Suspended mayor violated law 26 times, state official says

HALLANDALE BEACH — Joy Cooper, the Hallandale Beach mayor suspended from office in January after being caught in an FBI sting, violated the state’s Sunshine Law 26 times in a separate matter, says a preliminary Broward Inspector General’s report obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The Inspector General also found former Commissioners Bill Julian and Anthony Sanders violated the state’s opengovernment laws by attending at least two secret meetings that were not publicly noticed.

Cooper attended at least 26 meetings that had no public notice, according to the report.

Julian, Sanders and Larry Davis, attorney for Cooper, did not respond to phone calls or texts Monday.

Cooper, mayor since 2005, the state’s open-government laws while serving as a board member of the Future Foundation, a charitable organization created, led and administered by Hallandale officials at City Hall, the report says. Julian and Sanders were also board members.

The foundation received more than $174,000 from the city, according to the report. City officials, serving as board members of the foundation, spent at least $240,000 out of the public eye, the report says.

Cooper declined to turn over public documents related to the foundation when a resident asked for them — another violation of the state’s open-government laws, the report says.

The Inspector General’s report says the case will be referred to the Broward State Attorney’s Office.

The Future Foundation, formed in 1996, has been largeviolated