabro determined that Moore bought $14,360 worth of fire ant killer over eight purchases from Feldman.
Calabro called it "an outrageous amount."
"They could have killed all the ants in Broward County," he said.
Calabro says Moore got gift cards as well as a watch and more than $1,300 in car repairs from Feldman.
Both men lost their jobs, Calabro said, and face a bribery charge. The arrest report said each man admitted their wrongdoing.
"For a few dollars they threw away their career and both ended up getting arrested," Calabro told CBS4 News.
According to the arrest report, Feldman told investigators, "I know what I did was wrong. I did it in a manic stage to build up sales. Sometimes public officials can become greedy, a lot of times a municipality will buy more than they need."
Feldman told investigators that he did work with cities throughout Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Feldman faces two counts of bribery.
Calabro said he found no other cases where workers in any other cities also took bribes.
