Transcript
MIAMI MIRROR – TRUE REFLECTIONS
17 December 2014
Jimmy Morales, Esq.
City Manager
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
RE: Mystery Customer Report 002
Dear Sir:
Attached is my Mystery Customer Report 002, which comprises, in the main, correspondence
appertaining to the administration of the Code Compliance Department.
Much of the information is old hat by now, yet some serious problems persist, as shall be
evidenced in future reports and perhaps in litigation.
Selective, random, lenient, and a dearth of proactive enforcement, as well as what the new
director, Hernan Cardeno, Esq., calls “due process’ but is really past due process, are still
excused as usual, blamed on the computer and a scarcity of human resources. That is not to
say that Mr. Cardeno has the power or tools to remedy the systemic faults.
Nonetheless, I have seen marked improvements in code enforcement around South Beach.
Unfortunately, I am only one person, so my positive reports are as anecdotal as my negative
ones. My appeals for a thorough audit, so we can see to what statistical degree improvements
have been made since the new director was appointed, have fallen on deaf ears.
The procedures themselves seem to lack consistency. I offered to examine the procedures
manual to see if I could make constructive suggestions, but I cancelled my request because I
have no budget to pay for a copy. I note that on one occasion I was billed several hundred
dollars for IT to find three email that an official had already easily provided me with. On this
occasion I informed the city clerk to cancel my request because I am no longer interested in
assisting the city gratis, as I have done in the past with considerable benefits including
thousands of dollars to the city.
Lacking an audit, we are left with the integrity and incredible resume of the new director, who
was appointed on that basis. I have personally found him to be sincere, responsive, and
straightforward. Yet I remain skeptical of the whole shebang.
Code officers have confidentially given such glowing accounts of him that I had to assume that
the previous administration of the department, when it was a division of Building, was
horrendous.
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MIAMI MIRROR – TRUE REFLECTIONS
That is one kind of integrity, the kind that you yourself have, summarized as being a Nice Guy.
Another kind is matching deeds to words, in an accountable manner.
I submit this report for the record, with absolutely no expectation that you will read it, or
respond to the issues other than to refer it to your troubleshooting defense counsel, Joe
Jimenez, for dismissal.
I offer it with all due respect required by the Citizens Bill of Rights of Miami‐Dade County, from
which it may be implied that citizens do not have any rights unless they respect government
officials. (1)
Best Regards,
David Arthur Walters
(1) Home Rule Charter – Citizen’s Bill of Rights, (B) The foregoing enumeration of citizens' rights
vests large and pervasive powers in the citizenry of Dade County. Such power necessarily
carries with it responsibility of equal magnitude for the successful operation of government in
the county. The orderly, efficient and fair operation of government requires the intelligent
participation of individual citizens exercising their rights with dignity and restraint so as to avoid
any sweeping acceleration in the cost of government because of the exercise of individual
prerogatives, and for individual citizens to grant respect for the dignity of public office.
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MYSTERY CUSTOMER FILE 002
On Code Compliance Administration
Complaint Doctor
12/17/2014
The City of Miami Beach has touted its new Mystery Customer program whereby city employees in one
department are required to observe and rate the performance of city employees in other departments.
The results of this self‐criticism program have naturally been astounding, with improvements reported
everywhere. The program does increase awareness, and improvements are bound to result when
behavior is under observation. Social creatures perform better with an audience, but learn better alone.
However, genuine 360‐degree criticism of the negative sort, including criticism of management, is not
appreciated at city hall, where one thing is certain: you will be retaliated against for publicly criticizing
the organization, which is constituted like a business i.e. in fascistic manner, without independent
branches. Therefore independent i.e. private mystery customers are required to render trenchant
criticism, which is necessary for the advance of civilization or at least to arrest its decline. They are
limited in number because private critics will be retaliated against too if they have anything to lose. And
in this small town, there is usually no mystery as to who the anonymous complainant is. What follows
below is mystery customer correspondence from a customer whose motives are a mystery to
institutionally blind city officials, so much so that the former city attorney characterized his customer
MYSTERY CUSTOMER FILE 002
reports as delusional, and local editors shunned him as a “wild card.” The problem with independence is
that its results are unpredictable. Anyone who complains about city hall, even if their complaints are
legitimate, is deemed “crazy” because they lack “integrity” i.e. integration with the authoritarian regime
the overwhelming F‐type majority cottons to.
