MIAMI MIRROR TRUE REFLECTIONS

Permission granted photo by Michael Trainer

SAVING MIAMI BEACH GOVERNMENT FROM HELLFIRE

All who pass by jeer at you. They scoff and insult beautiful Jerusalem, saying, "Is this the city called 'Most Beautiful in All the World' and 'Joy of All the Earth'?" Lamentations 2:15

Updated March, 12, 2013 The City of Miami Beach is aflame with scandal again, and this just after the city published another poll showing that businesses and residents are mostly pleased with the government of the beautiful city on the sunny beach. Well, ignorance is bliss. The Miami New Times, a countercultural, scandal-mongering, free sidewalk rag born of the Village Voice, has fanned the dying embers with a reiteration of past scandals, adding fuel to the fire in an inflammatory article, Burn Notice, Miami Beach Fire Rescue is aflame with corruption, harassment and retribution. The response of Fire Chief Javier Otero to the current revelations of misconduct was predictable: These are nothing more than allegations from disgruntled employees. The city commissioners have asked the city manager to look into the allegations. Of course it is believed that all the issues are old hat and have been appropriately addressed. If not, yet another costly report from an outside consulted will be obtained and filed away after a meeting or two.
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One of the several employees mentioned in the New Times Article was a fire inspector by the name of David Weston, working as an unclassified professional employee of the city. He said he believed he was terminated two days after several arrests of building department employees, in March of 2008, simply to render him guilty by spurious association. Weston is presently employed by the company that owns Permit Doctor, the leading permit expeditor in the area. He is in the right business. New Times reporter Michael E. Miller noted that Westons old job as a fire protection analyst suited his obsessiveness. Heaven forbid that ordinances be obsessively enforced in a paradise where antinomian libertines tromp with virtual impunity. His engineering training, his long experience in the building industry, and his familiarity with the faults of the permitting processes can only be a boon to Permit Doctor clientele. He is also obsessed with cleaning up that process, and refuses to roll over for fear of further retaliation. Weston claimed that he had been fired from the fire department for insistently reporting missing monies to superiors, by which he meant millions of dollars of permit fees gone uncollected due to the gross undervaluation of properties subject to such fees. Although Westons curt letter of dismissal did not give any reason for termination, he said the pretext for his dismissal was the false accusation that he had violated a countywide ethics ordinance prohibiting conflicts of interest. It was after he was fired, he said, that he managed to get a copy of Fire Marshal Sonia Machens investigative report accusing him of the ethics violation. Machen was in charge of inspections, and, according to the New Times, it was she who had introduced the notoriously faulty or untraceable permitting system called Permit Plus to the fire department. Mr. Weston had made a public records request to see his file, he told us, but it had been cleaned of his commendations and the investigative report or there was more than one file, a circumstance that he said greatly irritated City Clerk Robert Parcher, now retired. By coincidence or divine providence, losses of permit fees due to under-valuations of properties and/or the failure to pull permits at all or failure to disclose the full extent of construction when applying for permits was the subject of a five-part series, Getting Ahead of the Job Con, penned by freelance journalist David Arthur Walters and published by the Miami SunPost. Walters said he had contacted Weston a week before reading the advance, online edition of the Dec. 7, 2012, New Times expose. Weston seemed amazed by the similarity of our concerns when I spoke with him, Walters said. I told him we were obviously on the same page, the page of truth about what really goes on in the city government. It appeared to me that he had stuck his nose into a big honey pot and it was not appreciated. He said the city auditor tried to warn him to back off, but since he would not mind his own business, they got rid of him, creating quite a record in the meantime, which I think is kind of stupid considering that he was an at-will employee and could have been terminated without cause. Of course one would not want to violate his civil rights, and a city should manage all its personnel fairly regardless of their status. Walters said he had noticed negligence in permit application reviews by the citys legal department. He thought legal oversight of the building departments legal processes was
