Miami-Dade Commissioner charged with two felony counts in corruption case

Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez is being charged with two corruption-related felony counts after he turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday. 

The longtime elected official will face charges of unlawful compensation and conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation. 

Martinez allegedly received around $15,000 from a Miami-Dade business owner in exchange for crafting legislation that could have helped the business avoid several code violations, reported Local 10. 

Martinez “knowingly and intentionally accepted money from Jorge Negrin, the owner and operator of Extra Supermarket… in consideration for Martinez using his official position and office to assist with code enforcement fines and fees,” investigators wrote.

The fees were related to storage containers that were being illegally kept on the supermarket’s property. Martinez had drafted a new legislation in 2017 that would have allowed those containers to remain there. However, the law never passed. 

According to court documents, the allegation against the commissioner date back to 2016, when he was re-elected after leaving his position for four years. 

Martinez was booked into jail but bonded out on Tuesday.

"In simplest terms, this shows an official using his office for personal benefit. Those in government who abuse their office undermine their position before taxpayers. No one wants to tolerate this type of activity. It is not easy when you find people who are elected who use that position for their benefit," said Democratic State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, whose office brought the charges against Martinez. 

Martinez’s lawyer had dismissed the charges as being politically motivated. He claimed that Rundle was targeting him because he is seen as a Republican candidate for the newly-created post of Miami-Dade sheriff. 

"State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle directed Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez to surrender this week based on false allegations arising from his private practice work as a consultant when he was a private citizen and not an elected official,” his attorney, Ben Kuehne said.

"The investigation has been ongoing for five years, so the timing of the allegations that do not involve Commissioner Martinez's time in public office raise questions of a political impact when he is considered the front runner for the newly created sheriff of Miami-Dade County," Kuehne added.