Mandy Dawson Arrested, Slapped With Federal Tax Evasion Indictment

Former South Florida lawmaker Mandy Dawson, 55, was arrested by the FBI in Daytona Beach shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday on federal tax evasion charges The charges allege she failed to pay nearly $25,000 to the IRS over two years, and failed to file returns for three years after that.

And it all happened while she served in office.

Dawson -- Broward County's first black woman in the state Legislature -- was slammed with a five-count indictment alleging tax evasion and failure to file tax returns. The indictment alleges she tried to evade tax payments of $11,889 in 2004 and $12,966 in 2005, and failed to file income tax returns from 2006 through 2008.

The Democrat was known as a champion of the poor and the medically needy. She served in office in Tallahassee for 16 years, six in the House, then a decade in the Senate. Her district stretched from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach Gardens. Only term limits ended her service -- in 2008. But as she was leaving office, she was dogged by complaints about her health, poor attendance and solicitation of lobbyists' money.

For tax evasion charges, if found guilty, she faces up to five years in prison and $100,000 in fines; charges of failing to file tax returns can result in a sentence of a year in prison.

Dawson was wearing shackles as she was led into the courtroom for a brief hearing Wednesday. She was released on a $100,000 personal surety bond and left the courthouse without comment, accompanied by her new husband, Hobson Bethune Sr.

While in office, she never reported more than $45,000 in annual income, disclosing that most of that money came from her salary as a state legislator.