August 21, 2014
Nannette Rodriquez
Director of Communications
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Subject: Specific Question No. 1 in re Code Compliance Performance
Ms. Rodriquez:
Thank you very much for asking me for a specific question in response to my plea for your
sophisticated comments regarding my perspectives on the performance Code Compliance
Department, which was lately a Division of the Building Department.
I shall start at the top, with the administration of that department, which is supposedly
responsible for the behavior that members of the community have been wont to criticize from
time to time, and not always negatively. Lest my specific question be taken out of context and
curtly dismissed with an irrelevant answer, you shall find below a brief History of the Question.
Since the Question is loaded, a Proposition that I do not endorse is given.
THE QUESTION
Why were the top two administrators of Code Compliance promoted to permanent and more
powerful positions as heads of a new standalone department without any overall empirical
evidence of improved performance in the field and considerable evidence to the contrary?
PROPOSITION
A political insider friendly to the previous administration has proposed that the director of the
Code Compliance Department and his assistant are “Untouchables” regardless of the
administration in power because the director “is FBI” and the assistant “has something on
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everyone,” therefore they will remain in their positions as long as they like regardless of the
performance of their department in the field.
HISTORY OF THE QUESTION
The Police Department and the Building Department, of which Code Compliance was a division,
have been the most scandalized city departments in recent history, so much so that the
Building Department has been characterized as a racketeer‐influenced corrupt organization.
City Manager Jimmy Morales, a very nice guy and a political insider without city management
experience who was appointed on April Fool’s Day 2013 to clean up the city after the most
recent scandal broke, has bragged that he has fired scores of employees to that end, the great
number of them lower echelon workers.
As for department heads, he did not fire the building director and his assistant; he simply
placed a friend of his from the troubled Miami Building Department over them as director, and
they instituted a “successful phased permitting” process to boom construction for big
developers without a full, comprehensive permit, utilizing private inspectors, on the condition
that the city be held harmless for any damages—the program is basically a confession of
incompetence to handle the workload. There have been little or no empirical verifications of
overall improvement in the performance of that department that I am aware of.
Although the police chief and his deputy had done a remarkable job of responding to the cries
for sorely needed reform in their department, they were resented for past behavior and
punished for their good behavior with dismissal or forced resignation. And now the unelected
political insider who actually runs the city by default has brought in outsiders to the police
department, a celebrity chief, from Colorado, and the city’s first black female deputy chief,
from Texas.
Completely untouchable have been the heads of the Code Compliance Division of the Building
Department. Most of the community had nothing but contempt for the performance of the
division; clamors were repeatedly raised for reform to no avail. Robert‐Santos Alborna, a
financial analyst and planner whose most extensive administrative experience appears to be
setting up an animal services department for the county, was transferred from the troubled
Building Department by former city manager Jorge Gonzalez on November 1, 2010, to head the
Compliance Division until a new director could be found. Shortly thereafter, on May 24, 2011,
Mr. Gonzalez appointed him Director of Code Compliance based on his resume and alleged
devotion to customer service.
“Robert will continue to report to the Building Department's Assistant Director,” proclaimed
Mr. Gonzalez, who would soon be forced to resign in disgrace, “but will work closely with my
executive staff on issues that remain a priority for the City, and provide support in the review of
the City's code compliance processes when that is initiated.”
Whether or not Mr. Santos‐Alborna deserved it, he became despised by several people intimate
with Compliance operations even before he became the subject of a fruitless F.B.I.
