Sentencing was set for Dec. 4

SANFORD – A Seminole County jury Tuesday afternoon found former Brevard County Clerk of Courts Mitch Needelman guilty of all charges in his public corruption trial.

Needelman was convicted of bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, bid tampering and official misconduct. His 12-day trial was Brevard County's biggest public corruption trial in a generation.

Needelman faces up to 45 years in prison. Judge Marlene Alva set sentencing for Dec. 4. Needelman was handcuffed and taken into custody immediately following the verdicts being read.

At the heart of the state’s case were allegations that Needelman in 2012 awarded contracts to BlueWare Inc. in exchange for campaign contributions, most notably an $8.52 million contract to scan old court documents stored in a converted junior high school gym.

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The prosecution’s key witness was former BlueWare chief operating officer Nick Geaney.

Geaney, who spent more time on the stand than any other witness, testified that he met with Needelman and a campaign adviser, Matt Dupree, at Needelman’s house in March 2012. At that meeting, Dupree said the scanning contract would happen, Geaney testified, but that it “would have to be beneficial to us all,” to which Needelman nodded. “You know what I mean?” Dupree asked.

BlueWare CEO Rose Harr and Dupree have also been charged and will be tried separately at later dates.

Under cross-examination, Geaney acknowledged that he was testifying under immunity from prosecution and that he had been fired from BlueWare just prior to the scanning contract being signed and that he was angry with Harr about that.

Geaney, who is a citizen of the United Kingdom, also admitted to lying to immigration officials multiple times and admitted to other legal and financial problems.

Other BlueWare employees testified that Geaney was fired for embezzlement and had a reputation for untruthfulness.

Defense attorney Warren Lindsey spent much of his closing arguments calling Geaney’s credibility into question.

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But any doubts about Geaney’s testimony weren’t enough to overcome other evidence prosecutors Laura Moody and Bill Respess presented to the jury, notably bank records showing a trail of money from BlueWare to Dupree to Needelman’s campaign.

Bank records obtained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed that Dupree received more than $250,000 from BlueWare in 2012.

Other bank records and testimony showed that Dupree paid for campaign advertising for Needelman, either from his personal bank accounts or accounts associated with Dupree’s company rather than Needelman’s official campaign account.

The bid tampering charge stems from the process Needelman used to award BlueWare the scanning contract.

State law allows elected constitutional officers such as Needelman to award contracts using any means they choose.

Needelman chose to post an “Invitation to Bid” for the contract. Geaney and other BlueWare and clerk’s employees testified that BlueWare helped prepare the ITN and did so in such a way as to make it hard for other vendors to compete.

They also testified that BlueWare had information about the project – such as the number of documents that needed to be scanned – that wasn’t available to other vendors. Geaney and others also testified that any questions about the ITN were forwarded to BlueWare to answer with clerk’s employees using their personal email to do so at the direction of Needelman, which was the basis of the official misconduct charge.

Lindsey argued that none of that mattered, since constitutional officers are allowed to use any means they choose to award contracts. But the prosecution argued that once Needelman chose to issue the ITN, he was legally bound to follow state law regarding competitive bidding, an argument that apparently resonated with the jury of four women and two men who deliberated about four hours before finding Needelman guilty.

All six jurors declined to comment after the trial.

State Attorney Phil Archer, who didn’t attend the trial but was in the courtroom for the verdict, acknowledged that questions about Geaney’s credibility presented problems for prosecutors. But he pointed to bank records and campaign contributions as corroborating evidence that backed up Geaney’s testimony.

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Archer said he “took no pleasure” in choosing to prosecute Needelman, who Archer noted had a long and honorable career as a marine patrol officer before entering politics.

But he felt it was necessary to do so given the evidence. “I hope it sends a strong message,” Archer said.

“We are just very grateful to the jury,” said Moody, the lead prosecutor. “They took their time. They paid attention to the evidence we presented. … And obviously, we are pleased with the outcome.”

Lindsey, Needelman’s attorney, wasn’t available for comment after the trial as he led Needelman’s distraught wife from the courthouse.

Needelman was elected to the State House of Representatives in 2000 and served the maximum four two-year terms in that office. He was elected clerk of courts in 2010 in a special election to fill the final two years' term of his predecessor, Scott Ellis, when Ellis retired.

Ellis returned to Brevard County in 2012 to run against Needelman. Ellis defeated Needelman in the GOP primary that year and went on the win the general election against a write-in candidate.

Contact McCarthy at 321-752-5018

or jmccarthy@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @journalistjohnm