MIAMI – Testimony got underway Wednesday in the corruption trial of former Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez.
Martinez, arrested in 2022, is accused of accepting a hefty bribe from a local supermarket owner in exchange for crafting legislation that would have helped the business avoid several code violations.
A code enforcement officer took the stand discussing the issue at hand: large dumpsters.
“Technically, one container would have been allowed under this interpretation of the code,” the code enforcement officer, Ricardo Roig, testified.
In the end, the ordinance that Martinez proposed wasn’t passed. But prosecutors allege he took $15,000.
Defense attorneys later cross-examined the code enforcement officer before a lunch break.
If it wasn’t already clear the trial was taking place in Miami, the judge announced that jurors had another break to look forward to: He said proceedings would briefly stop at 3:05 p.m. for cafecito.
After the lunch break, jurors heard from a Wells Fargo employee who does legal research for the company, verifying payments in Martinez’s account.
The trial will resume Thursday.
Martinez could spend 20 years behind bars.