1639-38 Politics THU JUL 01 1993 ED: FINAL
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: 1B LENGTH: 22 . 27" MEDIUM
ILLUST: photo: Alex DAOUD
SOURCE: DAVID LYONS Herald Staff Writer
DATELINE:
MEMO: see FORMER BEACH MAYOR' S CRIMES box at end
DAOUD PLEADS GUILTY TO 4 CHARGES
The corruption saga of former Miami Beach Mayor Alex Daoud, the
headstrong politician who once insisted he did no wrong, neared its climax
Wednesday when he pleaded guilty to bribery, money laundering, tax fraud and
obstruction of justice.
His admission of guilt to four charges, accepted by U.S. District Judge
James Lawrence King, means taxpayers will not have to fund a retrial of a slew
of charges a jury failed to resolve last year.
It also raised the specter that Daoud, who admitted taking a $5 , 000
bribe from former CenTrust Savings Chairman David Paul, may testify against
the banker in his securities and bank fraud trial in September. The
prosecution and the defense were mum on the subject Wednesday. Paul was out of
town and unavailable for comment.
King set a Sept. 8 sentencing date for Daoud, less than two weeks
before Paul is scheduled to stand trial in federal court in Miami.
It was unclear exactly how much prison time is in store for Daoud, a
rising political star in the 1980s and the toast of the city for his
redevelopment efforts on South Beach.
Now 50 years old, Daoud could face between four and five years for the
wrongdoing he admitted Wednesday. In April, King sentenced him to three years
for accepting a $10, 000 bribe from Gilberto "Willy" Martinez, the former Beach
boxing promoter and drug smuggler.
King could lump the prison terms into one sentence.
By pleading guilty, Daoud avoided trial on 24 unresolved corruption
charges and six tax-evasion counts that were not presented to a jury last
year. He also stands to emerge from prison well before retirement age.
His release could be sped up if he agrees to testify against Paul.
The guilty pleas signal an end to Daoud' s relentless three- year fight
to prove his innocence -- and to a political career that once seemed
boundless.
Daoud, a gregarious and forceful politician, turned a part- time mayor' s
job into a full-time platform for rejuvenating Miami Beach in the ' 80s. A
boxing aficionado, he occasionally stepped into the ring for charity. He
partied with the rich and was on a short list of possible candidates for
Congress.
His biggest failing, said prosecutors, was a tendency to blend his
private life with his public life. As a lawyer, Daoud accepted money and
favors from people who did business with the city. Daoud called them fees.
Prosecutors called them bribes.
In September, a jury found Daoud guilty of taking a bribe from Martinez,
the boxing promoter, but acquitted him of nine charges and deadlocked on 24
others.
All along, Daoud insisted the government had it all wrong.
Until Wednesday, when his four guilty pleas were officially entered into
the record.
Daoud admitted accepting a $5, 000 bribe from Old American Insurance Co. ,
a CenTrust subsidiary, and laundering it at a local bank by purchasing a
certificate of deposit. The money, the government charged, was a payoff for
influencing a zoning vote that allowed CenTrust Chairman Paul to expand a boat
dock behind his La Gorce Island home.
•
Daoud also pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by inducing his
secretaries to lie on the witness stand, tell him about grand jury testimony
and alter his appointment books .
And he admitted failing to report $160, 000 in income for 1988 .
Judge King in April had rejected a similar plea agreement with Daoud. He
blistered prosecutors for bargaining with Daoud on the obstruction of justice
charge.
The deal King accepted Wednesday contained one bonus for the
prosecution: Daoud pleaded guilty to money laundering.
Daoud' s attorney, Nova University law professor Bruce Rogow, advised
Daoud to remain silent about the case until the sentencing.
The ex-mayor heeded the advice, but in a brief exchange with reporters
sounded like the Daoud of old.
Told that Beach police officer Ernest Febbraio had been shot by a
fleeing suspect earlier in the day, Daoud asked if the officer was OK.
"Thank God, " he said, when told Febbraio would survive.
FORMER BEACH MAYOR' S CRIMES
Daoud pleaded guilty to these charges Wednesday:
* Obstruction of justice: Inducing secretaries to lie on the witness
stand, relay grand jury testimony and alter city documents.
* Bribery: Accepting a $5, 000 payment from a CenTrust Savings subsidiary
in return for a favorable vote on a zoning variance for bank chairman David
Paul.
* Money laundering: Applying the CenTrust payment toward the purchase of
a certificate of deposit.
* Tax evasion: Failing to report more than $160 , 000 in personal income
for 1988.
Daoud was found guilty of this charge last year:
* Bribery: Accepting a $10, 000 payment from former Beach boxing promoter
and drug trafficker Gilberto "Willy" Martinez .
ADDED TERMS: daoud probe verdict
END OF DOCUMENT.