Suspended St. Johns commissioner may reach plea agreement soon
From Sunshine Review
Contents |
July 28, 2009 The suspended St. Johns County commissioner, Tom Manuel, must reach a plea agreement by 30 July 2009 for the case in which he is charged with bribery charges.[1]
[edit] Manuel
Manuel represented the Ponte Vedra Beach area and must choose between pleading not guilty and entering trial or pleading guilty and resigning. The trial would begin a few weeks from his decision in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville.
In December, the governor appointed Ponte Vedra Beach developer Phil Mays to temporarily fill Manuel's seat. If Manuel must resign, Mays could continue the rest of the term through 2010 should the governor decided.
"The actual appointment letter is for the duration of the suspension," said County Attorney Patrick McCormack.
The deadline for Manuel's decision is an the second extension that U.S. District Judge Marcia Howard granted. Howard allowed an extension on 20 July as she did in June because of a health concern with Manuel's heart, said his attorney, Gray Thomas. In 2002, Manuel had a heart transplant.
[edit] The delay
"His trial has been delayed a couple of times and the judge has told him that he has until July 30 [Thursday]," said U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Steve Cole. "If he wants to plead guilty, he must do that. If he does not, then a trial will be set."
Manuel is charged with accepting $10,000 in bribes in April 2008 and an additional $50,000 in June 2008. Allegedly, Manuel and other commissioners voted to pay $2.15 million for work at the Interstate 95/County Road 210 interchange to Atlantic Beach developer Bruce Robbins' real estate company.
The day after the two-count indictment, on 17 October, Gov. Charlie Crist suspended Manuel and appointed Mays two months later.
Generally, a deadline extension for a plea agreement suggests that a deal is at least on the table, said Charles Rose, a law professor and director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy at Stetson University.
"I can't say that they're close," Rose said. "But I can say they're talking."
Manuel has denied the charges, but if he is convicted he faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
| |||||||
