News: City Inspectors Indicted, Plead Not Guilty
Pleas of “not guilty” were entered Wednesday in U.S. District Court by several of the 8 men charged in the South Beach nightclub extortion and cocaine trafficking scandal.
This followed a federal grand jury’s formal indictment of the suspended Miami Beach city employees – plus one Miami-Dade cop – for their roles in the alleged corruption that was exposed April 11.
One of the Beach code inspectors charged, Vicente Santiesteban, has reportedly agreed to cop a plea to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion.
“No comment,” lead code compliance administrator Jose Alberto curtly told reporters as he brushed by them with his attorney upon emerging from the federal courthouse in downtown Miami.
Chai Footman, sans fire uniform and decked out in a sleek business suit, even showed off some of his firefighter’s physical prowess by sprinting away from the media gathered around him for a comment.
