​Miami Beach's two towing companies will attempt to hornswaggle the City Commission this afternoon into granting them a rate hike. If commissioners and Mayor Matti Bower cave in, Beach Towing and Tremont Towing will charge people an additional $64 to get their cars back. Obviously, Miami Beach residents are pissed off.

Representatives for both firms have tried to defend the oft questionable tactics Beach and Tremont use to profit from the misfortune of Beach parkers. Beach Towing's attorney, Rafael Andrande, complained to the Miami Herald story, that towing horror stories in the city are greatly exaggerated: "The towing industry has been vilified."

Excuse us, while we boo-hoo into a handkerchief. Since Andrande lives in an alternate realm where Beach Towing VIP decals keep your car from getting hitched, we'd like to point out a few verified incidents that illustrate how much his client and their competitor, Tremont, suck:
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Merrett Stierheim

Over the weekend, Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez revealed he is entertaining the idea of eliminating the city manager's position in favor of the strong mayor form of government. His proposal, which would require voter approval to change the city charter, makes sense because it gives residents one top elected official to hold accountable. Let's not forget voters gave Carlos Alvarez strong mayor powers over Miami-Dade County government and then recalled him when he failed to deliver.

According to the Miami Herald, ultimate bureaucrat Merrett Stierheim, who served two stints as county manager and was briefly interim city manager in 1996, is no fan of strong mayors: "You may elect a mayor with a bad moral compass, and you're stuck with him. A manager generally runs for office every day."

With all due respect to Stierheim -- who helped the city emerge from insolvency in the mid-1990s and whose career was largely untainted by scandal -- there have been several top administrators who lacked a moral compass and respect for taxpayers. Here's Banana Republican's list of the worst city and county managers:
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Commissioner Jean Monestime's conflict didn't stop Northside Centre from getting taxpayer funds.

​Are you looking for taxpayer money from Miami-Dade County for a questionable project, but you've been convicted of felony tax evasion and a misdemeanor attempt at boarding an airplane with a loaded gun? No problem!

At least it's not a problem for Yoram Izhak, a commercial property owner who recently scored a $3 million grant to repave roads, install new lights, and add landscaping at a rough-around-the-edges shopping center at NW 79th Street and 27th Avenue in Liberty City. The renovation will supposedly attract a national department store to the long-struggling neighborhood, but neither the developer nor the county will say what chains they've lined up to move in.More >>

Lawyer John Ruiz

​A politically connected Miami Lawyer who's gained fame dispensing advice to Hispanic folks who are losing their homes is in his own financial pickle. John H. Ruiz, who hosts La Ley TV, a popular financial advice program on Spanish-language GenTV, recently had his luxury cigarette boat repossessed. And he also owes more than $40,000 to two firms that did some of the renovations at the baseball complex in Homestead, which Ruiz took control of this past July in a deal with city officials.

But Ruiz insists his business ventures are financially stable and that he is paying back his debts. "There are no financial issues whatsoever," he says. "My companies are very strong."
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Terence Pinder

An Opa-locka official booted from office six years ago won't be prosecuted for the crimes that got him thrown out in the first place. Banana Republican has learned that the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has quietly dropped multiple grand theft and official misconduct felony charges brought against Terence Pinder, Opa-Locka's then-vice-mayor, in 2006. But Pinder still faces a slew of criminal charges in two other subsequent and separate public corruption probes. And he cannot regain his old seat on the Opa-Locka City Commission since the term has expired.

Nevertheless, his attorney Ben Kuehne says his client is pleased with the outcome. "Mr. Pinder wishes this decision had been made much more sooner," Kuehne says. "It was not a crime. It was a misunderstanding."
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Marc Sarnoff

​Miami City Attorney Julie Bru pulled a sneaky maneuver to ensure City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff continues to receive free legal representation from her office. Near the end of last Thursday's city commission meeting, Bru requested approval for a "pocket item" -- so-called because it was not included in the city's publicly noticed agenda - authorizing one of her assistant city attorneys to represent Sarnoff in his ongoing complaint against Coconut Grove resident Reid Welch.

By bringing it up as a pocket item, Bru basically ensured that no one from the public could speak against her request. It's the kind of move leaves many Miami residents distrustful of city officials.
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A Liberty City tutoring program is under fire from former employees who say not only has it failed to pay about $50,000 in wages, but also it employs two children of the program's chief, Anthony Dawkins -- both of whom have criminal convictions for fraud. Dawkins is head of Project Hope Ministries, which runs the program.

There are folks who have suffered financial difficulties because they haven't been paid," says Adrian Alexander, a Miami-Dade Public Schools speech pathologist who says she's owed about $1,000. "Dawkins doesn't seem to care."

Dawkins admits he hasn't paid his bills and that his ex-con kids are on the books. But he says he's trying to rectify the problems and blames the county for yanking a grant he needed to pay tutors.
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​In the race for the White House, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich don't seem to have a problem taking money from corporate pirates accused of breaking the law to maximize their profits. Romney has collected at least $100,000 from a Miami-based investment fund that owns run down apartment buildings in New York City that were hit with more than 200 code violations and where tenants went on a rent strike.

Meanwhile, a political action committee backing Gingrinch recently got a $5 million infusion from a Las Vegas casino operator under investigation by federal authorities.
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The four firms representing Miami-Dade County before the state legislature are mired in potential conflicts of interests and ongoing controversies. Yesterday, county commissioners awarded $120,000 each to law firms Ronald L. Book P.A. and Rutledge, Ecenia & Purnell, as well as $50,000 each for Akerman Senterfitt and Ballard Partners -- $90,000 less than they originally allocated. This past Dec. 28, Mayor Carlos Gimenez vetoed the commission's decision to divide $450,000 among the four firms because it would not save taxpayers any money - which is why commissioners claimed they wanted to rebid the county's lobbying contract in the first place.

The firms getting rich off taxpayers have close ties to Malaysian gambling giant Genting, executives tied up in criminal probes and even employ the same clowns who helped negotiate the disastrous Miami Marlins stadium deal. Click through for the worst conflicts for each.
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