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inadequate, and he had disagreed with the influence brought to bear by the city attorney in respect to fine write-offs and case dismissals against the judgments of city magistrates known as special masters. A less than friendly personal relationship had already developed between Walters and City Attorney Jose Smith. He faults Smith for the animosity, but Smith naturally did not take kindly to his opinions about his department, especially when he suggested that Smith be fired unless improvements were made. Smith, deathly afraid of negative SunPost publicity, attempted to discredit him with the editor of the SunPost in a blatant attempt to suppress any unflattering reports, characterizing Walters brief reference to the famous ethnic shift of power in Miami Beach, from Jews to Hispanics, as reprehensible, and called him a bigot. Smith is a Cuban American Jew, while Walters paternal grandmother was Jewish. Walters said he made a constructive suggestion to Interim City Manager Kathie Brooks and Smith that fee and fine write-offs and reductions need to be carefully accounted for and regularly reported. Public record email reveals that Smith replied cryptically, saying that he believed in following the law, and he later called Walters constructive suggestion for accountability as moronic. Walters supposed that city attorneys routinely review dismissals just as they did permits, especially involuntary terminations such as Westons because of their potentially controversial nature. He asked Weston to state for the record his opinion on City Attorney Jose Smith in respect to his firing. I, like Mr. Smith, had a financial real estate interest on the beach. My interest was with some boat docks and therefore not under any aspect of my regulatory duties. I was terminated from the city because it was claimed that this ownership was a conflict of interest. The Ethics Commission disagreed and ruled in my favor. Salient are the facts that my ownership and outside employment was previously, fully, and annually disclosed, yet, according to what I was told, Mr. Smith approved my dismissal. As a professional employee of the city I suffered absolutely no financial harm as I was fully vested with my benefits. Personally I had a replacement job two days after leaving Miami Beach. I believe that Mr. Smith wanted me removed from the city because I would not remain silent about the millions of dollars of missing monies, stated Weston. I know that the city attorney participated in my termination as I was warned several days in advance of my termination by an attorney in his office that leaked this decision to a mutual friend. Consequently, I believe that Smith was well aware of the financial irregularities in the fire, building, and code departments, which in my opinion, are and were racketeer influenced corrupt organizations. Salient to this opinion are the conclusions from my own experiences as well as reading the indictments of building employees Ratner, Partovi, Johnson and Villarreal. Outside employment of some types of employees is permitted by the city. For instance, unclassified (non-union and non-civil service) professional employees like Weston. In fact, several lawyers who are employed in the city attorneys office have reported outside employment, while the city also engages outside attorneys to do some of its legal work. The extent of the outside employment appears to be at the discretion of a department head like Smith, who would not want it to conflict with the performance of the employees internal duties.

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Weston had not named all of numerous city employees arrested over the past few years and charged with such state felonies as unlawful compensation, bribery, money laundering, and racketeering. Federal criminal complaints lodged in April of this year against city employees were for extortion and narcotics trafficking and not for violations of 18 USC Chapter 96, the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. However, that Act, designed to conveniently prosecute racketeering leaders for a pattern of behavior, might be relevant if it can be shown that officials are controlling, running, or using their departments as criminal enterprises or devices. Walters said that he, in the interest of fair and balanced reporting, provided Westons opinion to Smith for his response: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2013-02-07/news/miami-beach-fire-department-corruption/ Mr. Smith: Please find a link above to the New Times article presently shedding more light on our scandal-ridden city. Former fireman and fire inspector David Weston, although lauding the good works of several city departments, has characterized them as Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations. Mr. Weston has expressed his belief (attached) that you knew of the irregularities in the allegedly corrupt city organizations, and that you wanted him fired and participated in the termination process because he would not remain silent about missing monies. He claims that the pretext for his termination was an alleged conflict of interest over outside employment that did not actually exist as such, and was in reality simply an investment relationship similar to that which you yourself had. Now most people do not know much if anything at all about the citys personnel rules, nor are they aware of the proper role of a city attorney in regards to this sort of personnel situation even though they have a pretty good idea from news