MICHAEL LASALANDRA, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

The mayor and a city councilman from Hialeah were indicted Tuesday on extortion and racketeering charges, accused of making nearly $1 million by misusing their offices.

Raul Martinez, 40, mayor since 1981 of Dade County's second-largest city, was indicted on eight counts of racketeering and seven counts of extortion. He faces up to 180 years in prison and a fine of up to $2.5 million if convicted. Martinez, who makes $75,755 a year as mayor, netted about $900,000 in cash and property, primarily apartment buildings in Hialeah, through misuse of his office, said Marcella Cohen, first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

Also indicted was Councilor Andres Mejides on three counts of racketeering and four counts of extortion. If convicted, he faces up to 120 years in prison and a fine of up to $1.5 million. Cohen said he made $24,000 as a result of racketeering enterprises.

Martinez and Mejides, scheduled to surrender to authorities today, are accused of obtaining money, property or financial benefits by helping-- or threatening to hurt-- developers, builders and investors.

One count of the indictment accuses Martinez of having a sealed bid proposal removed from the files of the Hialeah Housing Authority so it could be altered to make sure the award went to a specific person.

Gov. Bob Martinez suspended Martinez and Mejides from their offices Tuesday afternoon. City Council President Julio Martinez will take over as acting mayor. None of the Martinezes is related.

Tuesday's indictment, the result of an investigation over several years, also named several other current and former Hialeah officials as unindicted co-conspirators.

Former city councilmen Sebastian Dorrego and Silvio Cardoso, former Planning Board member Vincente Leal, former Housing Authority member Antonio Cardona and real estate developer Alberto San Pedro were named but not charged in the indictment.

Martinez is the first Cuban-born mayor of Hialeah, a predominantly Latin working-class city of more than 200,000.

He has long eyed a run for Congress but decided in August not to seek the House seat left vacant by the death of Claude Pepper.

That seat was filled by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, wife of U.S. Attorney Dexter Lehtinen, who removed himself from the Hialeah investigation in June 1989.

Martinez won re-election to his fifth term in October. He defeated Nilo Juri, who referred frequently during his campaign to the ongoing investigation of Martinez's real estate dealings.