To watch the video click here.
Chief Expo reiterates that the city charter only allows for the City Manager to be his direct supervisor.
But it was Alvarez who provided most of the fireworks during the interview stating that:
Channels 23 and 7 were the only two outlets to report about the nightclub incident involving the daughter of the Chief's executive assistant that happened in September of last year.
Dianne Fernandez, Channel 7 news reporter, stated how the police department started an investigation into this matter after she reported on the story, but that this is false because the police were already investigating.
Dianne Fernandez was told about Paul Philip being appointed before City of Miami police did.
Mayor Tomas Regalado stated to Univision that Paul Philip was brought in to supervise Chief Exposito, to investigate all the allegations against the Chief, and to make a decision as to the Chief's future because Tony Crapp Jr. is not qualified to make that decision.
Dianne Fernandez is close friends with both Tommy and Raquelita Regalado. They live on Brickell Key, go to parties together, and it was she who reported on the anonymous allegations against the Chief. Alvarez asks why did the five officers go to Fernandez when they could have gone to the FBI or FDLE or the State Attorney.
The costs surrounding security for the Channel 23 and Univision sponsored "Three Kings Parade" would be over $85,000, not found in the city budget, but that the police was told the city would absorb the cost. Univision, a private company, benefited from the $85,000 security subsidy paid for by the city. But who approved the spending of this money?
Cops anonymously going to media outlets controlled by certain factions is an attempt to make the Chief of Police look bad.
Philip is being paid $70,000 by a city that is bankrupt.
Alvarez then takes it a step further by referring to Philip's job as a "botella," a derogatory Spanish term for a hack given a government job out of convenience rather than talent.
We are anxious to see whether Babysitter in Chief Mr. Philip will ask both Chief Exposito and Major Alvarez for explanations regarding their statements.
We are also anxious to see whether the City Manager will enforce his newly created APM 11-01 Media Relations Policy, if Chief Exposito and Major Alvarez did in fact appear on camera without asking for prior persmission.
More lies...
More ineptitude...
When will the Mayor decide to exercise real leadership?
27 comments:
Special Agent Philip was in charge when Special Agent Sullivan stole $300,000 (to cover his sports book with organized crime) out of the safe at the FBI HQ in North Miami Beach. Special Agent Philip was also in charge when he forgot to inform 45 police departments that Andrew Cunanan was on his way to South Florida and on a murder spree. Special Agent Philip was also in charge when one of his drunk agents drove north-bound in the south-bound lanes of I-95 and blamed the deceased victim. Special Agent Philip was also in charge during several internal and less known scandals with informants, fraud and assorted corruption...but hey... the dude looks good in a suit!
The gloves are off bitches, it's an all out nasty cat fight. Exposito will not go away quietly, believe me.
Are those stories about Paul Philips true?
Why does the City keep hiring incompetents?
It is interesting who Paul Phillips really is. I found at least two articles In Miami New Times where Paul Phillips admits to being friends with convicted felon Camilo Padreda.
This is the same Camilo Padreda who was arrested and convicted on a million dollar fraud of US HUD and another $500,000 swindle involving a savings and loan.In the million dollar HUD fraud, Padreda agreed to testify against former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez.
Padreda is proud to include Phillips as a "very good friend".
Boy, the Mayor continues to bring shady people into the city.
Read the Miami New Times articles, ""A Friend Indeed", or "Just Friends" to get the straight scoop.
I am betting that Exposito and Alvarez are both in the DROP Plan? Right?
Gov Scott has pledged to abolish the DROP Plan that allows government employees to double and triple dip.
Alvarez is a scumbag thug slime weasel extraordinaire ... So what does that make the man that hired him - Expo ?? ...macho Cubans without the balls to fire anyone ... Total pussies ...Regalado has got to go !!
You wanted Regalado, you got Regalado.
Exactly Anon 11:58
The Miami Fraternal Order of Police spent a great deal of money and hours to make sure Tomas Regalado would get elected. They also heavily supported Raquel Regalado in her bid for a seat on the school board.
