A former Opa Locka commissioner is heading to federal prison for more than four years for his role in a two-year long bribery and extortion scheme.
Luis Santiago admitted in January that he plotted with officials and employees to pocket up to $40,000 in bribes in a scheme that shook down several local business owners and corrupted nearly every level of the city’s financially troubled government.
In an effort to reduce his sentence, 55-year-old Santiago pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiring to accept multiple bribes and extort businesses seeking city licenses, water connections and zoning permits
A judge now sentenced Santiago to more than four years in federal prison.
He is the fourth person convicted and sentenced for the ongoing federal investigation into Opa Locka's corruption.