TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee city commissioner and the CEO of the Downtown Improvement Authority are the subject of a focused FBI investigation into bribery and mail fraud.
Scott Maddox and Paige Carter-Smith are specifically discussed in a 21 page search warrant affidavit that somehow wasn't sealed by the FBI. News of this information broke on social media.
The records have now been re-sealed, but a search warrant affidavit calls on Apple to share communications from Maddox.
The affidavit surrounds a company called 'Governance, Inc.,' which Maddox owned and reportedly sold to Carter-Smith. Undercover FBI agents posed as real estate developers to get access to Maddox.
The affidavit states those agents made four payments of $10,000 to Governance, with Maddox using a local developer as the point of contact. Investigators claim Maddox and his immediate family benefited big time from Governance, estimating $400,000 went directly to Maddox or he and his wife.
A Tallahassee Democrat article says the money trail includes a ride-sharing company, likely Uber, that also paid governance $30,000 in 2015.
The FBI wants Apple to give investigators information about Maddox's Apple ID's and iCloud account to dig further, claiming Maddox solicited bribes that played a role in the commission's vote about the ride-sharing company.
Stephen S. Dobson, III, the attorney for Scott Maddox, issued this statement to WTXL on Monday:
"We believe when the entire story is told, Scott Maddox will be vindicated. Scott has been a good and decent City Commissioner and has always put the interests of Tallahassee first and foremost. I urge everybody not to rush to judgment when only one side of the story is being told--and that is a very slanted and biased version by the FBI."
Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum also issued this statement:
"As I have said from day one, any wrongdoing found in city hall should be uncovered and any individuals involved held accountable. As Tallahasseeans, we are all troubled by what we've read, and are hopeful for a just and speedy conclusion to this unfortunate matter."
We've reached out to both Maddox and Carter-Smith and are waiting to hear back.
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