Former Teachers Union Boss Pat Santeramo Convicted Of Kickbacks
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Former Broward Teachers Union boss Pat Santeramo was convicted on Wednesday of eight counts of corruption on Wednesday stemming from the time he ran the labor organization.
Pat Santeramo: In Happier Times
Santeramo was charged with receiving $160,000 in kickbacks from contractors during his presidency of the union, among other charges.
Here is the news release from State Attorney Mike Satz:
January 20th, 2016 at 6:25 pm
A good win for the State Attorney and his staff but a sad day for the Teachers Union its members and by extension the students and school system.
Just another blackeye for the School System n gives the opponents if civil service unions another talking point.
Sad all the way around.
January 20th, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Another one bites the dust!
January 21st, 2016 at 12:31 am
Can not say this surprises anyone. In bed with the SBBC and vendors, politicos forever. All in the same club. Those rare folks who remained independents were sabatodged and beat down by bullying and false pretenses. Amazing that any teacher pays dues and that parents have not taken their taxes away legally via class action lawsuits and refuse to pay for it year in and out. Put it in a trust find that is set up and monitired by parents and committed teachers investing in students.
January 21st, 2016 at 7:31 am
The jury has made their decision and judgement day came almost four years later.
His attorney says “Mr. Santeramo has spent a lifetime serving the cause of public education in Broward County and representing its teachers.” The truth and facts are, that he was helping himself and stealing the hard earned money paid by the members of the BTU for representation and fair treatment in the workplace.
What he did in my book is simply treason!
January 21st, 2016 at 8:12 am
“What he did in my book is simply treason!”
That is pretty funny! When he conspires with other liberals to rob the taxpayers, that is OK, but when he robs the teachers, that is treason. Liberals are too much.
January 21st, 2016 at 8:19 am
Is anybody surprised anymore at Union corruption? Then unions wonder why their membership has been gutted in the private sector. The rank and file are sick of it.
January 21st, 2016 at 8:55 am
I can’t wait for the sentencing to see all of the slimy political hacks come forward and ask the court to go easy on him due to all of the wonderful things Santeramo has done.
Just for once I’d love to see someone (perhaps a dues paying BTU member) to tell the court what a scumbag this guy is and that he deserves to have the book thrown at him.
January 21st, 2016 at 11:50 am
What a surprise! So, did the new leadership of the btu do any better. Nope….more sheep in wolves clothing! Help Broward Schools against me! I am a former member and the btu should be desolved and begin with a brand new…REAL union
January 21st, 2016 at 3:13 pm
Today, anyone who cares has given up on the Public Schools. They are run by Union Thugs and corrupt school administrators who indoctrinate students into a marxist fog programmed to elect those who want to share the wealth with those who don’t want to and never will help pull the wagon. Today you have to be crazy to send your kids to public school.
Get a second or third job and fund a decent education for your child.
January 22nd, 2016 at 7:27 am
@#5
I am not sure how having an opinion that stealing from your organization is tantamount to treason makes that person a liberal. Also not sure that your insinuation that because you are in a union you are automatically stealing from the taxpayers. To me that is the same broad brushed, shallow thinking that provides someone like Donald Trump a lead in the GOP polls.
To me if your are, let’s say, voting for special interest projects for personal support or gain and not in the best interest of the public, your are committing treason. Or if you are lets say a bank or mortgage company that knowingly commits fraud that nearly bankrupts an entire country, then you are committing treason. Or if you are lets says a fortune 500 or any large corporation banking and sending massive profits off shore to avoid taxes then you are committing treason. Or if you are lets say a doctor, hospital, pharmaceutical company, or large medical provider defrauding medicare or any public institution established to help the general public then you are committing treason.
Are there corrupt union officials, absolutely. However they do not reach any contract terms without management agreement. Have both sides been greedy, for sure. I find it ironic that many today want to blame unions for our economic situation when they are the very source of helping to create the middle class today. It was our grand parents and parents (probably 1st or second generation immigrants) who stood on picket lines and fought to create the very livelihood that probably educated you and recent generations.
So in my humble opinion greed in any shape or form is the common thread and great corrupter reeking havoc on our society. Until we come to terms with that and allow our politicians to distract us with polarizing rhetoric meant to secure factional support (special interests) we will be mired in the this blame game scenario. Until we are prepared to hold all perpetrators of corruption and public mismanagement accountable we deserve what we are getting, a lot of talk and no real solutions.