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investigation. Even Commissioner Ed Tobin engaged in heated email exchanges with Mr.
Gonzalez criticizing the performance of Code Compliance under Mr. Alborna.
“We must ask why we have all this corruption,” Mr. Tobin emailed Mr. Gonzalez on April 24,
2012. “Corruption in this instance is a byproduct of the lack of oversight and accountability. The
waste and mistakes we have pointed out over the years is staggering. I must hold you
accountable for a host of matters both in and out of the news papers of late that bear on your
ability to manage. I am sure that this latest scandal involving the code inspectors will NOT be
our last. What will we say when the next scandal strikes. Who will we hold accountable? Many
of the residents wanted an audit, and you suggested we wait a while since your Director,
Robert Santos was new to the job and by all accounts the department was doing well. The
residents thought the unfounded rate was suspiciously high and you assured us no corruption
existed. You were a strong advocate for no audit.”
Hernan Cardeno, Esq. a sworn police officer, was transferred from the police department or
demoted to be appointed commander of Compliance in 2012 while Mr. Santos‐Alborna
“assisted” the F.B.I. with its investigation. Upon the completion of that investigation, both
remained, with Mr. Cardeno in charge.
Rick Falls, a part‐time code compliance employee who agreed to wear a wire and to record
telephone conversations with his superiors for the feds after four code compliance officers and
two firefighters were arrested on April 11, 2012, said he was harassed for helping the feds, that
Mr. Cardeno called him a troublemaker, retaliating against him after Mr. Alborna returned to
his duties. However, you (Nannette Rodriquez) said you did not “think” there had been any
retaliation. (New Times, April 9, 2014) Mr. Falls transferred to another department, where he is
highly regarded as an excellent worker.
On January 15, 2014, the Code Compliance Division of the Building Department was converted
to its own standalone department. Mr. Cardeno was appointed its first director, with Mr.
Santos as his assistant, based on Mr. Cardeno’s resume, without any critical or empirical
assessment of his performance. City Manager Morales’ recommendation confessed his faith in
Mr. Cardeno: “I believe that the Code Compliance Department is starting to come out of the
shadows of past scandals, which namely, I attribute to Mr. Cardeno's extensive experience in
law enforcement and leadership skills.”
“Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager, explained that there were issues with the Code Department
some time ago, and previous management asked Mr. Cardeno to come from the Police
Department. Mr. Cardeno has been working closely to clean up the Department along with
Robert Santos‐Alborna. Many changes have been made. Code is currently part of Building
Department and the City Manager is suggesting creating Code as a separate department; and as
a result, Mr. Cardeno has been acting as the Director of that subgroup, and he has earned the
opportunity to work as Director of Code, due to his integrity and transparency. He has
committed to the City Manager that he will be 100% dedicated to work in this function and
recommends approval of his appointment.”(Afteraction, January 15, 2014)
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The City Commission, without any factual evidence of the “changes” alleged by Mr. Morales, or
of any concrete improvements, rubberstamped the formation of the standalone department,
which provides its director with more executive authority than a division head, and the
appointment of Mr. Cardeno as its director.
Indeed, Commissioner Michael Grieco stated to the Miami Herald that the commission “almost
always” blindly follows the recommendations of the city manager, a formula that is a virtual
prescription for dictatorship under an unelected official.
Commissioner Ed Tobin, his attitude apparently changed since the removal of Jorge Gonzalez
from office and his alliance with the reformist majority on the commission sponsored by
wealthy businessman Mayor Philip Levine, stated that “Mr. Cardeno is a person of great
integrity with an extensive law enforcement background. The City is lucky to have him and he
congratulated him.” (Afteraction, January 15, 2014)
On April 28, 2014, eager for some factual basis for this profound restructuring, I asked City Clerk
Rafael Granado for “any reports supplied to the City Commission supporting, with measureable
i.e. objective evidence of improved performance of the Code Compliance Division, the City
Manager's January 15 appointment of Hernan Cardeno as Director of the to‐be‐created Code
Compliance Department. Attached you will find the Commission Memorandum supplied to me
by Mr. Cardeno wherein Mr. Morales urges a resolution confirming his appointment of Mr.