accounts and movies what a house attorney for a mob does. Hopefully you provide some clarification of your own role in this case, other than that you followed the law as usual. Smith, obviously incensed, responded hastily: I do not know David Weston and I have never spoken with him. Nor was I aware of his allegations reported in the Miami New Times. Had those allegations been brought to my attention, I would have referred them to the appropriate law enforcement authorities as I routinely do. I do not know the circumstances about Mr. Westons termination and no one in my office had ANYTHING to do with it. Indeed, in a letter dated October 8, 2008, Ramiro Inguanzo, former Human Resources Director, informed Mr. Weston that my Special Ethics Counsel Jean Olin, an attorney in Mr. Smiths office, had NO KNOWLEDGE of [his employment] with the City and DID NOT take part in the decision to terminate [his employment]. Mr. Westons Personnel file reflects that he was terminated by Fire Chief Eric Yuhr for violating both City and County Ethics Codes, after an extensive investigation by Sonia Machen, the citys Fire Marshal. Mr. Westons belief (5 years after his termination) that I was somehow aware of financial irregularities or that I had a role in his termination is patently false and offensive. His belief is contradicted by his Personnel File (and his own words and
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actions). I caution you that as a journalist, your malicious dissemination of these clearly defamatory statements (as well as your reference to the mob), knowing them to be utterly false, for the sole purpose of creating scandal and controversy will expose you to personal legal liability and punitive damages. Your continuous efforts to tarnish my reputation for political or personal agendas will not be tolerated. I suggest you consult will your legal counsel if you think Im playing games. Please govern yourself accordingly. (sic) Our impression of Smiths impetuous email after reviewing the public record on the case was that it continued the official libel of Weston and constituted a defamatory projection of his own guilt onto his inquirer. It also appeared to be an attempt to defend his special counsel, Olin, whom Walters had not mentioned nor did he know of her at the time, for behavior that the citys human resources director avowed was prohibited, in an apparently mendacious letter to Weston dated October 8, 2008: Please be advised that Ms. Olins role as Special Counsel to the City would preclude her from discussing matters related to your employment and/or termination from the City. Additionally, Ms. Olin has no knowledge of your employment with the City and did not take part in the decision to terminate your employment. Furthermore, Westons notes on March 16, 2008, recounts that a week after a meeting with Fire Department officials, he was approached by Sonni Moore: Mr. Moore asked some questions about how I was doing and I answered that I was fine and that I was confident that everything would be fine. Mr. Moore went on to tell me that this wasnt what the City Attorney was saying. Indeed, we believe that a lay analysis of Smiths response to Walters inquiry supports Westons notion that Smith was directly involved in and probably sanctioned his dismissal. Weston, after reviewing Smiths statement to Walters, said that Mr. Smith is right in being concerned about tarnishing his reputation. I felt the same way. Weston noted that Assistant City Attorney Olin was specifically mentioned in Fire Marshal Machens report as consulted in respect to the Weston termination, that Olin was directly copied on Ethics Commission Opinion RQO 8-36, and that there were other errors that could be pointed out, but he wondered what the point would be of pursuing the issue with Smith, whatever the objectives might be. Machens March 5, 2008, report states that, on February 26, 2008, I consulted with Ms. Jean Olin, Assistant City Attorney, assigned to ethical issues. Ms. Olin reviewed the documents of the complaint and indicated that in her opinion, there is clearly a conflict of interest. Machen objects to Westons business relationship, alleged by an anonymous complaint, with a permit expediting firm called Permit Doctor because it might give that company an unfair advantage. FPA Weston has to work with Mr. Damian Gallo almost on a daily basis, Mr. Gallo is a professional permit expediter who does a lot of work in the City of Miami Beach, The Permit Doctor has many jobs in the north part of the City where David Weston Is assigned. Mr. Gallo and his associates handle all matters related to plan review and inspections. Mr. Gallo benefits and "looks good" to his clients if he can facilitate expedited plan reviews and inspections to get the Job completed. Whether true or just perceived, the relationship between Mr. Gallo and Mr. Weston can appear to give the Permit Doctor an unfair advantage. As the Fire Marshal, I find the relationship between Mr. Gallo and Mr. Weston unacceptable. It is definitely not conducive to a

