November 14, 2002

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Securities and Exchange Commission sued former city treasurer Miriam Santos, alleging she extorted thousands of dollars from two top investment brokers.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, the SEC alleges that starting around 1995, Santos told the two men that if they wanted to remain among the top brokers handling city investments, they had to raise campaign contributions for her. As treasurer, she handled city funds and investments.

If the men could not meet the specified contribution amounts, they had to personally make up the difference, according to the lawsuit.

Peter J. Burns and Michael F. Hollendoner gave Santos unspecified thousands of dollars in cash that she allegedly used for her personal, political and financial benefit, the lawsuit said.

Both Burns and Hollendoner are named as defendants in the suit but Burns declined to comment and Hollendoner could not be immediately reached.

Santos pleaded guilty to one count of felony mail fraud in October 2001, avoiding trial on charges of attempting to extort campaign funds. She was sentenced to time served.

She had been convicted in 1999 for attempting to extort campaign funds from a city contractor and forcing her office workers to do campaign work on city time. She served four months in federal prison before the conviction was overturned in January 2000.

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