TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A federal judge has again rescheduled the sentencing for Former Tallahassee City Commissioner Scott Maddox and political consultant Paige Carter-Smith.
The two are now scheduled to go before Judge Robert L. Hinkle for sentencing on August 9, 2021.
In September 2020, the duo was set to be sentenced on Feb. 22, but the judge agreed to an unopposed request from their lawyers to push the sentencing date back again.
In December of 2018, Maddox and Carter-Smith were indicted on 44 counts in an FBI investigation into corruption at Tallahassee City Hall.
As part of the plea agreement, the pair both pleaded guilty to two counts of honest service fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud tax. The other 39 charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.
The extortion charges come with a maximum of 20 years in prison while tax fraud can get up to five years.
Meanwhile, the other defendant, J.T. Burnette, is set to go to trial on July 12, 2021 before Judge Hinkle at the U.S. Courthouse Tallahassee.
Burnette is accused of participating with Maddox and Carter-Smith in extorting representatives of a property development company in Tallahassee to pay money to Maddox through his company Governance in exchange for Maddox’s assistance as a public official in the proposed projects.
He's also accused of arranging bribe payments of $10,000 per month to Maddox through Governance.
