Judge Denies Former Homestead Mayor's Motion To Dismiss Charges
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A Miami-Dade judge has denied a motion to dismiss the charges against former Homestead Mayor Steve Bateman.
On September 22nd, a jury convicted Bateman on two felony counts of illegal compensation and a misdemeanor count of illegal lobbying.
Judge Robert Luck, however, did not pronounce him guilty of the charges because there were still legal motions that needed to ruled on, including if the evidence evaluated by the jury was legally adequate to support the charges.
The charges against Bateman came after a CBS4 News Investigation by Jim Defede showed Bateman was on the payroll of Community Health of South Florida but did not disclose it.
Prosecutors said his $125 an hour consultant job conflicted with his role as mayor of Homestead and that he used his power as mayor to try to get a pump station built that would benefit the health care company without revealing his side job.
"He is entitled to have a job of course, but not if it conflicts with his job as the mayor and that's what he did. He sold his office," said prosecutor Isis Perez.
Defense Ben Kuehne said his client acted appropriately and the pump station benefited a number of businesses.
Later this month, Judge Luck will rule on Kuehne's motion for an acquittal. Also, the state has just three weeks to file a response for the defense's motion for a new trial.
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