Former Mayor Haynie Scheduled to Have her day in Court this Summer

By Staff Reports

The trial of former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie, who was arrested almost two years ago on public corruption charges, has been pushed back four months to July, the Boca Raton Tribune has learned. 

At a recent hearing, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen rescheduled Haynie’s trial for July 20. The trial was originally set for March 23.

Haynie’s attorney, Bruce Zimet, said he thinks the case is “absolutely” going to trial in July. He said they pushed the trial back because of scheduling issues between the attorneys.

Then-Governor Rick Scott suspended Haynie from office just days after she was charged in April 2018 with four felonies and three misdemeanors, and she dropped out of a race for County Commission.

The Palm Beach County state attorney’s office launched an investigation in March 2017 after receiving complaints that Haynie voted on issues that benefitted local developer James Batmasian through his Investments Limited firm financially, according to an arrest report. James and Marta Batmasian are the largest commercial landowners in the city.

“Susan Haynie voted on four occasions during 2016 and 2017 while being compensated by the people benefiting from the outcomes of the votes,” Detective Diana Burfield wrote in the arrest report.

Haynie also hid her income – more than $335,000 – while conducting business through her husband’s property management company, Community Reliance, and real estate they owned from 2014 to 2017, investigators said.

Burfield found that the association at Tivoli Park, a condominium owned by Batmasian, hired Community Reliance, LLC and paid the company at least $12,000 per year to manage the property.

 “During 2016, Susan Haynie and her husband, through the companies they operated, received a total of $77,843.13 in 2016 and $36,835.39 in 2017,” Burfield wrote. “This income was undisclosed.”