Move over Mafia — North Miami Beach is now officially being run by an organized crime ring.

There is no Federal, State, County or even City law that Commissioners Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, Paule Villard and Daniela Jean, a/k/a Team Apocalypse, aren’t willing to violate in order to push through their divisive, destructive agenda.

Of course, now that they own the City Manager, City Attorney, and possibly the City Clerk, who are all willing to fall on their swords to cover for the organized criminals and shield them from the consequences of their criminal acts, nothing can stop them.  Make no mistake — they are all complicit!

Here we list just a few examples of their organized crime activities.

CRIME: Misuse of Public Funds

The most blatant violation was, of course, Paule Villard’s misuse of $100,000 of public funds to buy $100 gift cards from Publix for residents who are allegedly “experiencing financial hardship and food insecurity,” using COVID-19 as a convenient excuse, according to her Resolution R2021-40.

For one thing, the process by which the City conducted this gift card giveaway was flawed in that it did not identify specific public purpose criteria, was arbitrary and capricious, failed to target the entire city, and often accrued to the benefit of ineligible residents.  There was absolutely no oversight to make sure all the recipients actually experienced “financial hardship and food insecurity.”

Secondly, as we pointed out in an earlier blog, the fact that Paule Villard handed over approximately 200 of the gift cards to non-resident Alan Sakowitz to distribute as he saw fit, without accountability.  Paule was obviously hoping to get his endorsement for her re-election next year, despite the fact this quid pro quo is an egregious violation of Section III(A)(3) of the Florida Commission on Ethics Florida Guide to the Sunshine Amendment and Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees, which prohibits public officials from using “their official positions or the resources thereof to obtain a special privilege or benefit for themselves or others.”

Even more egregious, according to the lists of recipients we received by public records request, only 623 gift cards were distributed on June 5, 2021 to the general public, and 162 gift cards were distributed to the Jewish community by Alan Sakowitz on June 7, 2021.

We emailed City Clerk Andrise Bernard asking for the receipt from Publix for the $100,000, and the status of the remaining 215 Publix Gift cards that appear to be unaccounted for.

I’m sure she’ll get right on it.

Most importantly, however, is that this gift card fiasco is a blatant misuse of public funds in that it is a clear violation of Article VII, Finance and Taxation, Section 10, of The Florida Constitution, which specifically prohibits municipalities from giving, lending or using its taxing power to “aid any corporation, association, partnership or person.”

Similarly, Article XVI, Sec. 6 of California’s State Constitution prohibits its Legislature and local cities from “the making of any gift, of any public money or thing of value to any individual, municipal or other corporation whatever,” according to an August 1, 2013 Western City article, Using Public Resources for Gifts and Charitable Purposes.  The article, “a service of the Institute for Local Government (ILG), whose mission is to promote good government at the local level,” was published after a local blogger “argued that the agency “wastes” resources on nonessential and possibly unlawful activities.”

The article explained, “In the public sector, California’s Constitution specifically prohibits ‘gifts’ of public resources, often referred to as the ban on ‘gifts of public funds.’  It also applies to gifts from either an agency or its officials to private citizens or organizations.”

While this particular law is specific to California, it mirrors the Florida law, and is generally accepted as public policy in every State in the Union.

Furthermore, in 1952 the Supreme Court of Florida ruled in State v Town of North Miami against the taking of private property, i.e., ad valorem taxes, “except when it will serve a public purpose.”  Two key points of this ruling are:

Even more recently in 2005, former Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer initiated a “return-on-investment” program for the purpose of giving property owners with permanent residences a dividend check to promote the “stability and welfare of the City.”  He was correctly advised by then-City Attorney Murray Dubbin that using ad valorem revenue to fund this venture was a violation of the State Constitution.  Thus Resolution No. 2005-26007 was proposed, establishing a Homeowners Dividend Fund “to be funded from non ad-valorem revenues such as franchise fees, utility taxes, occupational licenses, interest earnings from non ad-valorem sources, etc.”

I personally had the distinct privilege of knowing Mr. Dubbin during the course of my decades-long career as a paralegal.  Unlike the uniquely unqualified Hans Ottinot, former Miami Beach City Attorney Murray Dubbin was well-known and highly regarded as the “dean” of municipal attorneys.

