Arthur Teele

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Art Teele as Miami County Commissioner

Arthur "Art" Teele was an American politician who belonged to the Republican Party. He was a Miami-Dade County commissioner in Miami, Florida but was removed from office by Governor Jeb Bush on March 2, 2005, following his conviction for corruption by threat against a public servant. On July 27, 2005 he walked into the The Miami Herald building and shot himself in the head. He was still conscious on the way to the hospital and reportedly responded to commands that he blink his eyes, though he was pronounced dead two hours later.^{[citation needed]}

Teele's conviction stemmed from an incident with a Miami-Dade County detective who had been conducting surveillance as part of a corruption probe. That probe had resulted in Teele being charged with ten felony counts of unlawful compensation, with trial set for October 2005. Teele was also under federal indictment for money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud for allegedly helping a minority company win more than $20 million worth of electrical contracts at Miami International Airport for work that was actually undertaken by a larger and non-minority company. Teele faced a possible 20 years in prison if convicted of the federal charges. In addition, on the day of his suicide, the Miami New Times published a cover story on Teele, which was based on the report of the corruption probe and detailed alleged dealings with illegal drugs and a transvestite prostitute. Shortly before he shot himself, Teele called Miami Herald columnist Jim DeFede, who tape recorded the conversation. This taping led the dismissal of DeFede.^[1]^[2]

Teele had campaigned for Bob Dole in the 1996 presidential primaries. This was raised as an issue in the African-American community when Teele ran for mayor of Miami-Dade County later that year.^{[citation needed]} Teele was one of two candidates to emerge from the general election, but was defeated in a runoff election by Alex Penelas.

On April 18, 2007, almost two years after he committed suicide, Teele's conviction for corruption by threat against a public servant was overturned by the Florida Third District Court of Appeal. The court allowed the appeal by a deceased individual on the basis that Teele's conviction precluded his wife from making a valid claim for death benefits under the City of Miami's pension plan.^[3]

A documentary about Teele's final days was made by two University of Miami film students, Josh Miller and Sam Rega, and will be screened at the March 2008 Miami International Film Festival.