FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — A pair of Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies accused of betraying the badge walked into federal court Monday morning to turn themselves in.
Prosecutors say 48-year-old BSO Lt. David Benjamin and 47-year-old BSO Detective Jeff Poole had ties to convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein. Their jobs were terminated on Friday. Monday morning, both walked into the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale at about 10 a.m. for a hearing scheduled at 11 a.m. It marked their first appearance before a judge.
Both men are accused of being connected to Rothstein’s illegal scheming while they were law enforcement. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said, “Law enforcement officers are clearly held to a higher standard, and we should be.”
Prosecutors accuse both men of various actions that undermined their roles as law enforcers. They allege Benjamin received about $185,000 in cash and gifts as well as other perks over the course of a year and half. Meanwhile, prosecutors said, Poole was used to do some of the dirty work.
Rothstein was a noted lawyer in Broward County before he was disbarred and convicted. In one incident involving Poole, prosecutors accuse him of arresting one of Rothstein’s partner’s wife in order to help out with a child custody battle. Poole’s defense attorney Michael Gottlieb said, “First of all, I don’t believe he ever went to the home of the ex-wife. Well, he may have for purposes of surveillance. He was acting on a tip that she was a drug dealer. He wasn’t part of the whole Rothstein empire. He may have had a minimal role, and I hope that the judge sees that and is lenient to us, in the end.”
Benjamin and Poole pleaded not guilty. Both men are out on $250,000 bond. When they walked out of the courthouse they said nothing to waiting media reports. Poole’s defense attorney, however said of his client, “He’s not the main guy, I mean you saw that Benjamin was a ring before him, he was his superior, and we know who Benjamin was involved with. He was unfortunately a cog in Rothstein’s wheel.”
Benjamin faces 10 years in prison while Poole faces five years in prison.