Boynton Beach Commissioner Marlene Ross reportedly sent her first cousin nude photos of herself on Facebook. This may have led to her being extorted to vote a certain way. And now the City Commission is an uproar.
Oh, Facebook. Not even first cousins are immune to your powers of sexting each other through messaging and IMs.
Mayor Woodrow Hay called for Ross to step down after the scandal was revealed.
"As elected officials, we are held to an even higher standard of behavior, and when standards are compromised, we must question the ability of the individual to be effective as a leader," he said. "Our city deserves better. I would hope that any elected official would do the right thing for this great city and its citizens."
Extortion. Boobies. A mayor named Woodrow. A villain named Katz. Secret cousin-lovers. Boynton Beach has become a James Ellroy novel!
Apparently the whole scandal stems from a lobbyist and former commissioner, David Katz, who had tried for years to sway Ross to vote a certain way on many issues. Ross reportedly told investigators she thinks Katz knew of the nudie pics she sent her cousin and was afraid he'd reveal them to the public.
The State Attorney's Office concluded that no extortion was committed. But Ross panicking over the possibility of it reveals that she did, in fact, send some naughty pictures to her cousin. DOH!
Meanwhile, Katz released a statement in which he totally does not sound smug or douchey in the least:
"If you look up the word 'Pinocchio' in the dictionary, you're going to see a picture of the commissioner from District 4. I was never called, contacted or asked to talk to [investigators] because there was nothing to what she said."
During Tuesday night's commission meeting, Ross insisted that she would not step down from her position.
"Mr. Hay, your request is so out of line that you should be the one to resign. As I go through this challenge, the support has been overwhelming and I am very grateful," Ross said. Then, turning to Hay, she said, "It is mind-boggling to me that this man is a minister."The criminal case against Katz has been closed.She described "rumblings around town" that Hay "is Mr. Taylor's puppet up here on the dais."
And, she told Hay, "You said yourself it [the city] is on the brink of a disaster. Do us all a favor and why don't you resign?"
Hay did not respond.
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