Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez leaves jail after his arrest on unlawful compensation charges.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez surrendered to police Tuesday morning to face criminal charges amid a lengthy corruption investigation.
Martinez was seen walking in to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center around 9:15 a.m. before he was booked into the facility.
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He's charged with unlawful compensation and conspiracy to commit unlawful compensation, jail records showed. His bond was set at $12,500.
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Martinez appeared in bond court later Tuesday where it was revealed he had already posted bond. He was released from jail a short time later.
"One day when I have a chance to talk to you, I'll talk to all of you," Martinez told reporters outside the jailhouse. "Right now, I'm just gonna go and just deal with that."
At a news conference Tuesday, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and Miami-Dade Inspector General Felix Jimenez outlined the charges against Martinez.
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"The prospect of a public official soliciting funds to benefit himself or his business associates is both illegal and it's offensive," Fernandez Rundle said. "There are a lot of good hardworking people in government who respect and honor the public's trust."
Martinez's attorney confirmed in a statement Monday that prosecutors directed Martinez to surrender this week.
The statement said the charges were "based on false allegations arising from his private practice work as a consultant when he was a private citizen and not an elected official."
The statement said Martinez has been under investigation for five years, though officials said it hadn't been that long.
"The investigation has been ongoing for five years, so the timing of the allegations that do not involve Commissioner Martinez’s time in public office raise questions of a political impact when he is considered the front runner for the newly created Sheriff of Miami-Dade County," the statement read in part. "For now, Commissioner Martinez makes clear that he is innocent of any wrongdoing and intends to aggressively work to clear his name."
But according to an arrest warrant, the charges stem from money Martinez allegedly accepted in exchange for him helping a supermarket owner and property owner who were having issues over cargo storage containers.
The owners had been fined tens of thousands of dollars for violating a county ordinance that prohibited properties of under 10 acres from having cargo storage containers, the warrant said.
The warrant said Martinez accepted three $5,000 payments from the supermarket owner in exchange for his assistance with the fees and fines, as well as his help in drafting legislation amending the ordinance to allow one storage container on properties under 10 acres.
The payments were made to Martinez in 2016, around the time he took office after being re-elected, and in 2017, around the time Martinez's chief of staff began work on the legislation, the warrant said.
Martinez later withdrew the proposed legislation, officials said.
When he was first interviewed, Martinez told investigators the money was partially for a loan and partially for money owed him, the warrant said. He later told investigators the money was owed to him from a private business deal, the warrant said.
Martinez, 64, served as chairman of the commission twice before. He first held the District 11 seat in 2000 and opted not to run for reelection in 2012 before winning the post again in 2016.
