John “J.T.” Burnette, a wealthy entrepreneur and the alleged middle man between City Commissioner Scott Maddox and undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in connection with the bureau’s long-running public corruption probe.

Burnette, known for major hotel, restaurant and office projects in Midtown and downtown, turned himself in Thursday morning to FBI agents on federal charges including racketeering, extortion, mail fraud and false statements.

He was the third person to be charged in the investigation, which began in 2015 with the arrival of the agents. In December, Maddox and former Downtown Improvement Authority Executive Director Paige Carter-Smith were indicted on federal charges they ran a bribery and extortion ring out of their Governance consulting firm and committed bank fraud in real-estate deals. Maddox and Carter-Smith’s trial is set to begin Nov. 4.

Who is J.T. Burnette?: Indicted real estate mogul a key player in Tallahassee redevelopment

Document:Read the FBI's indictment of J.T. Burnette

Burnette, during conversations with undercover FBI agents, described Maddox as “a vengeful mother------” who expected to be paid by city vendors in exchange for his support. Burnette warned one of the agents the payments shouldn’t stop once they begin.

“Feed a dog for a year, stop feeding that dog, and it gets hungry, he may bite your f------ hand off,” the indictment says.

Burnette, 42, appeared in leg shackles before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Stampelos for his arraignment. Wearing slacks and a pink golf shirt, he appeared at ease, flashing an occasional smile as he spoke with his lawyer, Tim Jansen, and at one point giving the judge two thumbs up.

He pleaded not guilty to all nine counts against him and was placed on pretrial release with conditions, including that he give up his passport and pilot’s license and remain in the Northern District of Florida unless permitted to leave by court officials.

Jansen said Burnette travels often for work — he delayed a Thursday flight to Tuscon, Arizona, to make his court appearance — and the restrictions could impact his business. The court will decide later whether he can travel to Alaska for a family vacation or Alabama for his brother’s wedding.

The back story:

►44 COUNTS: FBI indicts Scott Maddox and associate Paige Carter-Smith on corruption charges

► A TANGLED WEB: A look at those under the microscope of federal investigators and their connections to the city, businesses and each other.

He could have waived his right to a speedy trial but opted not to do so, prompting Stampelos to set trial for just weeks away on June 17. Jansen said Burnette wants to clear his name as soon as possible and asked federal prosecutors to produce all discovery by next week.

“I’ve reviewed the indictment, and we’re going to categorically deny all charges and set the case for trial so he can exonerate himself,” Jansen said.

Burnette declined to speak to the news media as he left the U.S. District Courthouse on North Adams Street, located just a block from one of his biggest investments, the DoubleTree Hotel.

He had been under a cloud of suspicion since 2017, when he appeared on subpoenas served on City Hall and a photo surfaced of him with Maddox and agents posing as developers and medical marijuana entrepreneurs at a Las Vegas hotel. Federal prosecutors referred to Burnette in last year’s indictment as “Person G,” a man who helped arrange payments from a fictitious FBI company to Maddox.

He recently married his longtime partner Kim Rivers, who also was named in earlier FBI subpoenas. Rivers is CEO of Trulieve, Florida’s largest purveyor of medical marijuana. A representative for the company said Rivers could not be reached for comment.

Burnette was charged in a 75-page superseding indictment that included the 40-plus charges against Carter-Smith and Maddox, who was suspended from office last year. The document is much the same as the original indictment, though it adds details and profanity-laced quotes attributed to Burnette about Maddox’s vindictiveness.

According to the new indictment, one of the agents spoke with Burnette in July 2016 about Company F, the FBI front believed to be Southern Pines Development. The company’s purported projects needed local government approval, and Burnette told the agents Maddox was the most powerful member of the Community Redevelopment Agency.

Two months later, Burnette again met with the undercover agent and others. He allegedly agreed to secure Maddox’s support for a project in exchange for a cut of the deal. He said the company would need to pay Maddox more based on the difficulty of the ask and that a $3 million project might require monthly payments of $10,000 for three years.

DOCUMENT: Maddox et al Superseding Indictment

During conversations in October 2016, Maddox referred to Burnette as “my guy.” In meetings later that month, Burnette said the price for Maddox’s cooperation would be $10,000 a month. He confirmed the payments were “definitely for Maddox” and that there was “nobody else” at Governance besides Carter-Smith, “which is Maddox, effectively,” the indictment said.

Burnette also said Maddox “wanted to keep his conversations narrowed to one person” and that he could talk to the commissioner about how he wanted to receive payments through Governance. He said Maddox wanted to limit his “inappropriate conversations” to only one person, Burnette.

After the alleged payment plan was established, in December 2016, Maddox accepted a chartered flight to Las Vegas, along with a hotel room and meals, all paid by the undercover agents, according to the indictment. The hotel room photograph of Maddox, Burnette and the agents was taken during the trip.

After the operatives began paying Governance, Burnette said if they stopped, it would “p--- (Maddox) off more and (he) will vote against them." Burnette later warned that Maddox could kill deals, the indictment said.

Burnette allegedly told the agent, “Maddox has got to be a mafia, if you think he isn't, shame on you.” He said once a vendor “opened the door,” it couldn’t be closed or “Maddox will f--- you out of spite ... absolutely and that it will be served cold.”

The most serious charges against Maddox, Carter-Smith and Burnette carry potential sentences up to 30 years in prison. If convicted, they also could be forced to forfeit downtown property prosecutors said they fraudulently bought and sold between one another. The properties were recently listed for sale at $4.5 million.

J.T. Burnette back story: