Patricia Atkins-Grad

Atkins-Grad, who has since been suspended from her District 2 seat by Florida Governor Charlie Crist, was arrested after an investigation, which claims she sold the influence that her city office yields for illicit gain.

The charges against Atkins-Grad arose from FBI investigations into wide-scale corruption among South Florida political representatives.

Atkins-Grad has been charged on allegations that she allowed Prestige Homes developers Bruce and Shawn Chait to illegally pay $2,300 for her BMW car lease and $4,000 for an election victory party.

She has been cited in all with 15 felony charges including bribery, official misconduct, receiving unlawful compensation and conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation for her relationship with the developers. In return for the ‘gifts’, Atkins-Grad is alleged to favor them on their residential building projects in the city.

On bonding out of the Broward County jail on Friday afternoon, the former commissioner was reported telling a local television news reporter that her charges “are a joke.” According to her attorney, Ken Malnick, she will plead not guilty to the charges when she appears in court in early July.

Beverly Pratt, a longtime resident of Tamarac and former resident of neighboring Lauderdale Lakes, said, “All these politicians, when they are caught in their corrupt acts, take it for a joke and plead not guilty. But, in a few months time, you see them being hauled off to jail. This is no joke to the electorate who voted for these jokers. We voted for them thinking they are people of integrity. Imagine I voted for both Joe Eggelletion (who is serving time for corruption) and Mrs. Atkins-Grad, and look at the outcome. It is getting so sad. It seems we can’t trust any politician, and they can’t resist corruption.”

Tamarac City Commission decided at an emergency meeting on Monday to fill Atkins-Grad’s now vacant seat by July 16. The commissioners gave District 2 voters up to July 12 to submit an application to fill the seat, and following a public vetting process, the commission could name the replacement commissioner on July 16.

Reports also indicate that other members of the Tamarac City Commission are also being investigated for corrupt dealings with the Chaits who have been charged with bribery of a public official, unlawful compensation and perjury. Other Broward officers are also being investigated for various charges of corruption.

Over the past year, Eggelletion, former Broward County Commissioner; Fitzroy Salesman, former Miramar City Commissioner; Beverly Gallagher, former Broward School Board member; and Michelle Spence-Jones former City of Miami Commissioner have all been arrested on fraud and other charges.

Eggelletion is currently serving a two and half year sentence in a Jesup, Georgia correctional center; Salesman is in jail awaiting his sentence, after being found guilty in his April trial; Gallagher has also been sentenced to three years in prison, while Spence-Jones is awaiting her trial date.