FBI: Video show commissioner taking bribes

David McLean convicted of bribery

MARGATE, Fla. – Undercover video shows a suspended Margate commissioner accepting bribes, according to the FBI.

The video released Monday shows David McLean receiving an $8,000 break on his rent, said FBI agents. He was convicted on two counts of bribery last week.

In the video, McLean hugs Chris Singh, the confidential informant, nearly crushing the undercover camera.

"Thank you so much," he says.

McLean then takes another $1,000 in cash and asks whether Singh's wired as they walk outside.

"Wired? Wired?, Yeah, my phone's wired. Yeah right," answers Singh.

Singh was the landlord for McLean's tiki bar that was inside a strip mall in Margate.

"Everybody knew he was going to take the money. That's his nature," Singh told Local 10's Bob Norman. "I don't think there's a word in the English dictionary for him."

Singh called McLean corrupt, immoral, and unqualified. The FBI wired Singh's and McLean's businesses with cameras, but the bribes took place in Singh's car.

In another video, McLean takes $5,000.

"How did you know David McLean was dirty?" Norman asked Singh.

"It was common knowledge," he replied. "Everyone knew David McLean is dirty. People were just too afraid to step forward. There are a lot of victims."

McLean faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he's sentenced Dec. 6.