 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Former housing chief receives probation
By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA -- Former Tampa housing chief Steve LaBrake was sentenced to 18 months of probation Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of attacking his wife's ex-husband. As part of a plea deal with prosecutors, LaBrake must also perform 50 hours of community service and pay $352 restitution to the victim, Scott McCarter. Police said LaBrake reached into McCarter's car, punched him and broke his car window with his fist during a scuffle in November. It happened outside the W Corona Street home that LaBrake now shares with Lynne LaBrake, McCarter's ex-wife. Police said McCarter was dropping off his 11-year-old daughter from his former marriage when he and Steve LaBrake argued about child support and LaBrake attacked him. LaBrake, 51, was initially charged with burglary of a conveyance, a felony, and misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and battery. He pleaded guilty to the charges after the State Attorney's Office reduced the burglary charge to misdemeanor trespassing. Prosecutor Art McNeil said LaBrake could have faced five years in prison if convicted on the original charges. But he likely would have received probation anyway, given his lack of a prior criminal record. LaBrake lost his $105,000-a-year job as the city's housing chief in 2001 amid allegations that he used his position to obtain a sweetheart deal on the W Corona Street home. LaBrake paid Ryan Construction $120,000 to build the shell of the house, which could fetch several times that price when completed. Over the years, Ryan had received lucrative contracts on low-income homes through LaBrake. LaBrake's relationship with the then-Lynn McCarter also came under scrutiny. Under LaBrake's direction, she moved from a $6-an-hour clerk to a top aide in the city housing department, with a $55,000-a-year salary. Steve LaBrake remains the subject of a state ethics investigation, and federal authorities are reviewing his dealings with the Tampa-Hillsborough Action Plan, a nonprofit group to which he channeled millions of dollars in city contracts. THAP's ex-director, Chet Luney, acknowledged performing a series of personal favors for LaBrake. -- Christopher Goffard can be reached at 813-226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
