TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida judge whose husband is a former city official facing felony charges for accepting favors could be reprimanded for not disclosing free hotel nights as gifts.
The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission is recommending to the state Supreme Court that Miami-Dade County Judge Maria Ortiz be reprimanded and fined $5,000.
Ortiz’s husband, Mariano Fernandez, is a former Miami Beach Building Department director charged with receiving unlawful compensation. Prosecutors say he accepted free hotel rooms, food, alcohol and entertainment from RIU Hotel Group in exchange for smoothing over permits during a renovation project at a Miami Beach hotel.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission says Maria Ortiz enjoyed the same gifts, including suites in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and should have disclosed them.
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