I have no sympathy for any cop who is getting a 12% pay cut and is now getting bitch slapped by Regalado when they all worked so hard to get him and his daughter elected.
Mayor Regalado-Old Maricon
Chief Exposito-Fat Maricon
Major Al Alvarez-Tarruo Maricon
Raquelita Regalado-Puta Mala
Commissioner Marc Sarnoff- Real Maricon
And Armando Aguilar is the Queen Bitch.
Are they in the DROP?
They are all on the fat pensions the mamalones
There is no accountability. Regalado knows how to manipulate the press and Armando Gutierrez knows how to manipulate the absentee ballot process.
Unless there is a massive turnout in the next election, we will get another 4 years of Retardado.
Losses. While Regalado and Exposito sling mud at each other the City has been losing $800,000 per week since October 1st, 2010. Projected losss for this fiscal year is $40 mil to $50 mil.
Disgraced CFO Larry Spring fails again.
Thank you Grace, Thank you Elvis, Thank you Idiot Regalado Voters.
If you were to vote on problems in the city, Sarnoff, Regalado, Dunn would be out of officer Exposito is not on the top of the inept, liers and cheaters list.
FACT
Well I guess the Chief and Major Alverez must think the live in Cuba, because they run to the Cuban radio and TV stations every time they want to address the public. This action is a slap in the face for all non Cubans who also pay taxes and expect a real police department and local government. Miami has become a third world class city and actions like this only make thing look like a Cuban three ring circus with clowns like the Mayor, police chief and every circus always has a freak show and we have our city and county Commissioners who fit that role perfect. Whats next?????
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/02/v-fullstory/2048018/swiss-pursue-swindling-case-in.html
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS STORY AND THE CITY OF MIAMI? SEC WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO ARREST LARRY SPRING AND DIANA GOMEZ?
Swiss pursue swindling case of Venezuelan in South Florida Authorities in Switzerland are reaching across the ocean to investigate a prominent Miami businessman who had attracted several well-known investors.
Claudio Osorio is an international business tycoon who has attracted high-profile investors like Alonzo Mourning, funded orphanages worldwide and helped build a school in Haiti. But now the Swiss say he's a swindler.
Venezuelan-born Claudio Osorio -- who was dubbed ``Entrepreneur of the Year'' by Ernst & Young in 1997 -- is facing a criminal investigation into his business dealings led by Swiss authorities with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Osorio, 52, who lives on exclusive Star Island, has not been formally charged with a crime. But in an extraordinary move, Swiss authorities are using the U.S. attorney's office in Miami to run the investigation and issue subpoenas under a seldom-used U.S.-Swiss treaty that calls for mutual cooperation on criminal matters.
In Swiss court documents, authorities accuse Osorio and his business partners of defrauding lenders who lost $220 million, alleging that they lied in the late 1990s about the financial health of his former company, CHS Electronics, which later filed for bankruptcy in Miami.
Osorio contends he has committed no wrongdoing, said Roberto Zarco, an attorney who has represented Osorio.
``I know these allegations are serious, but they have to be proven,'' said Zarco, who is not representing Osorio on this case. Osorio did not return several phone calls seeking comment.
INVESTORS
Now CEO and founder of another company, InnoVida, Osorio is an ambitious, politically connected businessman who persuaded bankers and moguls to plunk millions into both CHS and, after that failed, InnoVida.
Among his InnoVida investors: Former Miami Heat player Alonzo Mourning, U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark and Miami developer Chris Korge, who is suing Osorio.
The criminal matter concerns CHS, a computer company Osorio founded in Venezuela in 1983.
Swiss investigators believe the company collapsed because of ``fraudulent mismanagement'' by Osorio and his partners. Among other actions, Swiss authorities allege that Osorio and others created false financial statements showing that the company was in better financial shape than it was in reality.
Those statements allowed the managers to take out loans which they knew they could not pay back, according to court documents.
Swiss authorities likely have evidence that Osorio and his partners hid the money in a Swiss bank account and, if they can prove the money was gained illegally, Swiss authorities may seize it, said David Garvin, a Miami defense attorney and tax lawyer who is not involved with the case.
