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Miami-Dade Commissioner Charged in Corruption Probe

Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez is accused of taking $15,000 to help a local property owner evade repeated fines over storage violations.

Joe Martinez, the Miami-Dade County commissioner, has been taken into custody after a lengthy corruption probe found he allegedly took a bribe of $15,000 while in office. The 64-year-old surrendered to Florida authorities on Tuesday, his attorney confirmed. In an arrest warrant, Martinez was accused of taking payments from the owner of a supermarket to sponsor legislation that would have alleviated the property’s frequent citations for storage violations. Martinez previously decried the investigation, which was sparked by an anonymous tip in 2017, as “politically motivated.” On Tuesday, he was charged with two felony counts of unlawful compensation and conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation, spending roughly five hours in jail before posting bond. “The prospect of a public official soliciting funds to benefit himself or his business associates is both illegal and offensive,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a news conference. “There are a lot of good hardworking people in government who respect and honor the public’s trust.”