Local

9 Investigates troubled past of suspended Eatonville mayor

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — 9 Investigates is digging into the troubled past of Eatonville’s former mayor.

Gov. Rick Scott suspended Mayor Anthony Grant on Tuesday following Grant’s indictment on election-fraud charges.

Grant, 50, and two of his campaign workers, James Randolph and Mia Antoinette Nowells, are accused of bribing people for votes by promising to lower their rent, investigators said.

In Orlando, Grant makes nearly $70,000 a year managing the Northwest Community Center, where he is still on the job.

A spokesperson for the city said the voter fraud charges have no relation to his job, so he can continue to work at the community center.

The city said if Grant is later convicted, the human resources and legal departments will evaluate Grant’s employment.

Grant’s troubles in Orange County began in the 1980s.

In 1989, Grant was accused in a battery case. The judge ordered sanctions, but it was not considered a conviction.

In some cases, Grant was found guilty, but most were traffic citations.

In other cases, charges were dismissed, including a voter fraud case in 1991.

In civil court, Grant is listed as a co-defendant in a mortgage case.

The defendants are accused of owing nearly $100,000.

Last year, Grant was ordered to pay nearly $5,000 he owed on a credit card.

The same year he was ordered to pay a $1,000 penalty in an ethics commission case.

The Attorney General’s Office said Grant failed to properly file a statement of financial interests.

The clerk’s site shows Grant still hasn’t paid up.

A court document details the places the process server tried to serve Grant the paperwork for the fine.

The server came to his house five times, before crashing a town meeting.