``They believe, that at the end of the day, there will be a monetary recovery that greatly outweighs the risk of going forward in this manner, Garvin said. ``It's not beyond the realm of reasonable thought and logic that in addition to monetary recovery there may also be people found guilty of crimes in Switzerland.''
Osorio relocated CHS to the U.S. in the mid 1980s, and the enterprise quickly grew into a Fortune 500 company, building operations in 46 countries, employing 600 workers and enlisting 150,000 customers. In the 1990s, it boasted it was the largest seller of computers in Latin America and Europe.
Fortune magazine called the company one of the nation's most profitable companies with net sales of $8.5 billion. In 1997, Osorio was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young and World Trade Magazine called him one of the ``Top 20 U.S. Business Visionaries'' that same year.
COMPANY GROWTH
Much of its growth, however, was through acquiring other companies, paying owners a portion of the purchase price in cash upfront and the remainder in stock over a period of years. But its high-flying climb to success nose-dived, as it became a victim of the changing forces in the computer industry. Computer manufacturers shifted to direct sales, making ``middlemen'' distributors like CHS almost obsolete.
By 2000, facing dramatic losses, Osorio resigned from the company. Three years later, his legal troubles mounting, and the company already bankrupt, Osorio and his partners entered into a fraud insurance settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
CHS was incorporated in Switzerland, but it's not clear why Swiss authorities are pursuing a criminal case -- especially one so far flung -- in connection to a company that dissolved 10 years ago.
In recent years, Swiss authorities have worked more cooperatively with U.S. authorities to recover illegal money, and Garvin said the Swiss may now be turning the tables to ask the U.S. for similar cooperation in the aftermath of the Justice Department's UBS tax-fraud case.
On Jan. 14, U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro issued an order assigning the Swiss case to the U.S. attorney's office, naming prosecutor Aurora Fagan as the lead investigator. Under the order, Fagan has the power to issue subpoenas to Osorio and others, and utilize any other entities including the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Internal Affairs to assist in the case.
Swiss authorities also plan to come to Miami to participate in the probe and questioning of any witnesses.
In addition to Osorio, Swiss authorities are investigating the company's finance directors: Marc Schurtz, John Metzger, Pierino Lardi, William Ferrero and Andre Tinguely.
In effect, the Justice Department is acting as an arm of the Swiss government in its quest to charge Osorio and the others criminally.
Osorio has been in the business spotlight of late with his venture, InnoVida.
InnoVida, a manufacturer of structures made out of fiber-composite building material, is operating in Germany, the Middle East, Africa, India, China, Haiti and Miami-Dade. Last year, at a press conference, company officials announced they have lined up $15 million in investment capital to build a factory in Haiti that could produce 10,000 houses a year from its materials.
Kendall Coffey, former U.S. Attorney representing Korge, said Korge became suspicious of Osorio because of a ``continual succession of representations that turned out to be false.''
``When my client would try to reach him, he was told he was in China, but then he would find out he was in South Beach,'' Coffey said.
Korge invested $4 million in the company. ``This action is significant -- and all the more because it involves someone who was operating at the highest level of his community and had an immense image of respectability,'' Coffey said.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/02/v-fullstory/2048018/swiss-pursue-swindling-case-in.html#ixzz1CuFUIrfZ
ANY TRUTH TO THE FACT THAT CARLOS MIGOYA WAS INVOLVED IN THIS SCAM AND MADE A COUPLE OF MILLIONS?
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
9 charged in $12M bank fraud in a case tied to a Hialeah jeweler's Ponzi scheme
Hialeah jeweler Luis Felipe Perez is serving 10 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme.
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BY LAURA ISENSEE
LISENSEE@MIAMIHERALD.COM
Nine people have been charged with fraudulently obtaining $12 million in bank loans that authorities say propped up a Ponzi scheme of a convicted Hialeah jeweler.
The U.S. attorney's office said Wednesday the nine used false information to get commercial lines of credit from Wachovia Bank, now Wells Fargo Bank.