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good working environment and it is contrary to our standard of delivery of services. She added that although she was not an expert on the ethics codes, she believed he had violated the codes. Weston claims that he would have offered to resign with pleasure if he had known of Machens position, even though, as the subsequent Ethics Commission opinion appears to state, the kind of so-called business relationship he had with Gallo would not have violated ethical standards. However, as an at-will employee, the city could have dismissed him or asked for his resignation without stating any cause whatsoever provided that the termination did not violate his civil rightsWeston believes that the city had a right to demand that he waive his civil rights as a condition of employment, something that most attorneys would disagree with. Indeed, competent personnel departments everywhere are disinclined to provide reasons for dismissal upon inquiry from outside parties such as prospective employers. He said that, in fact, he did offer to resign when he discovered he would be fired, but the involuntary termination was insisted upon, coupled with threats to strip him of a pension they assumed he had, not knowing he was not in the pension planif he were in the plan, he said it would have cost him $50,000. Weston, who was not privy to Machens report until several months after he was fired, disagreed with the assumption that his so-called business relationship, which was an investment not in the Permit Doctors operation but in another firm, 5255 Marina LLC, a boat-slip renovation marina operated by the same person, constituted unauthorized outside employment. On July 17, 2008, he posed the question to the Ethics Commission: Must a job applicant for the position of fire inspector in the City of Miami Beach disclose as outside employment an investment position he holds in a Florida corporation ifhe does not provide any services to the corporation, he does not received a salary from the corporation, and he is not entitled to receive a salary from the corporation? Is a municipal fire inspector required to file financial disclosure forms? On September 2, 2008, Ethics Commission Director Robert Meyer issued Opinion RQO 08-36 with a copy given to Olin. In your email of July 17, 2008, you asked the following questions. Must a job applicant for the position of fire inspector in the City of Miami Beach disclose as outside employment an investment position he holds in a Florida corporationif he does not provide any services to the corporation, he does not received a salary from the corporation, and he is not entitled to receive a salary from the corporation? The Ethics Commission responded that neither of the activities Weston had described in those two questions required financial disclosure. The opinion is somewhat ambiguous or confusing because the first question was not if both outside employment and investment had to be disclosed, but if outside employment had to be disclosed as an investment, the last question being if investment itself had to be disclosed. Therefore the opinion did not appear to directly address the issues of whether or not an inspectors employment with or a passive investment interest in a company that helps firms with permitting and inspection approvals would require disclosure because of a possible conflict of interest. Weston stated to us that he was not employed by Permit Doctor at the time of his dismissal. Again, the passive investment complained about was not in the company that owns Permit Doctor but in another firm, therefore we inquired whether or not Weston had any investment in Permit Doctor.
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Besides the investment in the marina LLC, did you have any investment with Damian J. Gallo & Associates at the time? I had no money in Gallo or any other interest with him or family, Weston said. Permit Doctor is a trade name of Damian J. Gallo & Associates. The firm has been involved with numerous prestigious projects. The South Beach Permit Doctor is located on city property, and appears to be an annex of city hall. According to Walters, both Weston and Gallo have stated that they believe all expeditors should be licensed as such. The Building Department has agreed Expeditors are not licensed and their business is unregulated. They perform valuable services besides standing in line, but how valuable and why is questionable to those unfamiliar with the building industry, and it is wondered why the Building Department cannot expedite permits equally with its own expeditors, as is done in some other states. The booming permit expedition business in general has been the subject of some controversy of late. The names of expeditors are not required to be disclosed on permit applications, making it impossible to track their involvement in the process. An expeditor could establish a trusting relationship with the persons who approve plans, pay them off for speedy approval, and the bribery could go undetected for years. Suspicions of criminal and moral corruption have been broached but nothing has been proven. There are many permit expeditors, but all except Permit Doctor are unknown to the general public. Former City Manager Jose Gonzalez informed us that he had made an objection to having a Permit Doctor operating on city premises, but the political forces had been against