Miami Judge Pleads Guilty to Taking Payoffs

A judge accused of accepting bribes pleaded guilty and quit his post Thursday, agreeing to testify in a federal judicial corruption probe targeting at least three other judges.

Dade Circuit Judge Roy T. Gelber, 41, appeared before Chief U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King to enter his plea on the single racketeering count. He was ordered released on $50,000 bond.

Gelber’s lawyer, Cloud Miller, refused to discuss details of the case outside court. “He’s putting this behind him and he’s moving forward,” Miller said.

The former judge faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, but, as part of the plea agreement, Gelber’s family will not be prosecuted for helping him hide the payoffs, U.S. Atty. Dexter Lehtinen said.

The two-year investigation, called Operation Court Broom, targeted judges who were bribed for bond reductions, suppression of evidence and disclosure of confidential police information, Lehtinen said.

Some judges also allegedly demanded kickbacks for appointing attorneys to represent indigent clients, a service that the court pays for.

Authorities said they gave more than $250,000 in payoffs to Gelber and three other judges--Alfonso Sepe, Phillip Davis and Harvey Shenberg--through Miami lawyer David Goodhart, a former judge.

The three other judges are on paid leave; neither they nor Goodhart has been charged.

A June raid on the judges’ offices and homes uncovered wads of $100 bills in the homes of Gelber and some of the other judges, including bills handed out as part of the sting, authorities said.