City of Miami public corruption case implodes!

The much hyped City of Miami public corruption case that we discussed back in April has gone BOOM!  Tim Elfrink from the Miami New Times covers it here.  As much as we looked forward to the cops that were alleged of wrong doing having their day in court, it looks like the folks at the state attorneys office aren't going to let that happen, from the article...

Charges against five of the suspects have been dropped. Those cases were so deeply flawed they earned public reprimands from both the State Attorney's Office and the FBI....In dismissing the case against Martinez, prosecutors wrote that "the lack of documentation [and] conflict in testimony" made criminal charges impossible.

No kidding?  Deeply flawed?  Cases dropped for a lack of documentation?  Conflict in testimony?  Let's see what those who testified against one of those arrested had hiding in their closets...

• • Osmel Martinez claimed he had built a $150 handicapped ramp for the GSA chief's mother-in-law. But he had been fired this past February. He had also compiled scores of complaints for verbal abuse and shoddy work. He told an evaluator that his bosses — including Alex Martinez — were trying to kill him in a "conspiracy."
• • Jimenez claimed he'd made the boss a large wooden cross for Easter using city materials. But in 2008, Martinez had caught the GSA worker selling city scrap metal and keeping the profits. Jimenez wrote the city a $400 check in November 2008 and admitted in a signed affidavit that he had kept the money in his "personal bank account" for 40 days.
• • Fernandez claimed to prosecutors he had done handiwork around Martinez's house in exchange for a promised promotion. He had been accused by a co-worker of stealing cast-iron fencing from the city and using it at his home. No criminal charges were ever filed.

A former prosecutor goes on to say...

"Any investigator could have seen that these were not credible witnesses from the outset,"

Interesting.  Even more interesting considering the SAO's position here as compared to the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case isn't it?  For those of you in the know, this quote should hit home...


"It would certainly give anyone pause that a politician appears to be directing a law enforcement agency,"

We're running late, think on it and we'll discuss tomorrow...