Wasserman-Rubin

A few weeks ago it was Tamarac Commissioner Patricia Atkins-Grad who was arrested and charged.

Wasserman-Rubin, a Democrat, was released from the Broward county jail on Wednesday morning on bond set at $24,500.

The 63-year-old is being charged with using her political influence to assist the development of her husband's business. A statement from the Broward State Attorney’s office on Tuesday indicated that the commissioner faces seven felony counts of unlawful compensation for improperly advocating for, and benefiting from, numerous government grants written by her husband, Richard Rubin, on behalf of the town of Southwest Ranches which is located in the district she represented. Three of these counts are third-degree felonies that could each result in up to five years in prison, and four are second-degree felonies that could result in up to 15 years in prison.

According to reports, Wasserman-Rubin, who has been under investigation for corrupt practices related to her commissioner job since 2005, resigned from the Broward County Commission, and turned herself in when she was advised by her attorney that there was a warrant out for her arrest. In her resignation letter, she said she intends to “vigorously defend” herself against the charges and be vindicated.

The allegations against the commissioner dates back to 2003 when she was purported to have voted for county grants for land purchased by her husband for Southwest Ranches, and for which her husband gained a bonus of $15,000. Such action would have been breaking a Florida law which bans state elected officials from voting on matters from which their spouses or themselves would benefit financially,

Wasserman-Rubin would have ended her term as a commissioner at the end of this year, as she had previously announced that she was not seeking re-election due to ill-health. With elections due in November, it is unlikely that a replacement will be appointed or an election held to fill her now vacant seat. This leaves the commission with eight members. Last year, former Broward Commissioner Josephus Eggeletion was also arrested on corruption charges and is now serving a two and a-half year sentence in a Georgia correctional center.

South West Ranches resident Lester Bachelor thinks that the charges against his county representative are unfair. “She admitted several months ago that she was not aware that the project she approved involved her husband. It seemed like an honest mistake. The woman agreed to pay restitution for the $15,000, plus she had announced she was sick with Parkinson Disease and was resigning. So, why the arrest? Obviously a witch-hunt is going on for Broward elected officials. If they sneeze too hard, they are likely to be arrested. Something is wrong, and is a cause for great concern.”