If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects.

Yesterday we soldiered over to the Miami Dade Commission on Ethics for their monthly hearing where we expected to see the ethics case against embattled city of South Miami police chief Orlando Martinez de Castro come to a conclusion.  As we had mentioned in yesterday's post, the good folks over at the Ethics Commission had cut a sweet heart deal with the chief and his attorneys where he essentially plead no contest and was given a small fine (which wasn't classified as a fine) and then sent on his way.

Unfortunately though not enough of the ethics commission board members showed up to form a quorum so the board couldn't vote on the plea deal, essentially it was a total waste of time for everyone that showed up.  With that said, I can't begin to describe how disappointed I am in how things have turned out over at the Commission on Ethics regarding this matter.  I personally met several times with investigators and the advocate, Michael Murawski, who theoretically is there to represent the people of Miami Dade County.  Generally, I think I'm pretty good at reading people and I have to tell you, Mr Murawski and his staff did one hell of a job bullshitting me about this case, they had me convinced that they were moving forward at all costs against the chief and that they had an open and shut case.  Unfortunately though, I was wrong, the fix was in long ago in this case, Mr Murawski and company were doing nothing but what they've been accused of time and time again, simply giving free passes to the politically connected here in Miami Dade County.

Go back and listen to Mr Murawski in the recording we posted yesterday where he vehemently states that he had a strong enough case where if he went forward, he was certain he was going to prevail.  With that said, he then goes on to say that it was in the public's interest to go ahead and cut a deal with a man who he knew was guilty of the ethics violations that were filed against him.  I ask you this, if we're talking about the public's interest to cut a deal with this character and let him off the hook, how the hell did it take nearly a year and a half to come to this conclusion?  Was it in the public's interest for the ethics commission to spin it's wheels for the past year and half?  Just how much did it cost the tax payers before you came to this conclusion Mr. Murawski?  The fine, I'm sorry, investigative costs that you billed Mr de Castro for, just how many hours of your "investigation" does that actually cover?

It's all bullshit folks, the Miami Dade Commission on Ethics is nothing more than a dog and pony show, a sham, a total waste of money.  

As frustrating as the whole experience was, I emerged from the aborted meeting in a funk and a cloud of confusion, that is until I made it out to the hallway outside the ethics commission's offices where at the other end of the hallway just out of earshot I found this scene...

Granted, that's a pretty shitting photo that's been cropped but what you see there is a meeting between Mr Murawski, Orlando Martinez de Castro and his attorneys and way in the back you can see possibly one of the worst former police chiefs in the history of the City of Miami, Kenneth Harms.  This scene made me as well as everyone else who saw it extremely uncomfortable.  What we see here is the advocate for the people of Miami Dade County, Murawski, cavorting with the very people he was supposedly fighting against on our behalf.  While it's technically not a violation of the state's sunshine laws, this meeting gave off an air of impropriety and definitely erased any veneer of impartiality that these ethics proceedings may have had.

With that said, our friend and fellow blogger, Al Crespo, came to the rescue and decided to confront Mr Murawski and crew, I managed to capture a shitty video of the entire interaction...



In case you couldn't make out the audio, here's how it went down...

Al Crespo: We figured we'd stand in and listen to the conversation, you got a public hallway, you got a public official here...

Murawski: Well we'll go someplace that's not public.

Al Crespo: Oh ok!

Unknown: Thank you for giving us this opportunity.

Emaciated looking old man under his breath: Straw buyer

Al Crespo: Always good to see transparency in government!

SWEET!  There you have it!  We no longer have to imagine how these backdoor deals go down, now you see it right before your eyes!  A perfect example of how things are done here in Miami Dade County, of all places at the Ethics Commission no less, which brings us to the title of today's post, a quote from former supreme court justice Louis Brandeis...

If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects.

As soon as the sunlight hit the characters in the hallway, they scurried away like rats!  

Fuck it, just another day in Miami!  Till next time...