FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Jury selection began Monday in the trial of former Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper.
Eight jurors will eventually decide her fate.
Cooper was arrested in January 2018 on third-degree felony charges of money laundering, official misconduct and exceeding limits on campaign contributions. Prosecutors dropped the money laundering charges in August.
She is also charged with a first-degree misdemeanor of soliciting contributions in a government building.
According to the Broward County state attorney's office, FBI agents posing as wealthy land developers met with Cooper, former attorney Alan Koslow and other undercover agents posing as business owners over the course of several months to discuss a business project in the city.
Investigators said Cooper solicited campaign contributions for herself and others that exceeded the legal limit and falsely reported the contributions in campaign reports. Investigators said Cooper also solicited contributions in the amount of $1,500 each for then-Commissioners Bill Julian and Anthony Sanders.
Authorities said the meetings were secretly recorded.
Koslow was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for money laundering.