By John Pacenti
In a stunning revelation, Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore could not assure the public that an alleged bribery scheme within the city’s Code Enforcement Department is contained and that the department isn’t riddled with corruption.
Moore’s comment came at the Oct. 15 City Commission meeting when Vice Mayor Juli Casale asked him about the arrest of a code enforcement officer accused of shaking down two residents.
Khatoya Markia Wesley, 35, was arrested Oct. 3 on two counts of extortion threats and two counts of unlawful compensation, second-degree felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison. She was fired Oct. 7 for accepting money, willful misconduct and conduct unbecoming a city employee, according to a memo written by Moore.
City Attorney Lynn Gelin has asked the Office of the Inspector General to conduct a review of the department, Casale said after the Oct. 15 commission meeting. She did not know if the OIG asked to conduct the investigation was with the state or with Palm Beach County. Gelin did not return an email seeking comment on Oct. 18.
Casale pressed Moore on the bribery arrest at the meeting, noting that the code compliance officer fired is accused in the police report of using surrogates and multiple Cash App accounts.
“Did we do a full investigation into this department to make sure that this is one individual and not a bunch of people working together?” Casale asked.
Moore said a “review process was imminent.”
“What do you mean a review process is imminent?” Casale shot back.
“We will be reviewing our processes to be on point in that regard because, of course, my concern is if there’s more than one individual other than who was apprehended in the most recent events,” Moore said.
Casale asked Moore why the city took so long to investigate Wesley and why commissioners were not informed.
“Our residents deserve better,” Casale said. “We are here to clean up, not cover up, and that’s what it feels like is going on when we don’t get information about one of our employees bribing people and extorting them.”
She told Moore she was frustrated that it took so much time to investigate Wesley, who was on paid administrative leave for four months before being arrested a year after the alleged bribery took place.
Moore, who has increasingly been on the defensive with Casale, said he was “not happy with the application” but that probable cause had to be established along the lines of the city’s policies and procedures.
“In all fairness, as far as the time frames you outlined, it was not a function of irresponsibility on our part, (it’s) simply taken time to put the pieces together. That is policy, that is process. And ultimately, we got to a place in which the arrest had been made,” Moore said.
Wesley is accused of demanding payment from John “The Ribman” Jules, who sold barbecue ribs out of his home at 1048 Sunset Ave. Jules said he gave Wesley $1,500 in cash and $800 in food for her and her associates, according to an Oct. 3 arrest report.
Wesley is also accused of trying to shake down Yves Merzius, who police said owned UU Auto Sales at 210 SE Third Ave. “He stated Wesley came to the lot on several occasions and stated that she was going to report his business to code enforcement unless he paid her,” the report stated.
Both men had been subject to code enforcement complaints in the past. Jules faced complaints because of traffic jams in the neighborhood around his house as he sold rib plates for $20 apiece. Merzius told police that he had a shop but code enforcement shut it down and he was storing cars at the address in question.
Wesley was released from Palm Beach County Jail on Oct. 4 after posting a $10,000 bond. The phone number listed on the police report for Wesley was disconnected. The public defender representing Wesley has not yet responded to an Oct. 19 email seeking comment.
An investigation into Wesley — who lives in Delray Beach — started in February when a fellow code enforcement officer reported her after he spoke to a family member of an alleged victim, police said. The alleged extortion and bribery took place in October 2023, according to the report.
In the police report, Wesley complains in a text message that Jules’ account was frozen and that he could pay only $560. A contact phone for Jules was not included in the police report and he could not be reached for comment.
Wesley was explicit in her threats, according to the police report.
“If nothing sent tonight it ain’t nothing ima be able to do to help bro ’cause I gotta pay somebody else,” she told Jules on one occasion. Police said she followed it up with a text message that said, “They sending fire department and everything tonight if the event paperwork not shown.”
Text messages between Wesley and Merzius were recovered but they did not have any payment information, according to the arrest report.
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