Gov. Scott Formally Removes Mayor Manny Moroño From Office
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Governor Rick Scott formally removed former Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño Friday, the day after he was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for his part in a kickback scheme.
Last November, Maroño pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.
Maroño, former Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi and lobbyists Jorge Forte and Richard Candia were arrested in August 2013 as part of a FBI sting in which he was accused of taking thousands of dollars in kickbacks through a bogus grant scheme.
Maroño was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge William Zloch at the federal courthouse in Ft. Lauderdale.
"I made a mistake. I had the people's trust and I failed them," Maroño told the judge Thursday. "Today I am here to accept responsibility, to move on to a new chapter in our lives."
Judge Zloch quickly corrected him and said it was more than a mistake.
"You're talking about public corruption which is a serious offense, a cancer in an orderly society," said Zloch.