MIAMI – Testimony continued Thursday in the corruption trial of former Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez.
He was arrested in 2022 and accused of accepting a hefty bribe from a local supermarket owner.
Sergio Delgado, the owner of a southwest Miami-Dade shopping center, testified Thursday, discussing an agreement he and the owner of Extra Supermarket made with Martinez to hopefully alleviate their issues with county code enforcement.
“I paid $2500,” Delgado said. “We were gonna give him 10K up front and then if the project was successful, we hadn’t agreed on a final number, but it would be additional for a ‘success fee.’”
Martinez is charged with unlawful compensation and conspiracy.
Prosecutors claim he accepted $15,000 in payments as part of that deal while serving on the commission.
In exchange, they said Martinez pushed a new county ordinance that would have helped the owner with their code enforcement issues. In the end, that ordinance was never adopted.
“We have a meeting with (code enforcement officer Ricardo) Roig thanks to Joe Martinez and his staff,” Delgado said.
After seeking help from Martinez, Delgado says, he was able to score a meeting attended in part by the assistant head of county code enforcement and Martinez’s chief of staff.
“In the meeting, Mr. Roig and his people, and the staff member Anna came up with the idea that maybe an ordinance was the solution,” Delgado said.
Jurors also heard from Miami-Dade’s Inspector General. During his testimony, jurors heard an audio recording of his interview with Martinez, in which he’s asked about a series of checks.
Martinez could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.