King County prosecutors won't know until a Tuesday court hearing whether Silas Potter Jr. will waive extradition in Florida and be brought to Seattle to face criminal charges stemming from the Seattle Public Schools financial scandal.

Potter, the central figure in the scandal, was arrested during a traffic stop near Tampa early Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he failed to appear in King County Superior Court on Tuesday for arraignment on felony theft charges.

Potter was originally scheduled for a court hearing in Florida Thursday.

But he is now to appear in court Tuesday, where prosecutors should get an indication of whether he plans to waive extradition, Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, said Thursday.

Potter, 60, headed the school district's small-business program from 2006 to 2010 before he moved to Tampa, where he most recently had been working as a furniture salesman.

Potter was taken into custody without incident at 1 a.m. Wednesday by a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputy and booked into jail, said Melissa Kincheloe, a spokeswoman for the office.

A King County sheriff's detective who handles fugitive cases received a tip regarding Potter's location and relayed it to U.S. marshals, said sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart.

Kincheloe said she did not have details of the traffic stop.

Potter, accused of bilking the Seattle school district out of $250,000 in a fraudulent billing scheme, is charged with nine counts of first-degree theft.

A judge issued a warrant for Potter's arrest on Tuesday morning after he didn't appear for arraignment in King County Superior Court. Prosecutors said he had been alerted to the charges and a court summons by mail, telephone and email messages.

Two other defendants in the case, David A. Johnson and Lorrie Kay Sorensen, pleaded not guilty to theft charges during the Tuesday court hearing. Both were allowed to remain free.

Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office, said if Potter were to agree to extradition he could be brought to Seattle in a matter of days. If not, it could take about a month for the extradition request to be resolved, Donohoe said.

Potter would be flown to Seattle under law-enforcement escort if he is extradited.

In charges filed Oct. 25, prosecutors accused Potter, Johnson and Sorensen of using a Tacoma nonprofit and a Seattle janitorial company to bill the school district for little or no work. Potter pocketed a portion of the payments paid to Johnson and Sorensen, prosecutors said.

The now-defunct business program was set up to help small companies primarily owned by women and minorities learn how to bid on public projects.

State auditors originally raised issues about the program in February, citing $1.8 million in questionable contract work.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com