BOCA RATON, Fla. – The mayor of Boca Raton was arrested Tuesday night, charged with official misconduct, perjury in an official proceeding, misuse of public office, corrupt misuse of public office and failure to disclose a voting conflict.
Mayor Susan Haynie, 62, was released from jail hours later on a $12,000 bond.
File: Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie probable cause affidavit
The Sun-Sentinel reported that Haynie also dropped her bid for county commission Tuesday, submitting a letter to the elections supervisor. She has not resigned as mayor.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Haynie failed to disclose income that she and her husband collected while she was in office, including payments from a developer who did business with the city.
An investigation by the Palm Beach County state attorney's office began in March 2017 after receiving complaints that Haynie "used her position to vote on issues having a favorable financial impact on a developer who owns a substantial amount of property" in the city.
Detective Diana Burfield wrote in the affidavit that Haynie falsified her required state financial disclosure forms in 2014, 2015 and 2016 by "omitting the fact that she was being compensated" by developer James Batmasian.
According to records from the Florida Division of Corporations, Susan and Neil Haynie were listed as managing members of a company called Community Reliance LLC when it was founded in 2008. Susan Haynie was listed as a managing member until 2016, when her husband became sole managing member.
The investigation revealed that the association at Tivoli Park, a condominium owned by Batmasian, hired Community Reliance LLC and paid the company at least $12,000 per year to manage the property. Susan Haynie told ethics investigators in a sworn statement that her husband had not been paid, but Batmasian's wife claimed that he had, Burfield wrote.
"Susan Haynie voted on four occasions during 2016 and 2017 while being compensated by the people benefitting from the outcomes of the votes," Burfield wrote. "During 2016, Susan Haynie and her husband, through the companies they operated, received a total of $77,843.13 in 2016 and $36,835.39 in 2017. This income was undisclosed."
Haynie was re-elected mayor in 2017 and her term expires in 2020.
