chairman. He resigned from the county commission in 1996, to run for mayor of Miami-Dade County. He campaigned for Bob Dole in the 1996 presidential primaries, and this political association was raised as an issue in the African-American community during Teele's run for mayor. Teele was one of the top two candidates to emerge from the general election, but he was narrowly defeated in a runoff by Alex Penelas. In November 1997, he was elected to a four-year term as a city commissioner for the city of Miami. Following a controversial investigation and trial, Teele was removed from office by Governor Jeb Bush on March 2, 2005. Although Teele was convicted of corruption by threat against a public servant, the verdict was overturned on appeal after his death by suicide. Suicide and tabloid scandal On July 27, 2005, Teele walked into the Miami Herald building and shot himself fatally in the head. At the time of his death, Teele was a popular politician with a loyal following in Miami-Dade. 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 was triggered in part by investigative articles published in the Miami Herald by journalist Oscar J. Corral. 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 non-minority company. Teele faced a possible 20 years in prison if convicted of the federal charges, but an examination of his personal financial records after his death revealed that Teele was not a rich man and was actually in debt for half a million dollars. 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 with a criminal record. Shortly before he shot himself, Teele called Miami Herald columnist Jim DeFede, who taped their conversation. This taping led to the dismissal of DeFede. According to the tape, Teele professed his love for his wife, Stephanie, in a rambling conversation that