For Immediate Release: October 23, 2012
Contact: Joseph Centorino, Executive Director
or centori@miamidade.gov
Police Chief faces ethics violations
The police chief of South Miami is facing four charges of violating ethics laws for steering city business to his wife’s companies. The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust (COE) today found probable cause that Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro violated South Miami’s “prohibition on transacting business with the city,” as well the County Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance’s “prohibition on exploitation of official position.” The complaint against Martinez de Castro (C 12-31) cites three times during 2011when the South Miami Police Department contracted with Airways Auto Tag Agency for tags and titles for forfeiture vehicles. Airways is owned by Ileana Martinez de Castro, the police chief’s wife. She also owns Beck & Lo’s Insurance Agency, Inc. Last April, Chief de Castro used his city e-mail account to solicit business for his wife’s agency. The case will proceed to a public hearing.
HOLY CRAP!
This press release confirms rumors that we heard months ago. Our sources told us that the ethics commission had issued a probable cause letter several months ago and that Chief Martinez had hired a criminal defense attorney that was trying to cut a deal with the Ethics Commission to let him simply get off with a fine or some other slap on the wrist. Luckily for us, the Ethics Commission stood firm and refused to let Chief Martinez off, now we have to wait for the public hearing and see how things pan out. Our sources also tell us that Chief Martinez has hired Miami doper era criminal defense attorney Simon Steckel to defend him during this ethics investigation. Mr Steckel is an interesting character with a checkered past, you can read a little about him here and here.
The consequences of this public hearing could be dire for the chief, let's not forget that if he's found guilty, his cushy job as the chief of police is TOAST! What's really sick about this whole ordeal though is that we're told that the Chief's defense is going to consist of making City of South Miami Police Major Ana Baixauli the scapegoat for his misdeeds. That's too bad but is to be expected from someone like Chief Martinez, I guess we'll have to end up giving the ethics commission the video recordings of people we interviewed over the last year who told us in no uncertain terms that the Chief himself directed them to take city business to his wife's tag agency...
has south miami commissioner valerie newman hurley asked the chief of police m de castro to resign?
ReplyDeletehas south miami commissioner valerie newman hurley asked kenneth harms for an investigation of the chief of police m de castro?
has the south miami manager mirabile lost his confidence in the south miami chief of police m de castro?
Why would an officer of the law (a police chief no less) who has sworn an oath to uphold the law hire a defense attorney with a reputation as being the most dishonest and unethical defense attorney in town (Simon Steckel). For the life of me, I don't get it. Can someone please explain this to me?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the New Times article, Steckel's attorney is George Yoss. Mr. Yoss is Camilo Padreda's attorney. Mr. Padreda is the convicted felon who bankrolled Valerie Newman's run for South Miami city commission, and who helped engineer the placement City Manager Mirabile and Chief Martinez de Castro in South Miami, and who funded Julio Robaina's bid to unseat Mayor Stoddard. Padreda's wife has been getting business from the city since Mirabile and Martinez de Castro came in.
ReplyDeletewhathappens today with the big man of South Miami is not going to comment today? we are waiting....
ReplyDeleteLots of parallels here, Mike! Adorno & Yoss also represented Chief Martinez de Castro in negotiations with the City of South Miami for the police chief's overly generous, five-year contract. That's hopefully the last time our city commissioners will approve such a juicy contract for a washed-up, over-the-hill, incompetent police chief. Send him back to sleazy Western Union where he came from.
ReplyDeleteRemember a couple weeks ago, when Valerie Newman and her pet rat Sharon led the false outrage over enquiries about the police department?
ReplyDeleteMayor Stoddard and commissioner Welch had the temerity to simply ask about other municipalities and police funding levels, and the effectiveness of DUI checkpoints.
Newman was her despicable, hysterical self. City Manager Mirabile, an ex-cop with a bogus PHD, reveled in criticizing the mayor. Mirabile spares no expense with his cop cronies, while he outsources everything else. All of this for a corrupt chief?
Newman and Mirabile are thick as thieves, and the crooked police state of South Miami is alive and well.
When you're the big fish in the little pond, you can do whatever you want. Right Chief?
ReplyDeleteSouth Miami is the new Hialeah