Thursday, July 2, 2009

Trembling slightly and speaking in a quiet voice, Monique Acevedo told Circuit Court

Judge Mark Jones she understood why he summoned her to court to explain her inability to pay for her defense.

Wednesday was Acevedo's first court appearance on

fraud and theft charges in connection with financial improprieties that have rocked the Monroe County school district. She was accompanied by her husband, suspended Schools Superintendent Randy Acevedo, who himself faces a third-degree felony charge of official misconduct.

During the half-hour hearing in the Freeman Justice Center in Key West, Jones granted Monique Acevedo's request that the state provide her with an attorney, as well as a motion from her private attorney, Nathan Eden, to withdraw from the case.

Acevedo's application for a public defender in hand, Jones asked Acevedo to confirm under oath the statements she had submitted about her finances.

She quietly responded "yes" to each question as the judge read aloud the information on the form: She has $100 in one bank account, $2,500 in another. She has two substantial debts, monthly payments on a 2005 Jeep Commander and a mortgage on the family's home. Total debt added up to $237,000.

Acevedo told Jones she initially paid Eden with her personal savings, but that with only $2,600 in the bank she can no longer can afford his fees.

Eden, arguing his motion to withdraw from the case, told Jones that developing Acevedo's defense -- including deposing prosecution witnesses and reviewing school financial records tied to her case -- would cost between $30,000 and $60,000. He also noted that the charges against her were different than the charges he had anticipated.

Acevedo will be assigned an attorney from the Monroe County Public Defender's Office, which will represent her at a July 30 pretrial hearing.

Both Monique and Randy Acevedo declined to comment on the proceedings or charges.

jguerra@keysnews.com