Miami-Dade’s top public corruption prosecutor doesn’t have to worry about the Florida Bar coming after him anymore. Bar counsel Arne Vanstrum has dismissed a complaint against Joseph Centorino, the assistant state attorney who heads the public corruption unit, alleging he acted unethically by not prosecuting high-ranking officials in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system.
Specifically, former schools consultant Laurance Costanzo accused Centorino of obstructing justice by protecting Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Rudolph "Rudy" Crew, Schools Police Chief Gerald Darling, and district bureaucrat Rhonda Vangates for their alleged role in covering up the Northwestern Senior High School sex scandal that rocked the school district last year.
After initially notifying Costanzo this past December 17 that his complaint “has been determined to be a matter which warrants further investigation,” Vanstrum informed him this past March 20 that there was insufficient evidence indicating Centorino violated any bar rules. Vanstrum reached his conclusion after receiving a five page letter from Centorino's boss Chief Assistant State Attorney Don Horn who argued that Costanzo's allegations were "outreageous, unworthy of belief."
Centorino declined comment, but in an earlier interview said that Costanzo’s complaint “has no merit.” Meanwhile, Costanzo says Vanstrum is also part of the conspiracy to cover up public corruption. "I am not the least bit surprised," he says. "Birds of a feather flock together."
You can always count on Miami Today Publisher Michael Lewis to do what the Miami Herald editorial board won't do. This week, Lewis takes Miami-Dade County Schools Superintendent Rudolph "Rudy" Crew and School Board Chairman Agustin Barrera to the wood shed and whups them real good. Here's an excerpt:
For years, several board members in the nation's fourth-largest school district have been asking embarrassing questions of Superintendent Rudy Crew. When they seek details, he refuses and says things like:
"I do not believe that the effort required of my staff to gather and organize the information regarding job descriptions and cost of all board office renovations ... is an effective use of their time."
Would you dare tell that to your bosses? You'd be out of a job in 10 minutes flat.
And since Dr. Crew's bosses are chosen at the ballot box, he's thumbing his nose not only at the school board but at you. How does it feel?
Today, for the 54th time since July 2007, Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Rudolph "Rudy" Crew did not show up for work. This time, he took a vacation day. Meanwhile, the school district continues to fall apart.
The South Florida Business Journal recently published a story detailing a slimy deal between media executive and former Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Jose Cancela and the Jackson Memorial Foundation, the fund raising arm for the Public Health Trust, which runs Jackson Memorial Hospital. According to reporters Brian Bandell and Oscar Musibay, some foundation board members, including Cancela's ex-wife, were unaware the nonprofit paid him $250,000 to lobby its behalf. What makes the whole affair even more sickening is that Cancela used to be a foundation board member. -- Via eyeonmiami.
Several high-level, well-paid Miami-Dade County executives are investing in a little job security. At least 24 department directors, assistant county managers, and executive assistants contributed money to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez’s re-election campaign. Even the folks who handle the mayor’s image and field calls from the press gave cash to their boss’s $719,860 (so far) war chest.
Considering last year voters gave Alvarez the authority to hire and fire any county employee one would expect the mayor to think twice before accepting contributions from staffers who report directly to him or County Manager George Burgess. Alas, that wasn’t the case.
Lately Florida marijuana growers are providing drug agents with a lot of job security. Yesterday, the Drug Enforcement Agency led raids on 150 indoor pot grow houses across the state, with one-third shut down in the 305. Television news stations WPLG and WFOR reported that law enforcers arrested 135 people and seized 9,250 plants worth more than $41 million. Last year, New Times chronicled the Sunshine state’s grow house phenomenon (epidemic according to U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta) that prompted state lawmakers to increase criminal penalties against marijuana traffickers.
The folks in charge of new construction at Miami-Dade County Public Schools need a lesson in community involvement. Had Chief Facilities Officer Jaime Torrens and Design Officer Victor Alonso consulted neighborhood homeowner groups in conceptualizing the expansion planned for Coral Way K-8 Center’s seven-acre campus, the school district would have avoided an Earth Day public relations fiasco.
Today the Banana Republican is going to drop some knowledge about the way local government conducts business in south Florida. Tomorrow, April 16, the Miami Beach City Commission will decide whether or not to retain the company that has been operating the municipality’s public parking garages for the past nine years. The enterprise in question is publicly traded Standard Parking, which despite submitting a better financial deal to the city while maintaining the same level of service came in third in a supposedly unbiased competition judged by a supposedly unbiased group of everyday citizens and Miami Beach employees.
The Crime Dog won’t be making any more appearances at Miami-Dade County Public Schools this year. That’s because the school board eliminated $114,000 from the schools police budget set aside for youth crime prevention programs. The move means junior won’t be learning about “Stranger Danger” or “Stop the Violence,” as well as bully prevention and anger management presentations put on by Citizens’ Crime Watch of Miami-Dade County.
The non-profit group provides one of those alleged non-essential services the school district slashed due to budget cuts. Executive director Carmen Caldwell had to lay off three employees as a result. Yet the school district has money to advertise for an employee relations team leader who could earn between $78,000 to $130,000 a year and five analysts who could cost taxpayers $57,054 to $91,761 a pop on an annual basis. Listen to New Times’ interview with Caldwell about the cuts:
If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of having your ride towed in Miami Beach, then you can relate to Cory Bradley’s run-in with Beach Towing, one of the two notoriously hated tow firms roaming the streets of the city. The Ohio resident was visiting our sunny shores, having a good time, until he and a friend parked where they weren’t supposed to. Here is his edited account:
When it comes to Miami-Dade County, no other Banana Republic in the southern hemisphere compares to our wacky tropical metropolis. Here, we can always expect a public official to find a way to bamboozle us. Take Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff. The Coconut Grove lawyer has already proven he has a problem with telling the truth.
Let’s not forget he claimed to be the grandson of the late television pioneer and New York socialite David Sarnoff when in fact he isn’t.
Despite being exposed as a pathological opportunist, Sarnoff is still trying to cast himself as the outcast government reformer. Thanks to Brent Cutler, an Upper Eastside resident and a frequent Sarnoff basher, who posted on YouTube highlights of the commissioner’s disingenuous behavior at the City Commission’s regular meeting this past March 13.
Clips 1-4 show Sarnoff doing everything possible to absolve his staff aide Ryan Alexander, who contracted his own company to install a fence at a Coconut Grove park, violating the city’s procurement rules. Notice how Sarnoff makes his presentation from behind the podium as opposed to from the dais so he can appear like he’s just a regular citizen trying to clean up City Hall:
