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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The former president of the Broward Teachers Union has been sentenced to five years in prison for fraud and campaign finance violations.
Broward Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Levenson imposed the sentence Friday on Patrick Santeramo, who ran the union for 11 years. A jury convicted Santeramo of multiple charges in January.
The Broward state attorney's office says between 2001 and January 2012, Santeramo diverted about $165,500 in union money to himself through a kickback scheme with a construction company. Santeramo was ordered to pay $165,500 in restitution to a pair of insurance companies.
Santeramo also made illegal campaign contributions by having 25 people make the donations and then reimbursing them with teacher union money.
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