Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on Friday suspended a Florida mayor who was arrested earlier this month on two felony charges tied to allegations of corruption in a local grant program.
Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa was suspended, according to the city, and Vice Mayor Angela Eady will now serve as mayor until the suspension is revoked or until the current mayoral term ends. DeSantis’s order prohibits Espinosa from receiving pay, allowances, or other privileges of office during the suspension.
Espinosa has been accused of creating and expanding a city business program tasked with dispersing COVID-19-era relief grants to enrich herself by the tune of tens of thousands of dollars without disclosing personal interests. Authorities accused her of “systematically manipulating policy and voting on the program just to pave a clear path to her own payout.”
Espinosa was arrested earlier this month, before being issued a public reprimand by the Florida Commission on Ethics and ordered to pay a civil fine of $2,000, after the panel found there was probable cause to believe those grants were illegal. Her suspension by DeSantis comes as, under Florida’s Constitution, the governor has the power to suspend any elected municipal official who has been indicted for a crime or arrested on any charge related to their office duties.
The allegations are tied to concerns that Espinosa created and expanded the Kissimmee Business Boost 2.0 grant program for personal gain by winning $50,000 in grants for businesses connected to her or her family members. In addition, four businesses that pay rent in a building owned by the mayor received a total of $40,000, according to authorities.
Espinosa, who was elected in November 2024, was arrested on Oct. 21 on charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud. Her arrest affidavit said the mayor overhauled the grants program as soon as she took office and then was among the first applicants.
She spent the night in jail before posting a $70,000 bond the following day. Espinosa pled not guilty, saying she is innocent and did not act with criminal intent.
Officials have already taken a series of steps to target the mayor. A special prosecutor was tasked earlier this year to interview Espinosa on the allegations. Special prosecutor Mayanne Downs recommended impeaching the mayor in July. The Kissimmee commission voted in August not to impeach Espinosa, after the four commissioner members deadlocked.
She was later issued a public reprimand by a Florida ethics board and fined $2,000.
“She violated section 112, 3137, Florida statutes by having an employment and or contractual relationship with the entity doing business with her agency,” the commission said.
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Attorney General James Uthmeier blasted the mayor this month.
“Public officials do not get to write the rules and then write themselves a check,” he said. “Florida taxpayers funded that money to help small businesses recover, not to enrich the mayor who controlled it.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