Cardeno. I see no reference therein to measurable empirical improvements of the Code
Compliance Division itself since Mr. Cardeno was appointed its commander about two years
ago. I suppose that was given as an attachment to the Administrative Recommendation, or
separately, and I would like to have a copy.
On April 29, 2014, the Mr. Granado informed me that “The Office of the City Manager has
notified us that there are no records responsive to your request.”
Although Mssrs. Cardeno and Alborna have always been courteous and helpful to me
personally, their service as administrators has been less than satisfactory, in my opinion, except
in their ability to smooth ruffled feathers while not effectively improving customer service in
the field.
However, I am only one person. Supporters are inclined to praise the “new” Code Compliance
Department and its officers. That praise may or may not be due to the honeymoon effect, the
fact that people, who are charmed by the charisma their high expectations have endowed their
new set of leaders with, are disinclined to criticize their own judgment unless something goes
terribly wrong. Like Commissioner Tobin, I believe it will go wrong unless that attitude changes
quickly; unlike him, my skepticism will not be diminished by a change of guard, handsome
resumes, and the “integrity” of team players.
Therefore, since my observations of ineffective supervision and misconduct in the field are
anecdotal, I asked high officials and the city’s internal auditor to conduct a thorough audit of
the records to compare the results with the results of the previous audits to see if there has
been any improvement.
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I was greeted with absolute silence. Need I ask why?
Sincerely,
David Arthur Walters
[NO RESPONSE TO ABOVE]
On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 7:34 PM, Rodriguez, Nannette
wrote: What is your specific question?
From: David Arthur Walters [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 12:45 PM
To: Rodriguez, Nannette
Cc: Cardeno, Hernan; Castell, George; Morales, Jimmy
Subject: Comment Requested RE Adequate Staffing to Achieve Police Power
Objectives
Good Day, Madame. I am taking Code Compliance Department Administrator George Castell's
advice to contact you for a sophisticated exposition of certain policies. Attached you will find a
PDF elaborating my concerns along with several relevant images. Best Regards, David Arthur
Walters
[SEE BELOW]
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Miami Beach High School Gymnasium, a lesson in negligence at Pennsylvania & Espanola: July 14. 2014
19 August 2014
Nannette Rodriquez, Director
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
City of Miami Beach
Subject: Adequate Staffing to Achieve Police Power Objectives
Dear Ms. Rodriquez:
Code Compliance Supervisor George Castell has frequently directed me to you for a
sophisticated response to my opposition press questions as to why his department does not
proactively enforce certain city codes instead of doing nothing about violations of those codes
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unless complaints are received from persons who dare to risk retaliation from the offenders
and even code compliance officers themselves.
Mr. Castell himself has diligently followed up on my inquisitions about possible violations, and
he has faithfully answered my questions about particular procedures and applications of the
code to certain situations, but he is reluctant to make general policy statements to the
opposition press; that is, except for one occasion I know of, at a conference in 2010, when he
sincerely said that code compliance does not engage in selective enforcement.
Since then I have discovered, and several old timers have confirmed my conclusion, that
selective enforcement is the one thing Miami Beach residents and businesses can be certain of.
I refer to selective enforcement as “random” enforcement when I wish to give compliance
officers the benefit of the doubt, even though intentionally random application of the code is
kind of selective enforcement.
The most egregious instance of selective enforcement brought to my attention is the citation of
a business owner on a trumped up charge because he filed an anonymous complaint for which
he was fingered because he mentioned it to supervision, that compliance officers were not
enforcing code in respect to competing businesses. As a matter of fact, the code violation he
was charged with was not being enforced against others at the time as a matter of written
policy. And that is the least of it.
