Oh, goody!  North Miami is in the news!  You just knew it wouldn’t be long before someone in that city would be making headlines again.  Step aside, Swinging Richards.  We got us a real story now.

Miami Herald reporter Nadege Green just filed an article, Police: North Miami manager ran illegal searches for mayor.  When city manager Stephen Johnson was still the police chief, he apparently used the official police database to run unofficial police checks on car tags for the mayor, Andre Pierre, and Pierre’s nephew/campaign manager/recording star, Ricardo Brutus.  I’d say that favor was worth a promotion to the top position in the city, huh?

What I bet Mr. Johnson didn’t expect was a visit from the FDLE.  Unbeknownst to him, the plates he unofficially ran were on the official cars of official special agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  SURPRISE!

Had Johnson been on his game, he’d have known he wasn’t allowed to use the database, known as D.A.V.I.D., to do “research” for his buddy without filing a police report.  According to the article, “Misuse of D.A.V.I.D. can result in administrative sanctions and if reported to FDLE can lead to criminal charges.”

As is usual and customary in Miami-Dade County, “Johnson has not been charged with a crime.”

Apparently, our State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle is too busy running for re-election to concern herself with prosecuting actual crimes.  All that paperwork and stuff would just get in the way of her campaign.  Not to mention, she might break a nail.

Stephen Johnson must have been practicing his schtick for Amateur Night at the Comedy Club when he told the reporter that he didn’t bother filing official police reports for the unofficial license checks “because at the time the mayor was uncomfortable because people were putting in public records requests and he didn’t want people to make a mockery out of it.”

That’s a good one Steve!  LMAO!  Everyone knows public records requests sent to the City of North Miami promptly get tossed into the round file.  Or, as I discovered in the case of my recent emailed public records request to “The Hon. Michael A. Etienne, Esq.,” as the clerk calls himself, got bounced back to me as “undeliverable.”  Apparently, the email addresses for the clerk, city manager and mayor get changed on a regular basis so that they can always use as a defense, “I never got that email.”

The second best line in Johnson’s stand up routine is, “The mayor called, and he was hysterical someone was following him.”

The mayor followed that up with his own one liner, “My family and I at some point had legitimate safety concerns about certain individuals who not only followed us around, but at times personally confronted members of my family.”

Hmmm… That sounds awfully familiar.  Let’s see, where have I heard that before.  OH, YEAH!  North Miami Beach councilman Frantz Pierre (no relation to Andre) filed a restraining order against his opponent when he was also running for re-election, claiming that she confronted his family members and that he was in fear of his life.  Deja freaking vu!  Then mysteriously, L’il Frantzie P dropped the charges after he made his opponent miserable for a while.  At least our Pee-Air didn’t have a police chief in his pocket!

In the case of L’il Andre P, however, he was being followed.  By law enforcement officers.  The joke was on him this time.

City manager Stephen Johnson also has reason to be concerned.  This is apparently the “the second time Johnson has conducted an investigation for the mayor using police resources without documenting the investigation,” according to the Miami Herald article.  First there was Camera Gate, where Johnson installed illegal cameras in the mayor’s office at the mayor’s request, for which he still hasn’t suffered any consequences.  No wonder Johnson so arrogantly said to the reporter, “I think if FDLE had a problem with it, they would have arrested me for it.”

Hey, Katie Rundle?  You there?  Never mind, get back on the campaign trail.  Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.

Retired North Miami Major Bob Lynch told the reporter that he has concerns about the police department losing the public trust over all these incidents.  I wouldn’t worry about that, Major.  For starters, be grateful Stephen Johnson isn’t the chief of police any longer.  The residents I talk to have a lot of respect for the North Miami Police Department and feel the officers do an excellent job serving the community.

It’s the mayor, Andre Pierre, and his crony, Stephen Johnson, the residents can’t stand.  They’d like nothing better than to see these two crooks behind bars!

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”