Authorities said the borrowers invested the bulk of the loans in the $40 million Ponzi scheme run by Luis Felipe Perez. Known as ``Felipito,'' Perez promised investors high rates of return, up to 120 percent annually. But when Perez's Ponzi scheme fell apart in May 2009, most of the bank loans defaulted. The bank suffered $10 million in losses.
The bank fraud charges are unrelated to a separate investigation of Perez's financial dealings with Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina and his wife, Raiza Villacis-Robaina. The Internal Revenue Service is investigating whether loans made by the Robainas to Perez and his companies were legitimate. Robaina has said he and his wife are among dozens of victims duped in Perez's Ponzi scheme and lost $750,000.
The defendants charged in the bank fraud case are: Maria Baksh, 50, of Hollywood; Juan Cardenas, 48, of Miami; Gabriel Cifuentes, 63, of Hialeah; his daughter Maureen Cifuentes, 35, of Hialeah; Lucia Garcia, 58, of Pembroke Pines; sister and brother Maribel Roman, 47, and Reinaldo Roman, Jr. 39, both of Hialeah; Roberto Hernandez, 66, of Miami, and Roberto Rodriguez, 43, of Miami.
Two of the defendants, Maureen Cifuentes and Reinaldo Roman, Jr., are married, according to county records.
Here's how the scam operated from 2005 to September 2008, according to federal authorities:
Perez, 39, recruited potential investors and introduced them to accountant Berta Sanders as someone who could help them obtain commercial lines of credit. Perez encouraged them to borrow money to invest in his Ponzi scheme.
Sanders, 61, of Miami Lakes, allegedly prepared loan applications with false information on key items, such as business income and assets. She also allegedly prepared fake tax returns, bank statements and personal financials.
For her work on the fake documents, the borrowers paid Sanders 10 percent of the loan amounts, according to the indictments.
The borrowers also reported business dealings with various companies. For example, when Garcia borrowed $1 million from Wachovia Bank in 2007 and 2008, she said she was the president of the company, Thorn Valley.
But Thorn Valley and the other businesses were shell companies and the borrowers did not have any dealings with them, the indictments say.
The loan amounts ranged from $120,000 to $1 million. A few defendants obtained multiple lines of credit.
All the defendants are charged with both bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, except for two men. Rodriguez and Hernandez are charged only with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Each count of bank fraud has a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
Perez, 38, pleaded guilty to charges in the bank scam and related Ponzi scheme. In December, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $10 million in restitution.
In January, a former loan officer at Wachovia Bank, Richard Garcia, was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the bank fraud conspiracy. Garcia, 29, of Miami, was also ordered to pay $10 million in restitution.
Sanders has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in the same $12 million bank scheme. Her sentencing is set for later this month in federal court in Miami.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/02/2048000/9-charged-in-12m-bank-fraud.html#ixzz1CuJ5uQvu
THE MIAMI HERALD, I MEAN THE MAYOR'S PRESS RELEASE IS AT IT AGAIN!!!!!!
MIAMI CITY HALL
Drumbeat grows for exit of Miami police chief
After a retired FBI chief was asked to evaluate the city's police department, the calls for the chief's exit have intensified.
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City of Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito.
PEDRO PORTAL / EL NUEVO HERALD STAFF
BY CHARLES RABIN AND PATRICIA MAZZEI
CRABIN@MIAMIHERALD.COM
The chorus calling for Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito's exit grew louder Wednesday, as the majority of the city's five-member commission and the police union president said it's time for the chief to step down.
``In my mind [city management] made up their mind and they're going to fire him. It's separating the membership,'' said Fraternal Order of Police President Armando Aguilar. ``If he's going to be fired anyway, I think he should resign.''
Exposito has been under fire since Miami officers shot and killed four black men during a six-week period last summer. His problems escalated after he traded barbs with the mayor over a video-game ordinance, and with the state attorney over questionable arrests prosecutors never signed off on.
Aguilar's statement came a day after the city manager hired a retired FBI chief to evaluate Exposito and his department, which has taken heat for the summer shootings and the filming of a racy video in which police refer to themselves as ``hunters'' and ``predators.''
