North Miami Councilman Jean Marcellus can't explain why the mayor's nephew — a man he says he barely knows and is not his friend — would purchase a round-trip ticket to Haiti for him.
The revelation that Ricardo Brutus, currently facing a bribery charge, purchased tickets for the councilman came about when a judge released an undercover video that captured a conversation between Brutus and North Miami businessman Shlomo Chelminsky.
On the tape, Brutus — Mayor Andre Pierre's nephew and former campaign manager — is seen accepting an envelope stuffed with cash from Chelminsky, who was cooperating with law enforcement.
The money was purportedly in exchange for influencing a council vote on privatizing waste hauling services, a move Chelminsky supported.
Brutus, while boasting about his influence over elected officials, is heard on tape saying he bought "plane tickets" for Marcellus to go on vacation.
Full story by Nadege Green here.
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