Former Broward Teachers Union President Pat Santeramo was found guilty of eight corruption charges by a Broward County Circuit Court jury. The charges were from the period when he ran the union; 2006 through 2011.
Assistant State Attorney David Schulson, who prosecuted the case, argued that Santeramo inflated a contractor’s excessive bills for work at union headquarters and gave union money to senior union staff to reimburse them for illegal campaign contributions. Evidence showed that Santeramo, who controlled the union’s money, received $160,000 in kickbacks while serving as president of the union.
Santeramo was found guilty of Grand Theft, first degree as well as Organized Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree for kickbacks he received from a contractor. Both are first-degree felonies and he could face up to 30 years in state prison on one of the two charges. He was found guilty of one count of money laundering, one count of Organized Scheme to Defraud, a third degree felony and guilty of three counts of campaign contribution violations, all third degree felonies. He was found guilty of one count of Grand Theft, a third degree felony.
He was not found guilty of illegally using a gas company credit card, a third degree felony.
