Haynie didn’t reveal $335,000 in income
3 on Boca council urge mayor, facing up to 23 years in prison, to quit.
BOCA RATON — Once a rising Republican figure eyeing Palm Beach County’s highest office, Susan Haynie awoke Wednesday to the prospect of a future as a possible felon, an imperiled political career and a decision to resign as Boca Raton mayor or be forced from office by the governor.
Charged with four felony and three misdemeanor charges alleging corruption, Haynie faces as many as 23 years in prison.
Bank records subpoenaed by the State Attorney’s Office reveal $335,000 in income Haynie never reported on financial disclosure forms required by law. One-third of that income came from the largest private commercial landowner in the city, James Batmasian, or his businesses as the mayor took votes that afforded him a “special financial benefit.”
The figure far eclipsed the amount she claimed in a Palm Beach Post story in November and in a county ethics investigation unveiled last week.
Haynie — a staple figure in Boca Raton politics, seven times elected to office in the past 17 years — has been charged with four felonies, withdrawn her bid for Palm Beach County Commission and faces mounting pressure to resign.
The city was still reeling from news last week that Haynie was fined and reprimanded by the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics for voting conflicts when news of her criminal charges emerged.
“Last week, it was a $500 fine and a reprimand letter. Now, it’s $335,000 worth of poor, reckless decisions for years,” Councilwoman Monica Mayotte told The Post Wednesday, calling on Haynie to resign. “I think Boca deserves better.”
Mayotte was one of three Boca Raton City Council members who called for Haynie’s resignation Wednesday.
At a city meeting Tuesday night, the council members discussed whether they could remove Haynie from office. Haynie was sitting in the Palm Beach County Jail at the time.
The council can’t remove the second-term mayor, but the governor’s office can.
In a statement late Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott’s office says it is reviewing the matter.
“The governor expects all elected officials to serve Floridians in an ethical manner,” the statement said.
Haynie was charged Tuesday night with three counts of official misconduct and perjury, thirddegree felonies. She’s also charged with three first-degree misdemeanors — misuse of public office, corrupt misuse of