The lawsuit that Joe Carollo’s former employer filed against him can continue, and so can the antics of Miami’s most controversial and divisive commissioner.
Because the City has got his legal back, even though taxpayers don’t have a say.
Whether you like it or not, the meter is running on the City Attorney, who is working to defend Carollo in court against an ever growing number of lawsuits. It doesn’t matter whether the basis for the legal fights happened prior to his most recent return to the Commission.
The City and its citizens are on the hook for all the money Miami has to cough up to defend Carollo every time some one sues him.
Here are some of the cases:
A company hired Crazy Joe to scout a location for a Ferris wheel-style observatory on the waterfront. The contract ended after Joe became Commissioner, but I’m sure you can guess what happened next. Instead of recusing himself when the proposal came before the commission, he used inside information to squeeze the company for a bigger payment to the City, according to the lawsuit. The deal fell apart, with the private company launching a lawsuit against local boy made bad, Crazy Joe Carollo, for violating his contract.
Carollo asked the Judge to throw out the case, and the Judge ruled it could continue.
The City is also on the hook for a ballooning legal bill tied to the recall campaign against none other than Joe Carollo.
Recently, the City Clerk nixed recall petitions he said were late. The group collecting the petitions disagrees with the Clerk on the final date for submission, which prompted another lawsuit.
And what was the City Attorney’s response? “We will defend this in court.”
Some time ago, a former employee of Carollo’s office filed a lawsuit that claims he was fired for being a whistleblower on Joe Carollo’s targeted code enforcement against his perceived enemies. His enemies include the owners of the Little Havana nightclub, Ball & Chain.
Those same Ball & Chain owners filed their own lawsuit against Carollo for the targeted enforcement, which they triggered by supporting the Commissioner’s opponent in his last race. The lawsuit alleges Carollo is infringing on their first amendment right of free political speech.
That could be the end of the story, but there might be more lawsuits in the pipeline.
We just don’t know. Just like no one can tell you how much the City will have spent on his legal bills because the cases are still ongoing.
In reality, we all know there are more lawsuits to come as Joe and his henchmen, Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Manolo Reyes, make it easy for their Fearful Leader to continue his rampage on the City’s treasury.
In fact, the terrible triad recently pushed through a change in law that would limit the ability of residents to seek a recall to one time a year.
Now, any politician with integrity and dignity would at this point in this sordid tail be forced, out of shame at the very least, to step forward and pay their own way.
But not the pride of District 3.
Joe Carollo continues to stick it to the City and the taxpayers. And, the City Attorney just laps it up. Why is that? The only way corrupt politicians keep doing what they are doing is if people like the City Attorney let them.
Now, take a guess. What is the legal bill the taxpayers of the City of Miami are going to pay for Crazy Joe’s willful destruction of the public trust?
Take a guess. Be forewarned – your pen may run out of ink before you stop writing checks.
