MIAMI – Governor Ron DeSantis has suspended Joe Martinez from his place on the Miami-Dade Commission.
Martinez, who has served on the County Commission on and off since 2000, was charged final month with illegal compensation and conspiracy to commit illegal compensation, in response to an arrest warrant.
Investigators say Martinez accepted $15,000 from a grocery store proprietor who was going through repeated fines for having too many storage items on the property. In change for the cash, authorities say Martinez pushed laws that may permit the grocery store and its landlord to legally have their storage containers.
Click here to learn the Arrest Warrant Affidavit.
Although that laws in the end didn’t move, officers mentioned the costs have been permissible.
“These violations constitute felonies in the second and third degree, and it is in the best interest of the residents of Miami-Dade County that Martinez be immediately suspended from the public office that he holds,” in response to an announcement from the governor’s workplace.
The felonies are punishable by as much as 5 years in jail every.
After a 17-year police profession, Martinez was elected to the fee in 2000. He gave up the seat in 2012 for an unsuccessful run for county mayor, then failed in a 2014 Republican marketing campaign for Congress. He was elected to rejoin the fee in 2016 and reelected in 2020.
DeSantis is anticipated to nominate a commissioner to fill the District 11 seat within the coming weeks.