Despite their reluctance to respond to press questions, code compliance administrators have
two typical responses to complaints that they are not doing their jobs. 1) “We are
understaffed,” and 2) “Our objective is compliance, not punishment.”
Just this month the second part of that absolving formula was cited after I said it was
disgraceful that, according to a recent report, less than 3 citations per day on the average were
given by the whole compliance staff when I could walk down the street and observe and report
that many violations on every block. I suggested that I could make an honest living at $25 per
report, but my take would dry up when people got wise to the enforcement.
Another suggestion, that Mystery Customers be engaged and sent out to sting negligent and/or
corrupt compliance officers, has been frowned on despite the mayor’s enthusiasm for
Customer Service.
Of course the exculpatory formula is not unique to the Code Compliance Department of the
City of Miami Beach. It is most conveniently cited by all negligent, incompetent or corrupt
bureaucrats charged with exercising the police power. I recently heard it mouthed by a former
assistant state attorney, now the director of the county ethics commission, who was once
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responsible for prosecuting public corruption,. He retorted with a record of prosecution of
Miami Beach officials; however, I do not think his batting average would get him into the Hall of
Fame if his activity record were compared with what he had not done.
At least sworn police officers, according to the brass, proactively enforce laws against crimes
wherever observed, no matter how small, although we know of exceptions in our
neighborhoods; for example the notorious illegal parking condoned by police and parking
officials who park in no parking zones at the Las Olas Café “Drive In” to refresh themselves as
cars are ticketed and towed a block away for the same violations.
Parking Department official entering Las Olas Café Drive for lunch, ignoring parking violations on all four corners
Perhaps you will address this proposition: People tend to disobey laws when they are not
enforced, or risk punishment when enforcement is random and minimal. To wit: IF
enforcement is lax, THEN compliance will be inadequate.
I have taken exception to the notion that Code Compliance Department staffing is inadequate. I
have seen compliance officers performing their duties well, but I have also observed and
documented them goofing off on the job.
I recently penned an expose of one officer ignoring multiple dog ordinance violations within
plain view while he was sitting in his car on dog patrol. He reported to that he saw no
violations, saw 17 dogs on leashes, strangely adding that he was moved to explain the dog
ordinance to several owners.
Please take a look at the photograph, at the top of this letter, taken in front of the Senior
Center at Pennsylvania Avenue and Espanola Way. The Senior Center is adjacent to the high
school gymnasium and across the street from the elementary school. The premises were
overgrown, laden with rubbish, graffiti and unpermitted signs for several months.
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0
Thankfully, all but the
t graffiti was cleaned
d up within
n the last tw
wo days. Peerhaps someone
complain
ned, but the
e correction should nott have been
n contingentt on a comp
plaint. In facct, as
witnesseed below, a ccompliance officer parked a few feeet away sho
ould have waalked around
d the
propertyy and cited th
he violationss.
So the county
c
was stood on its head ass negligent officials allo
owed the quality
q
of liffe to
deterioraate for three
e months, advertising the degradattion as if Miiami Beach were part o
of the
Third World. Here disrespect for
f authoritty is inculcaated in chilldren by waay of its glaring
negligencce.
Graaffiti seen by children leavingg gymnasium
I have no
oticed elsew
where that eeven signs errected by th
he Miami Beeach Housing Authority have
expired permit decaals. I have seen
s
countyy signs ereccted with no
o permits at all, adverttising
n without exhibiting licen
nse numberrs as required
d by state laaw.
cooperatting contracttors thereon
Should compliance o
officers havee noticed the Penn‐Espaanola issue, and the graaffiti the kids see
when they exit the gymnasium
m? Of course they shou
uld: they drrive by it every day. Itt is a
standing indictment of their negligence.
