Jury convicts Broward union boss, sister in racketeering case By Ann W. O'Neill and Buddy Nevins, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Union boss Walter J. Browne and his sister were convicted of federal racketeering and corruption charges on Wednesday, toppling one of Broward County's most powerful political figures and ending almost two decades of surveillance and subpoenas.
Jurors found that Browne, 53, of Coral Springs, and Patricia Devaney, 55, of Deerfield Beach, lined their pockets by running the Federation of Public and Private Employees as an organized crime empire. The jury deliberated for a week following a two-month trial in Miami.