‘CORRUPTION COUNTY’

PAST ELECTED OFFICIALS WHO PLEADED GUILTY

Four county commissioners — Jeff Koons, Tony Masilotti, Mary McCarty and Warren Newell — were charged with felonies, a sweeping takedown that brought national attention to “Corruption County. ”All but Koons served prison time. Other municipal officials were charged with misdemeanors relating to their time in office.

Jeff Koons

Served on Palm Beach County Commission, 20022010

Koons’ political career ended abruptly in August 2010 after he left voicemail messages threatening an opponent of one of his pet environmental projects, a mangrove preserve in the Lake

Worth Lagoon. He pleaded guilty to extortion and violating Florida’s public meeting laws in 2012. He was sentenced to five years’ probation and fined $11,500.

Tony Masilotti

Served on Palm Beach County Commission, 19982006

Masilotti was charged with betraying the public’s trust, pocketing more than $9 million in cash and real estate in improper land deals. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2007 to five years in federal prison.

Warren Newell

Served on Palm Beach County Commission, 19922007

Newell collected $500,000 from three schemes in which his business partners profited from his votes as a commissioner. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January 2008 to five years in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release.

Mary McCarty

Served on Palm Beach County Commission, 19902009

McCarty pleaded guilty in March 2009 to taking free hotel stays from a company for which she helped win a contract to build the convention center hotel and to steering bond awards that profited her and her husband, Kevin, an underwriter. She was sentenced in June 2009 to 3½ years in federal prison.

Bruce Guyton

Served on Riviera Beach City Commission, 20132016

The former Riviera Beach commissioner pleaded guilty in August to a misdemeanor charge of violating Florida’s Sunshine Law for having a private conversation with another councilman about city business. He paid a $500 fine and a judge agreed to hold a finding of guilt under the terms of his plea agreement.

Shirley Walker-Turner, Linda Johnson and John Wilson

The former mayor, vice mayor and commissioner in South Bay were all charged in 2012 with misdemeanor charges of violating Florida’s Sunshine law. Walker-Turner and Johnson were convicted at trial and ordered to pay fines of $250 and $500, respectively. Wilson took a plea and wasn’t fined.