him. Walters has been critical of the expedition business, but he said that he believes Weston wants to put out the fire blackening the Miami Beach government, to expedite the solution instead of fanning the flames of scandal and grinding axes. Still his own duty as a journalist, he said, is to get at the truth, and even if it blackens the eye of Weston, whom he believes is a credible, straight-up fellow. He provided Smith with the following answer via email on February 5. Mr. Smith: I have given your response some thought, and want you to know that I appreciate your perspective on the opinions and beliefs of the gentleman who opines that several city departments are racketeer influenced corrupt organizations, and that you played a role in his termination, which, he believes, was wrongful. [Weston corrected the above statement: I never said my termination was wrongful. What I do believe is that it was intended to silence me and the basis for this termination as stated in the Machen report contained misleading and inaccurate information. Therefore the belief that termination was wrongful is the opinion of the author. Editor] I expected to see your denial, and in fact I suggested it when I remarked on a presumed difference in roles between a house lawyer for the mob and an attorney for a city. I certainly did not intend to imply or suggest that you are a Bruce Cutler, whom, as you know, Judge Glasser disqualified because there was wiretap evidence that he was aware of criminal activities and was advising defendants besides John Gotti. Even if you were Cutler, you would have a great reputation as a lawyer and as a personality with a better sense of humor, in my opinion, and a

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background as an assistant district attorney and top homicide prosecutor. Since you are not, you appear handsomer and happier in the photos I have. And there is a difference between terminating someone for misconduct and retaliating against them for reporting misconduct, and I was left wondering whether or not the legal department is normally consulted to distinguish between the two in order to protect the city against unnecessary suits including whistleblower complaints, for apparently, given your statement, that consultation did not take place in this instance. Sir, I do not pretend to advise you how to behave, but I have a perfect right to give an adverse opinion on your behavior by way of comparison with what I believe would be appropriate if I were in your shoes. Now if I were you and you had done nothing wrong, I would invite the inquisitor over to my comfortable office to go over Mr. Westons personnel file and discuss the matter for ten minutes or so, instead of threatening him with a lawsuit. Indeed, I am surprised, given the public scandal, the perception or misperception of widespread corruption in the city, that the Miami Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust has not sent someone over by now to look over the records and interview everyone involved. As it is, it seems its director may have been sleeping on the job, or has been too busy drafting ethics lessons, to come over here and see if there is any merit in the negative opinions and beliefs of Mr. Weston and other former and current city employees. After all, Public Trust is at its lowest mark in the city at this time. Believe me, I understand why you would be indignant over being cast in a bad light, but I think I would exercise more restraint if I were in your shoes, which I imagine are of far greater quality than mine, for I live under a vow of poverty with one foot in the grave. You will have no blood from this turnip unless you have him erased, but you will have thousands of sanguine words. I see no defamation whatsoever of your good self in the opinions and beliefs stated by Mr. Weston and offered to you for your response for the sake of balance, and I believe any attorney competent in defamation law would agree. Mr. Weston may revise his opinion after reading your statement. Furthermore, there is no defamation in my present opinion about your advice that I should consult a lawyer on defamation law. In my opinion, your implied threat to prosecute me for expressing opinions and beliefs about your role as a public figure and official in order to coerce me into not expressing them is malicious, extortionate and thuggish in popular parlance. It is something that many lawyers believe they are privileged by law to do even when there is no merit to their claims. Of course I would hold you, your attorney(s), and the city liable for any such prosecution, but I really do not believe you are the cowardly bully that would pursue that course. As one of the false gods of this city, a powerful public figure and official for many years, you enjoy both a good and a bad reputation. Get used to it. You should have gotten used to it long ago, as a politician who became city commissioner. Believe me, there are several things I could add to your good reputation now that I know you better, and there is nothing that I could say that would add to your bad reputation. Frankly, I wonder if you are misperceived because you do not like to be spotlighted, and are an irascible curmudgeon when criticized.
