While criminally investigated Broward Teachers Union President Pat Santeramo was representing educators in attempts to get small raises on their modest pay, he was living an opulent life on their dime.
Above you can see the getaway home a block from the ocean on exclusive Sewall's Point in Martin County that Santeramo bought in 2007 for $574,000. He paid off a $300,000 mortgage on the property last year, though it's not clear if he still owns the home.
Recommended Videos
He and his wife, Lynne Webb, also purchased a home in Pasco County, where Webb is president of the teachers union, for $132,500. In Broward County, he owns a small condo in Dania Beach.
Not bad for an elementary school teacher who got involved in the union and became its vice president in 1991 before ascending to the presidency in 2001. And it's not hard to tell how he got the money.
Public records show Santeramo, during his 11 years at the helm, often pulled in a salary of nearly $200,000. On top of that he was given $300 a month for unspecified expenses, a $600 a month car allowance, and up to $250 a month to pay for gasoline.
He also was apparently a chronic user of his union credit card. A recent audit of the BTU by the American Federation of Teachers shows that Santeramo rang up some $128,634 in credit charges over the last couple of years.
"The majority of the charges are lacking backup documentation," the audit found.
On top of that, Santeramo was overpaid by more than $30,000 on what was shown on the union books. Two of his top officers -- VP Bernie Schultz and Treasurer Ronney Virgillito -- were also overpaid similarly substantial sums.
"The record keeping at BTU is poor, so it is possible that the officers did not realize they were being overpaid," the AFT concluded.
And the final insult: Santeramo has racked up more than $255,000 in vacation and sick leave that he expects to cash out when he leaves the union.
Santeramo made sure to get that benefit. In a March 2000 memo to former BTU President Tony Gentile, Santeramo requested "unlimited accumulation" of sick days and vacation time. Since then he's accumulated a staggering total of 230 unused vacation days and 122 unused sick days.
"Santeramo has presented several memos and board minuts as proof of executive board approval [of the sick leave and vacation time accumulation]," AFT auditor John Feldman wrote in the report.
While he positions himself for a major payout after the recent scandal, the union is in disarray and now under the control of the AFT while the criminal investigation into Santeramo continues.