Aguilar, who has been a union member under 13 chiefs of police, said his comments weren't meant to reflect on the 1,000 or so Miami police members of the FOP who will meet next on Feb. 23. Still, his words hold enormous sway: In 2009, he led the charge to force out Exposito's popular predecessor, John Timoney.
Also taking a position on Exposito Wednesday were Commission Chairman Wifredo ``Willy'' Gort and Commissioner Francis Suarez. Commissioner Richard P. Dunn II already called for the chief's dismissal during a recent commission meeting.
Gort, a longtime ally of Mayor Tomás Regalado -- who, like Dunn, wants Exposito gone -- called the standoff between Exposito and the city's management ``not a healthy one.''
Gort has taken issue with Exposito's lengthy tussle with the state attorney. Couple that with a split union membership, Gort said, and it's time for the chief to step aside.
``I think he should,'' said Gort, who usually plays his cards close to the vest.
Suarez, like Gort, said he's concerned about the split in union membership.
``If I were the chief, I think I would strongly consider resigning at this point,'' he said.
THE REVIEW
Exposito did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. But earlier in the week, Police Maj. Alfredo Alvarez, an Exposito ally who heads up the Internal Affairs unit, told Spanish-language television station América TeVe that the hiring of former FBI special agent Paul Philip is an ``attempt to make the chief look bad.''
Philip began work Tuesday for an undetermined amount of time to evaluate the department, everything from policies to e-mails sent by Exposito to State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle. Philip will report weekly to City Manager Tony Crapp Jr. and will earn $33.50 an hour.
The police department, Alvarez said, has survived repeated criticism from the administration and ``attacks'' from Dunn.
``We've overcome all that, and now they come with someone new,'' Alvarez told América TeVe. ``If the city is paying and the administration is paying and the administration wants to get rid of the chief, what do you expect to come from this? . . . The [Philip] report is going to be bad, no matter what. If it's not bad, I will be very surprised.''
Crapp, who would ultimately determine Exposito's fate, declined to comment Wednesday. Despite the rhetoric spinning around the chief the past few months, the manager has publicly held steady on a promise to properly evaluate Exposito before making a decision.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/02/2047775/drumbeat-grows-for-miami-police.html#ixzz1CuM6D372
THE PROCESS
The city's charter leaves Exposito's fate up to Crapp. To remove the chief, Crapp must have cause, which under the charter could run from insubordination to public drunkenness. Crapp must then sign an official form suspending the chief. That would then give Exposito a week to ask for a hearing before the commission, which would act as a quasi-judicial panel evaluating the facts. The majority of the commission can vote to overturn the suspension. If not, the chief would be gone.
The difference between voluntarily retiring and being dismissed by the administration would be significant for Exposito, a 36-year veteran. According to city figures, if Exposito retires he could walk away with as much as $185,000 in unused vacation and sick time and bonuses, plus a pension of $205,800 a year. If he is dismissed his accruals and bonuses drop to $119,000, and his pension would be lower, though it was not clear what the exact number would be.
The formal commission proceeding necessary for Exposito's removal is not open and shut, despite a majority of commissioners saying they favor his ouster. Suarez, for example, who is a lawyer, said he wouldn't commit to automatically falling in line with the manager if the chief were to come before the commission seeking to keep his job.
``We have to be impartial as a judicial panel,'' Suarez said.
Another commissioner, Frank Carollo, who wouldn't say if he thinks Exposito should leave, asked: ``What was the purpose of hiring a consultant if everyone says, `Let's fire the chief.' ?''
For his part Regalado, who endorsed the hiring of Exposito, said his mind is made up.
``It's toxic for the city and the image of the city,'' the mayor said. ``It would greatly benefit the city if there were an elegant exit.''
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/02/2047775_p2/drumbeat-grows-for-miami-police.html#ixzz1CuMfZxLR
Tony Crapp,
Aren't there any white former FBI agents? Why is The City spending money on any new consultants?
City is losing $800,000 per week. Nice going Larry.
City is losing $800,000 per week. Nice going Larry.
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