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At one time I said that I thought you should be fired, mainly because I believed you had presided over what I perceived as sloppy work. Your response to that was to put pressure on one of my editors, stating that I was a bigot for referring to the ethnic shifts of power in our city, and that any criticism of your role was an attack on the city itself, thus conflating your personality with the corporate fiction. Nevertheless, I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt after that episode, and I am still willing to do so if you will cooperate in getting at the truth of the corruption allegations. The allegation that city departments are virtually or really racketeer influenced corrupt organizations and have been for a long time is a serious one. This statement does not require certification, one only has to look at the arrests of the past few years to become convinced. If true, getting rid of City Manager Boss Gonzalez will not clean house. Jorge Gonzalez in my opinion had his virtues and did many, many good things. His vice was in his arrogation of the absolute power that corrupts every mortal being. I bear him no malice: if he were to do sufficient penance and be reborn as a Democratic leader I would recommend him for mayor. Neither do I bear you malice, but I do believe the city needs a good house lawyer to clean house, dont you? The letter bore a link to romantic mobster music from The Godfather, and side-by-side pictures of the mugs of Smith and Cutler, which Walters asked us not to display because publication of the photos may be protected. I do not know which lawyer would be more offended, he said, Smith or Cutler, and I intended no offense. Walters send Smith an e-text short thereafter, stating that he had experience reviewing proposals for termination, and always sent the difficult cases to counsel. Smith replied that he needed no help, and reiterated his threat. I had really come to no conclusion because I had not seen the personnel file yet, Walters reflected. Even if Smith or his attorneys had seen the file, perhaps I would not second guess them if I saw what they had seen. I really wanted to give his office the benefit of the doubt. Walters sent Smith a copy of a blank whistleblowers complaint dated June 2007: FYI: A Whistleblower Complaint re Special Masters City Manager Etc. Mr. Smith, I came across the attached blank complaint with allegations similar to Mr. Weston's. I have not looked into it, don't know if it was filed and if so what came of it. James Llewellyn, a decorated firefighter and fire inspector with the city since 1984, alleged therein that he had been punitively transferred because he had vigilantly enforced the fire code, and had detected and reported malfeasance and misfeasance to his superiors including Fire Marshal Machen. Numerous violations were cited. Both the New Times and the SunPost had published reports about similar problems, some of which were allegedly admitted by the city manager and the fire chief. The complaint states that Llewellyn was warned that he had violated the chain of command procedure, providing inspection information to outside parties. He was warned again, this time for conduct unbecoming, insubordination, and poor customer response, after he documented violations at an influential business. He was transferred from fire inspection

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to fire suppression, at substantial loss of pay and rights, and his motions to have his grievances and appeals heard were allegedly denied. Smith then he sent an email to Walters with a copy to the editor of the SunPost. Walters claims he had not solicited nor submitted an article to the SunPost on the subject, and had told Smith in no uncertain terms on a previous occasion that he was not employed by the SunPost, that he was a freelance journalist who submitted articles to various publications. A public record email exchange followed: Mr. Smith, I have not planned on submitting any reports to the SunPost yet as I am giving priority to national media. You may defame me with editors at length if you are so paranoid to believe something that has not been saidthere is help available to you in that regard. I recall that the document was sent to you with a note that I was unaware if it was even filed. As for Weston, I have evidence (sic) that varies from your statements but do not know if that is worth reporting to anyone. An aardvark digs faster than three men with shovels. What are you afraid of? Mr. Walters: Please see attached. The complaint was dismissed by Judge Wilson as frivolous. The 3rd District Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal (P.C.A. without opinion) The grievance was also denied. It was all BS. Weston never even bothered to file a grievance or a lawsuit. Have you confirmed if any of it is true? Keep digging. Keep trying. Youre developing quite a reputation in town. Maybe the National Enquirer will print our emails! Have you no shame? Jose Apparently Smith did not read the attachment he sent to Walters, which was a memo from his office to the city commission stating that the suit was dismissed on two technicalities: the statute of limitations had expired, and the grievance process had exhausted the complainants remedies. We have not yet corroborated Smiths allegations to the commission. If his memo is correct, the judgment was not on the merits of Llewellyns allegations of misconduct. Llewellyn has said that he has proof and is willing to come forth with it. However, it is highly doubtful whether Smith would want to see it at this juncture even it would enlighten him on how to improve human relations. Llewellyn has said that he has proof and is willing to come forth with it. When provided with a copy of Smiths statement to Walters, he addressed Smith in a public record email dated Feb. 18, with a copy to Interim City Manager Kathie Brooks, as follows: Dear Mr. Smith: After I read your recent comments regarding my old whistle blower law suit, I must respond to set the record straight. You wrote that my suit was BS. No sir, failures and corruption regarding public safety matters are dangerous and a disgrace. As an attorney, you know very well that court decisions are not always indicative of what the truth represents, especially when it involves whistle blower suits which are notoriously difficult to advance. Furthermore, as you know, statutes of limitation issues were involved in the courts ruling against me. While my suit may not have been successful in recouping unjustly lost compensation, the details spelled out in it are backed by proof, especially dealing with the citys failures to ensure honest and effective government in the realm of life safety. You simply deny these facts and other truths of the matter. You actually seemed more interested in insulting and