We have morphed into an elitist style government that should have our forefathers rolling over in their graves. Public service was meant to be that public service not a life long career. Our so called public servants have taken care of themselves with special health care and other one of a kind benefit packages. In return we get government sponsored programs riddled with problems and catering to special interests. Until we insist on term limits we should expect nothing more from those we continue to enable because that is just human nature. We as a society are at fault for creating the aura of entitlement that has separated the general public from those we have chosen to lead us.
If any of my opinions put me in a bucket that you can describe with one word, have at it. Until the general public requires more from our potential leaders than one liners just suck it up and complain that it is the liberals or conservatives, or socialists or tea party folks that are to blame for your unhappiness.
January 22nd, 2016 at 7:32 am
#9. Don’t worry there’s hope. You were educated at some point and look how well you turned out.
January 22nd, 2016 at 7:54 am
There are crooks everywhere, we even have a Governor who’s company robbed Medicare, and has been elected twice as Governor of Florida. He was not convicted, but the company he headed paid a hefty fine. It pays to have friends in high places to avoid going to the slammer.
The big corporations are allowed to contribute large amounts of money to Republican candidates, so they can have their way. Who says you can’t buy an election. In addition there is voter apathy, nobody cares to vote, and we wind up with bought and paid for candidates backed by corporate money. Wish by the way, the final consumer pays the price. Case in point, FPL contributed heavily to Scott’s campaign. Now they are asking to raise the rates, you know they will get what they want. This is called return on investment.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:45 am
Very nice of the judge to allow Santeramos to remain free pending resolution of his federal case unlike some other judges who immediately take people into custody for lesser crimes.
A prediction: Santeramo will plea to the federal charges in exchange for being allowed to serve his state and federal sentence concurrently in some cushy federal prison so he doesn’t have to mix with the riff raff in state prison.
But he can’t escape the fact that once a thug, always a thug. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
January 22nd, 2016 at 1:31 pm
@#10
“If any of my opinions put me in a bucket that you can describe with one word, have at it.”
If I were to choose a single word it would be “wrong”, but that would not be entirely accurate so I would use two words, “mostly wrong”.
Having an opinion that stealing from your organization is treason does not make you a liberal, it does make you overly dramatic. And just being in a union does not mean you are stealing from the public. Being a public employee in a union does, however.
Your ideas about treason are certainly unique and would surely fill the federal death rows with a lot of incredulous convicts. Here is what US Code says:
“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason…”
I would argue the point that unions created the middle class, rather, it was small business men who worked hard and created jobs. Small businessmen like my parents and grandparents who never carried a picket sign in their lives (and whose employees never felt the need to either).
The rest of your post I don’t have a great deal of trouble with except you get a little wobbly on that greed thing and you still refuse to open your eyes as to the liberals’ and socialists’ (and progressives in both parties) culpability in bringing about the situation we now find ourselves in.
January 24th, 2016 at 7:26 am
First Tony Gentile and then this guy. Hopefully I will be retired before the next indictment. PS to all you BTU members out there – find liability insurance elsewhere and give yourselves a well deserved raise.
January 24th, 2016 at 9:48 am
Never, never rip off the union members. Mr.Santeramo should be given ten yrs. on each count. Say what you want about me I never ripped off the taxpayer and have great respect for union members. Shame on him. They should bag the wife too. Joint enterprise theory. Like she didn’t know where all the extra loot was coming from. Thank you State Atty. Mike Satz. Justice served…
February 1st, 2016 at 2:02 am
Santermo was quite a power broker. He stole from the teachers to pay off everybody. The teacher trusted him to represent their interest. He stole their money. BTU continues to have leadership that lacks integrity. The leadership could careless about doing what is right for teachers. The teachers need to really stop being mistreated by BTU. They even manage to corrupt Board Members. Poor Mrs. Rupert. I’m certain she can’t payback the money she took from BTU for her campaign. Santeramo lured her in. Together they stole over 30,090 from the teachers. Although Mrs. Rupert is a very nice lady, she is not too bright. Maybe the courts will give her a payment plan and allow her to keep working
February 1st, 2016 at 12:03 pm
I dont know anything about Miss Nora Rupert BUT if the Teachers Union or anyone else made campaign DONATIONS they don’t get PAID BACK only LOANS TO A CAMPAIGN have to be paid back or “written off”.
As “poor teachers says” indicates they were DONATIONS there is NO PAYBACK.
February 5th, 2016 at 1:44 pm
This is what happens when you have no term limits. He remained in control and hand picked the board of directors over the years and let them run on a slate. This is where a group of candidates is all elected at the same time by one single vote. Also, this would never have happened if the local had remained as a pure NEA local.