2014 hrs (left) 2925 hrs (righ
ht) at Penn‐Esp
panola on 21 June 2014
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Specifically, at 8:14 pm, on 21 June 2014, I observed a code compliance officer sitting in his car
a few feet from the upside‐down sign. I had been enjoying repast at a fine restaurant on
Espanola Way for two hours. I thought he might have a comrade nearby, checking for violations
along Espanola Way, although I had seen no such officer around the restaurant, so I returned
and searched the restaurants there up to Washington Avenue, and saw no officer. The
gentleman was still sitting in his car fingering his electronics when I photographed him at 8:25
PM. He saw me take his image, so I figured he might report the event to supervision. He left the
area a minute or two later.
I asked Compliance Director Hernan Cardeno for a copy of any report or accounting of the
activities of the officer around that time. I wanted to know when, where, and whom was
contacted by the officer so I could verify the information with those persons.
The report Mr. Cardeno and I received was simply an unsigned inspection report listing
restaurants, showing that all counted tables and chairs matched the numbers approved at each
location. That simply could not be in respect to the restaurant that I had enjoyed for two hours
while facing the plaza, sitting near the front door, with floor‐to‐ceiling windows all around: not
single compliance officer appeared there or nearby.
And there were two cryptic emails alluding to Espanola yet without context.
From: Villar, Manny Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2014 8:00 PM To: Romero, Miguel
Subject: RE: Ok Finish and send to me and copy Castell. Thanks
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0
From: Romerro, Miguel Sent: Saturdaay, June 21, 2014 8:27 PM To: Villaar, Manny
Cc: Castell, George Subject: RE: Espan
nola way f.y.i Espanola w
way detail
Mr. Card
deno acknow
wledged thaat all the ab
bove was wh
hat he too had
h received
d, and explaained
that thatt is the kind of report hee generally ggets, and thaat no person
nal contacts are made aat the
restauran
nts unless th
here are violations.
My previous, person
nal experien
nce with com
mpliance paatrols on Esp
panola Way and compliance
officer activities elsewhere is that
t
on man
ny occasion
ns false repo
orts are fileed. Furtherm
more,
violations in plain vie
ew are routin
nely ignored
d.
uggest that a managerr at each reestaurant insspected be named, and
d that his or
o her
I here su
signaturee be requireed on the off
fficers’ activiity reports o
or input sheeets, along w
with the datee and
time of in
nspection, w
whether therre is a violatiion or not. A
And officials should be su
ubject to crim
minal
prosecution for filing
g false reportts.
Mind yo
ou that is not to say that I have not witnesssed compliaance officers including their
superviso
ors performiing excellenttly. That is w
why I find thee anomalies so reprehen
nsible.
Again, th
he compreh
hensive policcy I have been
b
referreed to for ju
ustification is that the Code
Complian
nce Staff is u
understaffed
d, i.e. “staff is usually to
oo busy resp
ponding to ccomplaints tto be
proactivee,” and, whe
en not so busy, that “o
our objectivee is to get people
p
to co
omply and not to
punish evveryone.” Aggain, I deletee a responsive expletivee.
Ju
une 27 (left) Au
ugust 17 (right)) – area is overrgrown, trash o
on premises
Now then, since I haave been referred to yo
ou for a form
mal statemeent of publicc policy on tthose
apologiess, one that will hopefu
ully put a nice
n
face on
n the city despite
d
its blemishes,
b
I look
forward tto receiving your portrait of same.
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Sincerely,
David Arthur Walters
Broken Signage Ordinance Theory: Wherever signage and other minor laws are scoffed at due
to nil or lax enforcement, it is likely that far more serious infractions can be found behind those
signs.
PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES:
Unpermitted sign in front of Miami Beach Community Development office
Signs beside scandalized Miami Beach Community Development project
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Signs and graffiti existed for months at Russell Galbut’s 800 First project
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Owner scoffs at private inspector signage and graffiti ordinances as public inspector observes
Typical scofflaws – no signage permits, no license numbers
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If only the public knew what was really going on behind this unpermitted sign without the required license number
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Scofflaws on all four corners at Las Olas Café “Drive‐In” as usual
Jorge Perez is a humungous developer, so he may scoff at reported signage and graffiti ordinances
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Scofflaws on all four corners, truck blocking Stop sign endangers public
The previous owner of Las Olas did not pay concurrency fees. The Commission honored him for his contributions.