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denigrating the person doing the inquiry which prompted your comments regarding my suit than you do in acknowledging the truth. Citizen activists usually operate using their own time and resources. While some in government may be irritated by their efforts the truth is they play a critical role in keeping government honest which has obviously been a problem in Miami Beach for many years. Their role is especially vital when government managers seem more interested in self preservation and political considerations than positive reform, all the while being paid handsomely by the very same taxpayers they have betrayed. Lastly, you seemingly fail to recognize the irony of your pathetic denial. Consider that at least as far back as my efforts to fight corruption almost 10 years ago, (see Up in Flames link below) Miami Beach government managers have presided over continuing gross failures of public trust including critical issues of public safety and well being. One would have to be dishonest or simply out of touch with reality to deny otherwise after so many years of arrests, investigations, critical audit findings etc. And that strikes at the heart of the problem of what some people, including myself have been saying for so long. Miami Beach management has enabled corruption by circling the wagons and punishing those willing to speak out instead of acknowledging the truth, just as you are doing with the comments regarding my suit. How do you and other so called leaders sleep at night? Do you ever have trouble looking in the mirror? How do you rationalize away the fact that Miami Beach management, of which you are a part, has repulsively failed to provide honest government for many years, resulting in unnecessary endangerment and losses to Miami Beach residents and visitors. You asked the person making the inquiries about my suit if he had no shame. Given the indisputable evidence of extensive corruption that has occurred under your and the rest of Miami Beach government managements watch, along with the continuing resistance to acknowledging the truth for the sake of positive reform, I must ask. Have you no shame? Sincerely, Jim Llewellyn Miami Beach Firefighter/Inspector Retired. The documentary evidence that Smith denied he had was in the public record and within his easy and immediate reach. We have in our possession a copy of a letter dated Oct. 12, 2008, from Weston to Human Resources Director Ramiro Inguanzo, thanking him for replying to his Oct. 2 letter to Olin. Ms. Olin provided direct counsel on my matter to the Fire Marshal (see attached memo of 3.5.2008) and Ms. Olin also attended my hearing before the Miami Dade Ethics Commission (see opinion RQO-08-36). Some comments were directed to her during that meeting. The Commissions opinion clearly and specifically stated that my equity ownership was not considered employment. I also intended to advise Ms. Olin that even if I had been an employee; that I had a written extension authorization issued to me by the Miami Beach Fire Chief. That authorization stated that certain employment matters were to be submitted to your office for a resolution and that I would be subsequently advised. In our meeting of June 2, 2008 you indicated that you were unaware of this memo from the Fire Chief and that Mrs. Machen had not informed you of this memo. I also intended to show Ms. Olin another memorandum indicating that no other person in Fire Prevention division had filed any documentation declaring outside employment. Apparently I was not alone with this understanding. During our meeting in June I advised you that I intended to take this matter to the Miami Dade Ethics Commission and now based upon their rulings I would like to request that you reconsider your prior recommendations. Consequently, I would like to request that you re-review this matter and your position. (Paragraph breaks omitted)
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The Oct. 2, 2008 letter from Weston to Olin had the following content: I would like request a meeting with you regarding my termination from the city. I apologize for the delay with this request but I have been awaiting a copy of the Fire Marshals investigative report of March 5, 2008. After several written and verbal requests I received that information for the first time on Monday, September 29, 2008. I find that this report contains some misrepresentations as well as omissions of material facts. As you may know I met with Mr. Ramiro Inguanzo on Monday June 2, 2008. He also confirmed at that time, a lack of knowledge of additional information that had not been presented to him by the Fire Department. I continue to believe that it would serve the city and my interests well if you had the opportunity to hear my position personally. Thank you in advance for your time and attention to this matter. (Paragraph breaks omitted) That information gibed with a narrative of events that Weston emailed to Walters and the SunPost editor: An anonymous letter of complaint arrived at the fire department, and I was called into the office with