The arrest warrant of Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper details how a once-prominent Broward attorney and lobbyist used “Russian organizations” charging up to $1,000 to make political kickbacks appear as legitimate campaign contributions.

The ex-lawyer at the center of the scandal is former high-powered lobbyist Alan Koslow, who U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas sentenced in November 2016 to one year and a day in prison for money laundering. He'd lost his law license about a month earlier, after an uncontested petition for disciplinary revocation before the Florida Supreme Court.

But Koslow is back in the spotlight because of his role in the events that led to Cooper's Jan. 25 arrest on charges of official misconduct, violation of campaign contribution limits, money laundering and soliciting campaign contributions in a government building.

According to the arrest warrant released Jan. 26, the ex-lawyer inadvertently aided undercover agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who posed as wealthy California developers looking to bring commercial real estate projects to Hallandale Beach. And he told them he would work with two different Russian organizations to disguise the political kickbacks, according to the arrest documents.

Court filings allege a Russian businesswoman in Hollywood helped facilitate the scheme.

The FBI agents called their sting operation “Red Chip,” and worked for five months from May to October 2012 to uncover political corruption in South Florida. They “engaged” Koslow and kept up the ruse while recording several meetings and conversations, according to court documents.

“Alan Koslow stated to the (undercover agents) that he had influence with the mayor and commissioners of the City of Hallandale, and if they supported the mayor's 'causes,' she would favorably view their projects within her city,” according to a court filing.

Koslow arranged a meeting at City Hall in which the agents told Cooper they hoped to find a development site, and discussed a fictitious project and the mayor's campaign. The arrest affidavit alleges Cooper said she and City Commissioners William Julian and Anthony Sanders were a “team of three,” who could ensure a majority vote on the five-member commission.

“There is no evidence to indicate that Commissioner Julian knew the source of these campaign contributions,” the arrest affidavit states, without making the same statement about Sanders.

Sanders resigned from public office in August over allegations tied to an unrelated case. He denied wrongdoing, but stepped down after a preliminary report from the Broward Inspector General accused him of voting to award a $1 million contract to Palms Community Action Coalition, a nonprofit that gave financial contributions to a church he pastors.

Meanwhille, Gov. Rick Scott on Jan. 26 issued an executive order suspending Cooper from public office.

The mayor denied any wrongdoing. In a public statement to news outlets, she vowed to “vigorously fight these allegations in court.”

Meanwhile Koslow's attorney, Michael David Orenstein, said the former lobbyist never wore a wire or knowingly worked to incriminate Cooper.

Court documents in the case against Cooper suggest Koslowy handled introductions and negotiations between Cooper and the undercover agents.

“Alan Koslow showed Mayor Cooper a number representing a proposed contribution, and asked her if it was a good number. She replied, 'No. Add a zero,'” according to the court filing. “Koslow confirmed, 'Three zeros. Is that fine?' And Mayor Cooper replied, 'Yes.'”

Allegations in court records suggest Cooper would receive about $10,000, while the other commissioners would get donations of $3,000 each, paid in two installments for the primary and general elections.

The agents visited Koslow at his home in Hallandale Beach and handed him a Dunkin' Donuts bag with $8,000, all in $100 bills, for the first payment, according to court filings. They allege the lobbyist arranged to pay $5,000 to Cooper, $1,000 each to Julian and Saunders, with the balance designated to cover fees from the Russian money launderers issuing multiple small checks to sidestep campaign finance disclosures. This breakdown suggests Koslow received none of the money from the bag.

One agent later told Cooper the campaign contributions would come from “a bunch of Russian names,” according to the court filings. That same agent recorded Koslow telling him on Sept. 13, 2012, that Koslow had handed 20 checks to Cooper at a Hallandale Chamber of Commerce fashion show, according to the documents.

The affidavit alleges that to launder the money, Koslow relied on Julia Yaremchuk, who owns the Sunshine State Academy in Hollywood, according to the website of the Russian American Chamber of South Florida, where she is director of education and training.

Yaremchuk in turn allegedly used Russian employees who wrote personal checks that appeared to come from teachers and other donors. She allegedly provided Koslow with a list of donors, which he then passed to the undercover agents. Calls to Yaremchuk were not returned by deadline.

Court records show Koslow provided a sworn statement in November 2017 detailing his participation. They also show Koslow laundered thousands more for undercover FBI agents, who claimed they needed to hide cash from an illegal gambling business, narcotics sales and counterfeit Viagra.

Sentencing guidelines would have put the former attorney in prison for three to four years, but prosecutors agreed to ask a reduced sentence of 2.5 years. Koslow has completed his prison term, and is serving three years' probation.