Fmr. Lauderdale Vice Mayor Pleads Guilty In Corruption Case
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) - Former Ft. Lauderdale Vice Mayor Cindi Hutchinson will be spending four months in jail as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Hutchinson who had been charged with multiple counts of Unlawful Compensation, Official Misconduct, Grand Theft and Petit Theft pleaded guilty Monday to three of the counts.
In addition to the jail time she was ordered to pay $1,500 - $500 for each count – and will serve five years probation. Hutchinson will turn herself in April 15th.
The judge also encouraged her to do some volunteer work at the Boys & Girls Club.
Hutchinson, 53, was accused of accepting gifts contractors which totaled in $14,000 in value.
Hutchinson, who lived with her mother, allegedly renovated the home built by her father in the 1950s using developers who received zoning changes from the city while she was a commissioner.
According to the arrest warrant signed on January 25, 2011 by Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Levenson, Commissioner Hutchinson accepted fences, pavers, fence repair, air conditioning repairs and other work from subcontractors from the La Preserve and Georgian Oaks development projects at the direction of Steven Goldstrom and Glenn Wright.
This happened after Hutchinson voted on rezoning approval for the Georgian Oaks and La Preserve development projects, which were located in her district. She then failed to list the gifts and services on state-required gift-disclosure forms.
