Diana Wasserman-Rubin's Husband Hit With Federal Tax Charges
Categories: Bob Norman's Pulp
A lot of people didn't think it was fair that while his wife was hit with felony corruption charges for voting on a grant that benefited him, Richard Rubin seemingly got off scot-free after he and other officials gamed the Town of Southwest Ranches for millions of dollars.
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| The Rubins |
​Well, now Rubin is joining his wife, former Broward County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin, as a criminal defendant.
Rubin was hit with federal tax evasion charges for allegedly failing to report $100,000 in fees he received from another municipality, the Town of Davie, for a land deal he brokered back in 2004, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Rubin also wrote a grant to provide funding for the purchase of the land, which was made up of a bird sanctuary known as Sunny Lakes.
He is scheduled to make his first appearance in court at 2 p.m. -- and will have his attorney in tow. You get one guess who that attorney is (answer at the end of this post).
He has had a habit of cashing in on his wife's political connections for some time. Remember that several years ago, he was hired by
lobbyist George Platt's firm, Shutts and Bowen, while the firm was lobbying his wife. He raked in some $1.1 million of cash from the tiny Southwest Ranches for writing grants while his wife was voting to approve them with county money from the parks bond.
At the time that Rubin struck his deal with Davie, a seemingly benign article was published about it in the Sentinel. In it, Rubin is quoted as saying he will try to get some of the money for the land purchase from, you guessed, the Broward County parks bond. From the article published April 25, 2004:
In a move to save 16.87 acres of wetlands threatened by development in eastern Davie, council members are seeking state and local grants in hopes of buying the property.By a 4-1 vote on Wednesday, they approved a contract with consultant Richard Rubin of Richard Rubin Inc., authorizing him to prepare and submit a grant application to the Florida Community Trust Fund for more than $1 million.Rubin, an architect and municipal grant writer, said the town could seek additional financing from Broward County's parks bond fund, which is earmarked for the acquisition of open space. He said the owner is asking for $3.4 million for the property.
Wasserman-Rubin was hit last year by the State Attorney's Office with seven counts of felony unlawful compensation in connection to her votes on her husband's grants. The investigations were sparked by this cover story published in New Times in 2005.
Perhaps the same influence peddlers -- among them Platt and lobbyist W. George Allen -- who are funding a legal defense fund for his wife -- who has two attorneys, Bruce Udolf and Fred Haddad, working on her case -- will chip in for Richard Rubin's attorneys. as well.
*Richard Rubin's attorney is David Bogenschutz, who also recently picked up Judge Steven Feren as a client.
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