Gulf Coast Officials Charged With Bribery, Suspended
POSTED: Thursday, November 6, 2008
UPDATED: 1:56 pm EST November 6, 2008
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Four local government officials in two Gulf coast counties were indicted Wednesday on federal bribery charges and suspended from their posts.Two Levy County commissioners -- William Yearty and Robert Parker -- and two men from Dixie County -- Cross Creek Councilman Marcellus Dawson and Cross Creek City Superintendent Johnny Green -- were charged with bribery and making a false fraudulent statement.The federal indictment alleges that the four men conspired to accept things of value in exchange for approval of business pending with Levy County or the city of Cross Creek.According to one indictment, Dawson and Green each accepted several hundred dollars during a meeting at the Bonefish Grill in November 2007.Yearty and Parker had dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Gainesville in December 2007 to discuss a New York City trip and accepted $10,000 before traveling to the city, according to a second indictment.All three are also charged with making false statements to the FBI.Gov. Charlie Crist issued executive orders Wednesday suspending the men.Three of the men were arraigned Wednesday and pleaded not guilty.
Copyright 2008 by News4Jax.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Police say it will take an autopsy to learn why a 54-year-old man died early Monday morning after he was taken into custody in an Arlington home.
Investigators say a woman was lying in the middle of the road at Garden Street and Imeson Road early Monday when she was hit by a car.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is investigating a Sunday afternoon shooting that left a Jacksonville teenager in the hospital.
A woman was airlifted to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after she was thrown from her pickup truck and crushed under it.
This Brantley County High School teacher went from a classroom to a jail cell. Police say she had been teaching at the school while drunk.
The 17-year-old was shot by another juvenile and survived.
A father recorded videotape of the family's babysitter alone with his young children.
Early investigation indicates that the shooting may be accidental.
Investigators are still looking for the killer.
As you attempt to recover from a crazy summer, September offers up some of the strangest holidays you'll find on the entire calendar.
Check out these lookers who ran into the law.
It is a place of sacrifice. A place of mourning. A place people pass by on their way to grab lunch. It's a place where tourists crane their necks to snatch a glimpse around barriers walling off an enormous construction site -- which is also what Ground Zero now is nine years after 9/11.
Capturing N.E. Florida's wanted suspects is a tough task, so the local station is trying to help with the Wheel of Justice. Every Thursday morning, the wheel spins and a wanted fugitive is profiled.
Images: Fugitives On 'Wheel'
Slideshow: Images from Week 1 of the 2010 high school season around northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.
View Images
Email Alerts
RSS News Feeds
Mobile
Live Streams
Slideshows
Video
Search
