The office of Governor Ron Desantis announced that in the coming weeks he would appoint a commissioner to fill the position of the 11th district
MIAMI.- The commissioner County Miami-Dade Joe Martínez was suspended this Tuesday for the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, following being arrested last month on charges of alleged corruption.
The governor’s office released a statement announcing the suspension, which it deemed appropriate “in the best interest of Miami-Dade County residents.”
He added that in the coming weeks a provisional commissioner would be appointed, whose position would be called for elections later, to occupy the position of the 11th district vacated by Martínez, whose arrest occurred on August 30 on charges of alleged illegal compensation and conspiracy to receive illegal compensation.
According to an arrest warrant, the charges stem from money Martinez allegedly accepted in exchange for helping a supermarket owner and property owner to have a larger number of storage containers than county law allows.
Those people had been cited for violating a Miami-Dade County ordinance, which prohibited properties smaller than 10 acres from having cargo storage containers, according to the court order.
According to the investigations, Martínez would have accepted three payments of 5,000 dollars.
Martínez’s attorneys argued that the charges once morest their client are political in nature, since the commissioner was considering a possible candidacy for Miami-Dade County Sheriff.
The lawyers said in a statement that “for now, Commissioner Martinez makes it clear that he is innocent of any wrongdoing and intends to work aggressively to clear his name.”
Martínez served as president of the Commission twice. He was commissioned for District 11 in 2000 and won that chair once more in 2016.
