City “Beautiful”?

Corruption, Fraud and Maladministration in the City of Coral Gables: A Faithful Perspective

Thanks to the Miami Herald for faithfully portraying in a major article on their front page these last three years of public fraud, maladministration, political failures and corruption in Coral Gables. This history brings great embarrassment and shame to the City Commissioners and Mayor and to the residents who have stood and accepted the management style of Mr. Brown and the many revealed failures of our government. The City Commissioners failed to remove the city manager Brown well within the time that evidence of him admitting to fraud. Only when he was charged with sexual harassment by a city employee did the City Commission finally got him to resign, rather than firing him on the spot. This feckless behavior is hard to understand given the extent of many serious problems as follows:

• The city manager who had a fling with the mayor’s secretary and indulged in fancy steak and red-wine lunches on the taxpayers’ tab, and then, when caught, tried to cover it up.

• A lawsuit-wielding, wire-wearing whistle- blower.

• Sex in the office at public works. Cocaine and ghost employees at building and zoning.

Anything else? Oh, yes: the new purchasing director who quit on her first day on the job, apparently after the whistle-blower filled her in on the juicy tidbits.

Coral Gables: Ethics in Government–Illinois politics is a wake up call

The prospect that the ex-Governor of the State of Ilinois is convicted and jailed for corruption brings home to the citizens and authorities of the City of Coral Gables the lesson that government should be run impeccably without the slightest suggestion of corruption or incompetent management. A series of events have brought me and the citizens of Coral Gables to believe that management changes need to be made.

Too much corruption and mismanagement have become widely evident in Coral Gables government. The (resigned, not fired by the City Commission) ex-City Manager Brown shamefully departed early because of a claim of abuse against him by a female staff person, and he was found guilty of falsifying receipts. A procurement officer has charged staff in the City of illegal procurement procedures. Charges have been presented to State and County government authorities and police. A recently hired procurement chief resigned after one day on the job and after meeting with the offended procurement officer. Also, the City Attorney has had to hire a personal lawyer to represent her in an ethics case. Evidence has been found of unregistered contracts and payments to consultants.

These add up to the tip of an iceberg.

(See numerous recent articles in the Coral Gables Gazette on these and related subjects.)

Mr. Volsky Dredges Up More on Ex-City Manager Brown

Mr. George Volsky, the persistent, dogged critic of the City Commission, the Mayor and the Administration of the City, writing for the Coral Gables Gazette states:

…City Hall critics allege, that under Brown and the “see-and-hear-nothing city commission Coral Gables become a “Lawless Banana City?” Still, serious questions remain: why had Finance Director Don Nelson cut 24 Tew-Cardenas $5,000 checks without the Purchasing Orders, as city procurement regulations mandate? Was Nelson ordered to pay by Brown, his old pal? How did Brown and Tew-Cardenas connect, and who knew about it?

That Sansores, Nelson’s top assistant, located only one Tew-Cardenas check, while the Gazette has the record of 12, indicates Finance Dept.’s disarray, as well as the uselessness of Eden, the costly “electronic baby” of our Information Technology department.

Expensive as Brown’s misdeeds were, the costliest is yet to come. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advised Coral Gables that former Mayor Don Slesnick’s administrative assistant Olga Garcia would shortly submit documents supporting her Brown sexual harassment allegation. Avoiding a public trial, as commissioners certainly will do, could cost the taxpayers $2 million, possibly much more.

Even should these accusations be half right certainly evidences that there are too many unresolved questions about the competency of the management of the City government authorities that need to be cleared up.