Las Olas Café is frequented by city officials and is said to be the place to make special arrangements with them.
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Cops own the streets, but should cite parking violations on all four corners
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Uzbek belly dancer Nadira Alleva scandalized a British diplomat. She must visit South Beach.
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[NOTES]
2010‐11‐01 ‐ LTD 295‐2010 Jorge Gonzalez to Commission: “I have asked Robert Santos
Alborna Senior Administrative Manager in the Building Department to fill the Code Compliance
Division Director position He will act in that capacity until more permanent staffing decisions
are made This assignment will become effective Wednesday November 3 2010 I am sure you
will find Robert to be very capable and able to address any code issues you may deal with.”
2012‐04‐23 – Email Tobin to Gonzalez: “For the entire term for which I have served I have faced
enormous hurdles whenever I sought information relative to mistakes, inefficiency,
incompetence, overspending, waste, criminal conduct or lack of oversight. You have always
fought hard and successfully to keep these matters strictly within your purview citing your
management privilege. Commissioners only receive information through you. All hand‐picked
department heads and executive level employees for which you have long standing friendships
guard this information insuring information of any negative nature whatsoever does not go to a
Commissioner…. Of course we cannot exercise any effective oversight over management when
any information that may tend to suggest mistakes, inefficiency, incompetence, overspending,
waste, criminal conduct or lack of oversight by management is withheld from us (unless it
reaches the Miami Herald).
2012‐04‐23 – Email Gonzalez to Tobin: “I am happy to share with you anything you wish. All
you have to do is simply call me and ask (as you have done in the past).As it relates to access to
information, you have had a very good ability to acquire information. On several occasions you
have asked me about matters that came to your attention from sources other than from me or
through official administration sources. I have always researched and provided you with
whatever I knew or found out. I will continue to do so….”
2012‐04‐24 ‐ Email Tobin to Gonzalez: “Apparently you and the Mayor advised the Miami
Herald Editorial Board that Commissioners are taking campaign contributions for fixing code
violations….The Commission has very little say so in regards to the day to day operations.
Commissioners are not privy to ANY matters of employee misconduct or malfeasance. We get
that type of information from newspapers, blogs and the rumor mill. Commissioners have
complained many many (sic) times even in our retreats that you do not hold your executives
accountable…. As for your assertion that you recommended an audit of the code department
and we rejected the idea. My memory differs from yours and I'm betting the matter is on tape.
In fact many of the residents wanted an audit and you suggested we wait a while since your
Director, Robert Santos was new to the job and by all accounts the department was doing well.
The residents thought the unfounded rate was suspiciously high and you assured us no
corruption existed. You were a strong advocate for no audit….”
2012‐06‐02 Email Walters to Tobin & Commissioners: “EDITORIAL: We should not be deceived
into thinking that changing city managers is going to change a longstanding culture, much of it
informal. Whosoever takes the office will have to adjust to the status quo unless a radical is
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brought in and given temporary dictatorial powers except over the budget (as in Rome). The
salient features of his background should be courage, honesty, and intelligence. Formal
education and whether or not s/he inhaled or not should be at the end of the list. Jorge should
have remained in his position for another year in order to take advantage of the impetus for
reform i.e. a real crack down, and save some face to boot. Obviously, certain reformers did not
want that crackdown, and have interests rooted in the very corruption they pretend to desire
to root out. All the current commissioners should be replaced as soon as possible with a slate of
clean candidates. Perhaps Jorge should consider running for mayor on a strong‐mayor charter‐
reform plank.
2012‐06‐02 Email Tobin to Walters: “Can I buy some pot from you?”
2012‐06‐02 Email Walters to Tobin: “Sold out in 71 when I copped out to the Man. Try Green
Square.”
