Former Deerfield Beach commissioner Steve Gonot has been convicted by a jury on three felony charges related to his 2008 political campaign. Gonot, who turned himself in and resigned from the commission in December 2008, finally saw his case go to trial last week before Judge Barbara McCarthy.
After days of testimony, including his ex-wife and other witnesses who revealed in a surprise testimony that Gonot went to Las Vegas to play in a poker tournament the day after he wrote a check for $5,100 from his campaign account to a personal family friend, allegedly for computer equipment.
In 2008, Gonot was charged with grand theft in the 3rd degree, official misconduct and falsifying public records. On Tuesday, May 10, Gonot was convicted, and could face up to five years in prison. McCarthy told Gonot he could remain on bond but required he leave his passport behind pending sentencing.
