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So, is he really running around writing a series of bad checks, kiting funds and financially mismanaging his bail bond company? Or do his political opponents just want to oust him from office in the coming elections?
Earlier this year, Palmetto City Councilman Charles Smith was charged with providing false information to the State Attorney’s Office. Attorney Robert Merkle, a former US Attorney for the Middle District of Florida and now in private practice, successfully defended Smith against the charges.
The current charges stem, in part, from checks Smith issued to Merkle to cover his $5,000 legal fees. Prosecutors allege Smith wrote Merkle a check in August 1995. The check, issued on a Barnett Bank account, was covered by two other checks: one, a $3,500 check was drawn on a newly opened account at Republic Bank (containing a balance of just $500.00); the second, for $1,800, was drawn on a First Union account that was also short of the necessary funds to cover the check.
Hence, the current charges: two counts of depositing an item with intent to defraud and two counts of issuing a worthless check. Each charge is a third-degree felony, and each carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Prosecutors also recently filed a felony case accusing Smith of not paying more than $10,000 he owed to a Dade County company, National Surety Services (NSS), to cover bonds issued by Smith’s company. NSS claims that Smith attempted to pay his debt with a bad check.
Smith referred to the recent legal troubles as “a bunch of hoo-ha” and claimed the charges were designed to discredit him at re-election time. Attorney Merkle states he’s never been defrauded by Smith and points an accusatory finger at the State Attorney’s Office, saying they’re simply attempting to create a conflict of interest situation so that he (Merkle) cannot defend his client.
Smith is seeking a third term as Councilman. In 1990, he became both the youngest and the first black council member.
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