Assistant State Attorney David Schulson, a prosecutor with a history of handling public corruption crimes, has been assigned to the criminal case of Deerfield Beach Commissioner Sylvia Poitier.
As you may recall, Poitier faces misdemeanor charges for falsifying records after allegedly arranging a deal for a high-interest loan between a city organization and her brother, then attempting to conceal it from the public.
Schulson -- who was assigned to Poitier's case due to scheduling conflicts, according to emails between the state attorney's office and Chaz Stevens -- already has a bit of insight into Deerfield Beach corruption.
Schulson helped the state gain a conviction against former Deerfield Beach Commissioner Steve Gonot, who was sentenced in July to a year in jail for charges related to stealing campaign funds and professional misconduct.
That sentence has been appealed while Gonot remains free on bond.
Now Schulson will take on Gonot's old cohort Poitier, whose trial was previously scheduled to start in June.
The emails between the State Attorney's Office and Stevens show the state will attempt to start Poitier's trial before the end of the year.
The five misdemeanor charges against Poitier aren't directly from the aforementioned loan from her brother but what she allegedly did after that.
According to her arrest affidavit, in May 2006, Poitier proposed sending a $30,000 grant to the Westside Deerfield Businessman Association -- the same agency her brother had loaned $46,000 to -- and then voted on the proposal without any disclosure of the relationship or filing of the necessary paperwork.
The four other charges are all related to other alleged conflict-of-interest votes.
Each count is punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and 364 days in the Broward County Jail, according to the State Attorney's Office.
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