Feds: Satz Was No Help
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Once again, Broward State Attorney Mike Satz was reading about the arrest of Broward public officials on the Internet, rather than on an indictment from his office.
Satz had nothing to do with today’s indictments for corruption of County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, School Board member Bev Gallagher and former Miramar Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman.
When asked if Satz’s office had a role in the investigations, Acting U. S. Attorney for South Florida Jeffrey Sloman said a big “NO.”
“There is no coordination with the State Attorney’s Office, he said.
They didn’t even talk?
Ouch!
Satz is investigating whether a Tamarac developer paid Joe Eggelletion’s membership at a local country club. But an indictment now by the state attorney would be anti-climatic.
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At a noon news conference at the U. S. Attorney’s Office to announce today’s indictments, I recognized at least six members of the Sun-Sentinel staff, four representatives of the Miami Herald and the county commission’s public relations spokeswoman Kimberly Maroe.
Presumably Maroe was there to convey to the rest of the county commission what happened to Joe.
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Several years ago I found myself in the bar at the Tallahassee Doubletree Hotel with Bev Gallagher.
It was very late and Gallagher was doing what is commonly called “crying in her beer.but I believe she was drinking hard liquor.
She complained to me in great detail that she was broke. She blamed her ex-husband, Tom Gallagher, who she said left her for another woman.
She was rolling off figures, how much this cost and how much that cost.
I was only half listening. I was really thinking how I would get out of there without insulting her, since we were almost the only ones left in the bar.
If I knew her finances might be part of a story someday, I would have paid more attention. Hell, I would even have taken notes on a cocktail napkin.
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I assume Gallagher and Eggelletion have negotiated a plea deal already. After reading the criminal complaint, that would be a good way to go.
If they fight the charges, it doesn’t takes a legal genius to figure they will argue they were entrapped.
To fight an allegation of entrapment, The U. S. Attorneys Office would have to establish that they had reason to target the Eggelletion and Gallagher.
Sloman today was vague on why the two were targeted, or if others were targeted and didn’t bite.
Browardbeat.com knows that at least one of Gallagher’s “friends” aided the FBI in the investigation. Did this friend encourage the FBI to target her?
We’ll find out.
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When I heard Eggelletion was arrested, it was absolutely no surprise. I can’t remember running across any public official with less principals than Josephus Eggelletion. I always said he was an indictment waiting to happen.
This is a guy who charged a $700 briefcase to the county taxpayers shortly after being elected! This is a guy who demanded to stay in five star luxury hotels when traveling on the taxpayers dime. This is a guy who paid an ethics violation for voting on a garbage contract for a firm that was paying him to lobby.
But most of all, this is a guy who had sex with his own students when he taught in the public school system. He had a baby with one of those students.
Anyone who would do what he did to those young girls doesn’t have a moral bone in his body.
He betrayed his wife, he betrayed his position as a teacher and he betrayed these girls and their parents. After that, how hard is it to betray the voters and taxpayers?
I can’t believe he is still collecting a public school pension.
But based on his history, I can believe almost anything else about Josephus Eggelletion…except that he is a good person.
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:31 pm
You are right, Buddy. Eggelletion is scum.
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I had a problem at the school my child went to and called Bev Gallagher. Not only couldn’t I get her on the phone, but her aide rudely said they weren’t there to help me. She is no public servant.
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Once again, Satz is asleep at the switch. If you know anything about corruption, don’t complain to Satz and his crew of do-nothings. Go to the FBI who really do an investigation. Satz should have done something about corruption at the School Board years ago. I hope the voters remember.
September 24th, 2009 at 5:14 am
The takedown of the three Broward elected officials resulted from an undercover FBI sting. It was their case from start to finish. What role would the State Attorney’s Office need to play in that?
Why should Republican leaning sources constantly take cheap shots at Mike Satz when by any comparative standard he is doing a good job? Might they have a candidate of their own?
September 24th, 2009 at 5:59 am
Satz should be the one facing charges. He is a disgrace to the community. He has carefully constructed his Mr. Clean image while simultaneously averting his gaze from every dirty political friend from Jenne on down.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:19 am
I don’t get it —- you sound like one of Satz’s high paid do nothing cronies worried about your job. The reason there’s so much corruption here is because of people like you who think only poor blacks deserve to be punished for crimes. Rich whitey politicians don’t get prosecuted. If they did you people wouldn’t stay in power for 25 years. The last thing you would do is alienate the power elite no matter how corrupt and dishonest they are. The state attorney’s office is a filthy complicit nest of lowlifes.
September 24th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Many Republicans have told me that they have strategically made Mike Satz a political target in hope of replacing him with someone who will file trumped up charges against many currently elected officials, whether the charges are warranted or not, in the hope of replacing them with Republicans.
That’s the real political agenda here with these attacks on Mike Satz. Republican control.
September 24th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
“Presumably Maroe was there to convey to the rest of the county commission what happened to Joe.”
or perhaps she wanted to hear the real story rather then reading it on your crappy website full of half truths and rumors.
September 28th, 2009 at 10:46 am
It looks like Beverly is going to be broke again! Especially if our “Fearless Leader” keeps runnng down our great country.