‘I am caught in their net.’ Lanier appeals for attorney fees

FBI is targeting CRA projects, Riviera Beach council member writes to colleagues.

Riviera Beach City Council Member Shirley Lanier has made an urgent plea for her colleagues to help her fend off an FBI investigation, saying that if she doesn’t mount a defense, “an indictment becomes more likely.”

In a six-page letter dated Aug. 7, Lanier wrote that she has served the city with integrity, but “The FBI is targeting CRA projects, and I am caught in their net.”

Lanier urged council members acting as the board of the Community Redevelopment Agency to advance a payment she owes her defense lawyer, writing that she does not have the money.

It is the first time any Riviera Beach official has publicly addressed the FBI’s investigation. The law-enforcement agency delivered subpoenas to the city in February, Lanier’s letter confirmed.

Earlier this year, the City Council declined to pay Lanier’s defense attorney. Her new request invoked for the first time the possibility of an indictment.

No criminal charges have been announced.

CRA Executive Director Gedel Merzius read Lanier’s letter to the board at the end of Wednesday’s meeting. 

Lanier wrote that the FBI’s deadline for a response to the subpoenas was April 1.

“The grand jury continues its work without my input,” her letter said. 

“The FBI is investigating CRA projects. If I am unable to mount a defense:

1. The grand jury hears only the government’s one-sided narrative
2. An indictment becomes more likely
3. The CRA’s reputation and operations are damaged
4. Every CRA project under investigation becomes tainted by association
5. This Board — and every member of it — is next”

Grand jury deliberations are secret.

Lanier’s attorney is Jeffrey Sloman of Miami, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. He did not return a call Thursday from Stet News.

After the director read the letter, Chair Bruce Guyton moved to discuss paying Lanier’s fees. The motion died for lack of a second.

Marina vote delayed twice

Lanier participated in Wednesday’s CRA meeting by phone. She hung up before Guyton’s motion.

Her letter noted that the city has a liability policy of up to $1.65 million in coverage for each claim of “wrongful acts” arising from official duties. The total annual coverage is $3.3 million. 

The policy has a $350,000 deductible, or self-insured retention (SIR), before the coverage kicks in.

“By advancing my defense costs, the CRA erodes the SIR and unlocks millions in insurance coverage.

“Failing to act leaves that coverage unused and leaves me defenseless,” Lanier wrote.

The FBI has made no public pronouncement detailing which CRA project it is targeting.

WPBF Channel 25 reported that the subpoenas delivered to city hall on Feb. 24 requested records involving communications by Lanier, Guyton and then-Council Member Doug Lawson and are related to the city’s Marina Village redevelopment.

The next day, Lanier, serving as CRA chair, canceled a planned vote to select a developer to transform the marina.

On May 13, Lanier and Council Member KaShamba Miller-Anderson did not attend the rescheduled marina developer selection meeting. The board postponed the vote without them.

But on May 22, the board voted 3-1 to select Forest Development for the $566 million Marina Village project. Lanier did not attend that meeting either. Miller-Anderson left a mystery around her reasons for voting no.

“I’m going to tell you the very truth for me. I don’t think this item should have come back to us right now,” she said. “For reasons you may not know, I do not feel comfortable voting yes for anyone tonight.”

Lanier did not announce her reason for skipping the two selection meetings, which came after Guyton succeeded her as council chair and CRA chair.

‘It can happen to you’

On May 20, a council resolution to pay Lanier’s $9,129 bill from Stumphauzer Kolaya & Sloman PLLC failed. Lanier moved to pass it, but no one seconded her motion.

Lanier raised the issue again at the end of that meeting.

Council Members Glen Spiritis and Miller-Anderson said Lanier should not be paid until the end of the case. Guyton expressed concern about approving the fees for Lanier based on the invoice she submitted and no proof of payment.

“We have a lot of people looking at us now,” Guyton said.

“We can’t be funding people just because someone asked for records,” Spiritis said. “You’ve got to wait for something to happen before hiring counsel.”

Lanier replied with surprise in her voice, “Why would I do that?”

Lawson, who is now the mayor, had another question: “Just in reference to ‘the end of the case’: What if there is no case?”

It is not clear whether Lawson and Guyton retained attorneys. They have not requested reimbursement.

Lanier’s letter urged the board to act now because the CRA’s reputation and operations could be damaged by the investigation.

“The CRA has a direct and substantial interest in defending its commissioners against unfounded federal scrutiny that could disrupt its operations and tarnish its reputation,” Lanier’s letter said. 

“If this can happen to me, it can happen to any of you. Stand with me. Protect this Board.”