UPDATED Nov. 31 11:23 a.m.: A federal judge handed down a 38-month sentence to Opa-locka’s former city manager David Chiverton Monday morning, two months after he pleaded guilty to a corruption charge for taking bribes from local business owners.
Federal prosecutors had been pushing for Chiverton to serve four years in prison amid a massive corruption probe into Opa-locka’s government, which has implicated a number of city officials.
The Miami Herald reported that Chiverton was lobbying for lenience to a federal judge on Monday, roughly two months after admitting in court that he accepted $7,600 in bribes from local business owners for permits and utilities hookups.
He argued that his medical issues — ranging from diabetes to heart problems — should preclude him from serving the full sentence, and asked instead to spend two or three years in person, half of which would be in home confinement.
Prosecutors, on the other hand, said FBI agents gave Chiverton an opportunity to work undercover last year in an investigation of corruption among Opa-locka city officials, according to the Herald. He agreed to participate, but then went on to accept a cash bribe a local business person acting as an informant for the FBI in February.
Chiverton had faced a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, along with restitutions, according to Local 10.
Citing anonymous sources, the Herald reported that a grand jury is expected to return an indictment of several other city officials. Opa-locka was targeted by a massive federal corruption probe that led to a raid on City Hall in March, questioning officials and seizing records. [Miami Herald / Local 10] — Sean Stewart-Muniz