2012‐06‐02 Email Walters to Del Vecchio: “Green Square manages the Flamingo Tennis Center ‐
heavy pot use by principals and pros, excluding themselves from drug tests – the manager is
Commissioner Weithorn’s brother‐in‐law, did time for cocaine trafficking – the relevancy for me
was the city's (esp. Kevin Smith in Parks, Jorge Gonzalez) lack of oversight and negligence.”
2013‐06‐05 Memo Finance Committee Morales to Commission: “Division Commander Cardeno
discussed Cl‐01 Job responsibilities that state the City should implement a policy that requires
Code Compliance Supervisors to perform periodic, but at a minimum monthly, productivity
reviews. The supervisors should review the Officer Daily logs to verify the officers spent the
required time patrolling for sanitation, the time spent in each location of each zone, the
complaints that are recorded for each zone and the violations written in each zone by their
officers. These reviews should be documented and filed so that they are readily available for
review by auditors or other interested parties. Management agrees that Code Compliance
Supervisors do not have a standard process in place for periodic reviews of subordinate
productivity…. Division Commander Cardeno then discussed item CD‐04 that recommends that
the City implement a procedure or automated control within the new case management system
that they are seeking to utilize that allows the case files to be created from the complaint files.
The new system should have the capability to automatically link the two. The City should also
implement a procedure to review and document a daily reconciliation of the XC and the
corresponding CE to confirm the information has been inputted accurately. Management
agrees with the recommendation that the City should develop a procedure or automated
control within the new case management system (Accela) that allows the case files to be
created from the complaint files and have the capability to automatically link the two.”
2014‐01‐15 ‐ Memo Morales to Commission: “I have determined that it is in the City’s best
interest to make the Code Compliance Division a standalone department. In doing so, I have
appointed Hernan D. Cardeno to serve as the Director, with Robert Santos as the Assistant
Director of the Code Compliance Department.”
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MYSTERY CUSTOMER FILE 002
2014‐04‐25 – Editorial by Walters: “On January 15, 2014, City Manager Jimmy Morales advised
the mayor and the commission that he had determined that it was in the best interest of the to
make the Code Compliance Division a standalone department, to appoint Hernan Cardeno its
director, and Robert Santos‐Alborna its assistant director, because they had earned the
opportunity to lead the proposed department. Therefore he asked for the commission’s
consent as per Section 4.02 of the Charter. Cardeno, a sworn police officer, was been put in
charge of the Code Compliance Division nearly two years past during the course of an FBI
investigation of which Santos‐Alborna was one person of interest, but he returned as director
of the division under Commander Cardeno when the investigation of Santos‐Alborna turned
out to be fruitless. Morales provided no objective evidence for improvement in the division in
his prayer for the commission’s consent, and the city’s independent auditor said he has not
conducted an audit of the division’s performance since the FBI scandal. Anecdotal information
besides the blatant lack of proactive enforcement of signage law suggests that performance has
grown worse except for Santos‐Alborna’s helpful outreach to the community.”
2014‐04‐21 Email Walters to Beauchamp: “Mr. Cardeno promptly fulfilled his portion of my
request with various documents, two of which were of great interest to me: 1 )James J. Sutter's
30 November 2012 ‘Analysis of Code Compliance and Fire Prevention Complaints and Cases’ for
the Period 1 January 2010 thru 30 April 2012, and 2) Jimmy L. Morales' 15 January 2014
Memorandum to the Mayor and Commission on the Subject of "A Resolution....Consenting to
the Appointment of Hernan D. Cardeno as the Director of the Code Compliance Department...."
Would you please confirm with our esteemed auditor that his department has issued no
reports subsequent to 30 November 2012 auditing or addressing the performance of the
Compliance Division (now Department) since then, or, if a report or reports have been made,
to send them along to me.”
2014‐04‐22 Email Sutter to Beauchamp: Our department has not issued any reports
subsequent to 11/30/2012 regarding the audit or performance of the City’s Compliance
Division.”
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