Fire Chief Ed Del Favero and Marshal Sonia Machen. I was asked if I was a shareholder in 5255 Marina LLC, and I explained I that was, which was no secret to Del Favero. Machen sent me a memo informing me that I was under investigation. She asked me for an explanation and ordered me to refrain from any inspections involving Gallo (a principal in Permit Doctor). I submitted an explanation that I had contacted the Ethics Commission, and I had also been granted a waiver from the former fire chief, Floyd Jordan. On March 21, 2008, two days after the arrest of Mohammad Partovi, Henry Johnson and Andres Villarreal, I was called into acting Fire Chief Eric Yuhr's office and handed a termination memo. Two sentences, if I recall correctly. No reason was stated. I had offered to resign, but Chief Yuhr declined. I was asked to pack up my stuff immediately and leave, which I did. I immediately asked for a copy of the Machen investigation as I was entitled to one according to the Fire Department policy. I was told no, and was directed to contact HR for itthat would take months of requests, which were ignored by HR, until it was finally produced by City Clerk Robert Parcher, my hero. I was not interested in pursuing a complaint against the city. I was not disgruntled, only concerned that something very wrong that clearly was going on. Machens investigative report contained factual errors that I thought worthy of reporting to Assistant City Attorney Jean Olin I wanted to tell the city attorney's office directly about it. I was rebuffed by HR Director Ramiro Inguanzo. I had done everything possible to alert the city of unusual transactions and also alert the city of the circumstances of my dismissal, but there was no getting past HR. In conclusion, wrote Weston, I did not know the specific charges, I was unable to confront any witnesses, I was not fairly heard and I was denied the ability to appeal. All of this was allowed under the agreement that I was required to sign as a condition of employment. All unclassified employees have no grievance procedure. The employee HR board will only hear classified cases, and Inguanzo was the chair of the board. This entire matter was never about me. It was about the citizens money, and retaliation against loyal but fearful employees. Shortly after Walters and the SunPost received Westons summary events, the city attorneys inflammatory email to Walters continued:

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Mr. Walters. Why are you then peddling your junk to City Debate? J.P. Morgan does not play your game. Neither does the SunPost. Or anyone elses. If you have "evidence" that contradicts my statements (check your spelling), a REAL journalist, without an agenda would allow a response. Obviously there is none. Otherwise, I would have seen it by now. No, Mr. Walters, I am not afraid of you or your ilk. Never will be. You see, I have lived in this community for 52 years and I'll remain here long after you go stink up other pastures. (sic) Mr. Smith. City Debate is one of many publishers I contact about all city matters. You are admonished to afford more dignity to your noble profession. I have to drop this issue for awhile. I shall turn my file over to Kim for safekeeping. You may want to put three guys with shovels on the subject matter. Weston is a good man. He is not after your rear end. His goals are commendable. Also you may enjoy watching Grumpy Old Men. Walters, who has lived in South Beach from time to time since 1969, and continuously since 2004, said he has no immediate plans on leaving, said he had a previous communication from Smith that he, Walters, would be gone from Miami Beach, therefore he had alerted his friends and turned over Smiths communications to law enforcement in the event of his disappearance. People are afraid of Smith in this community, and the implications of his behavior gave me cause to wonder how I should construe his references to my future absence. As for being sued for libel, I am the one being defamed, by him in his capacity as city attorney. He has a right to speak as freely as I do. We speak freely not because we believe that truth is a magic bullet, but because we are fallible and the truth will never be completely known unless all perspectives are expressed. If he wants to be cowardly and slap me with a malicious SLAPP suit, fine. Perhaps Bruce Cutler will come to my defense. When asked what kind of ilk he might be, he replied that, for all he knows, Smith might think he is a left-wing Jewish intellectual. He recalled that he had indeed told someone he intended to solicit a Post editor, but he meant the Washington Post. If Smith got his Post right, he would remember what Hitler said of the journalistic ilk, that they were scoundrels, and how he tried to shut up the Munich Post, which he referred to as the Poison Kitchen. Walters said he called J.P. Morgan, editor of City Debate and publisher of the popular book about Miami Beach corruption, Sins of South Beach, and Morgan told him he had not communicated with Smith for several months. It appears that Smith disseminates insulting falsehoods to editors whenever he feels threatened, Walters stated. He identifies himself with the city government, which he thinks is the city itself. I have likened him to a gryphon sitting on the city wall. The gryphons duty is to guard the treasury where not only money but other forms are power are kept. But whose treasury does he guard? Unlike a church, which is its members and not the meeting-place, for him the city is not its people but city hall with him ensconced in it. But should he be fired? He is a perfect representative of the past government, and its continuation. But if government is to improve, he should do likewise or retire to sit on his laurels. In fact there are several high officials whose heads should roll, or they should confess, repent, and be born again to save the government of Miami Beach from hellfire.
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