The South Florida Reverend who took $10,000 earmarked for the less fortunate and instead lined his pockets apparently doesn't know much about ethics.
Reverend Gaston Smith, a high-profile Liberty City spiritual leader, was convicted last Friday of stealing grant money that was supposed to improve his neighborhood.
The fall from grace for the senior pastor at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church dates back to 2005 when he was awarded $25,000 for his non-profit organization, Friends of MLK Inc.
But an investigation by the Public Corruption Unit of Miami-Dade State Attorney's office revealed Smith was using the money -- more than $10,000 -- for personal gain.
"I wasn't thinking in terms in whether that was ethical," Smith told officers, in a recorded police interview released yesterday.
The police interview with Smith was recorded after his arrest in 2008. In it, Smith explained to investigators how the now suspended Miami commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones offered to help him through her consulting firm.
"She said 'Here is what my company can do.' Now, [this is the] first time I ever heard she had a company," Smith said. "I always knew her to work for Mayor Diaz. She said 'You can retain us for $2,000 a month,' and, you know, in my head I'm thinking 'We don't have the $25,000.' So, I said 'How long is it going to take?' And she said 'Probably no more than three to four months.'"
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Smith also stated that he secured the partnership with Spence-Jones with a contract , pending receiving the grant money, money he claims he never applied for.
"What she came to me and said was 'FYI, Commissioner Schuler has awarded the organization money.'"
"Didn't it seem strange without requesting money someone would award you money?" an investigator asks Smith.
"It did, It did, It did," the Reverend replied. Smith, 43, spent months going through the money, making ATM withdrawals throughout South Florida and in Orlando, Texas and Las Vegas. Exactly $10,356.50 was taken out after the grant was deposited in July 2005.
"Why would a person like you get involved in something like this? I think you were looking towards the future," the investigator says. "That you're saying, 'I'm new to town. I've got a growing church. You know, I need to have influence not only in my church, but in my community.'"
"Uh huh," Smith replies.
The Reverend, who is facing up to five years behind bars, will be back in court in February for sentencing.