Although the municipal attorneys we consulted were shocked that North Miami Beach Interim City Attorney Hans Ottinot allowed Paule to pursue this illegal gift card scheme, we weren’t surprised in the least.

As we’ve already proven, Hans is incredibly ignorant when it comes to municipal law.  Then again, he wasn’t hired for his legal “expertise.”  The corrupt Hans Ottinot was hand-picked for the sole purpose of helping the four corrupt Commissioners skirt the law by any means necessary.

When Mayor Anthony DeFillipo emailed Hans on June 14, 2021 asking for a written legal opinion, on June 16, 2021 Hans not surprisingly provided his “professional” opinion claiming it “was for public purpose and permissible under Florida law,” and stating that “numerous municipalities have used public funds to provide $100 gift cards to residents.”

Of course, the Mayor objected to what was clearly an erroneous opinion, and on June 21, 2021 he sent another email to Hans, reminding him that the “numerous municipalities” that gave away gift cards are entitlement cities and did so with federal funds, and did not “appropriate money from the General Fund, i.e. ad valorem taxes derived from private property.”  Mayor DeFillipo then directed the City Attorney to seek an advisory opinion from the Florida Attorney General.

Knowing full well that he’s wrong about the law, Hans refused to follow the Mayor’s directive, claiming in a July 12, 2021 email, replete with his usual typographical and grammatical errors, he made several lame excuses, including, “it is important to note that the legal opinion of the Attorney General’s office is advisory and not binding on local government.”  He continued, “More importantly, the Attorney General’s Office, as a matter of policy, will note [sic] issue legal opinions which ‘sought to arbitrate a political dispute between agencies or between factions within an agency or merely to buttress the opinions of an agency’s own legal counsel.’”

The Mayor responded in an email reiterating [emphasis ours], “On June [14], 2021, I asked for and received your attached written legal opinion regarding this matter.  I strongly disagreed with your opinion.  I then directed you to seek an advisory opinion from the Florida Attorney General’s Office.  You are now refusing to do so under the patently false assumption that I am asking the Attorney General to ‘arbitrate a political dispute.’  Accordingly, I am directing you one last time to seek an advisory opinion from the Florida Attorney General within 24 hours of the date of this letter.  Please copy me with your correspondence.”

To date, the corrupt Hans Ottinot is standing by his bogus “legal” opinion and refusing to follow the Mayor’s directive.

This will not end well for him.

Just saying.

CRIME: Illegal Balloon Release

The lawlessness in North Miami Beach continued recently when, on July 14, 2021 Paule arranged a “Hope 4 Haiti Solidarity Memorial” in front of the Julius Littman Performing Arts Theater including an illegal balloon release and controversial dove release.

In a July 13, 2021 email to North Miami Beach city officials, Gemma Vaughan, LMSW, of the Cruelty Investigations Department of PETA.org wrote:

“PETA is an animal protection organization with more than 6.5 million members and supporters globally, hundreds of thousands residing in Florida. We write today concerning the City of North Miami Beach’s apparent plans to release balloons and doves tomorrow, July 14, at the Julius Littman Performing Arts Theater during the Hope 4 Haiti Solidarity Memorial event. Respectfully, we wish to make you aware that it is unlawful to release balloons in your state due to the notorious harm that balloon fragments cause to wildlife and the environment. We also ask that you please take a moment to review the following information concerning dove releases.

Setting aside the birds’ typically poor living conditions prior to their being released, attempting to find their way “home” from an unfamiliar location can be a life-threatening task for these captive-bred animals. Upon release and in their frantic attempts to return, doves can wander about for days without eating or resting, and during this stressful ordeal these birds can succumb to countless perils including extreme weather conditions, and attacks by raptors or other predators. In fact, PETA has received numerous calls from Good Samaritans who have come across horribly injured or badly malnourished banded birds; our own staff has personally collected the remains of several who were killed by larger animals. And lost birds are so common that a major dove release website contains a feature entitled “Find a Bird?” which means to assist guardians in their efforts to recover missing doves.”

Florida Statute 379.233 states [emphasis ours]:

(1) The Legislature finds that the release into the atmosphere of large numbers of balloons inflated with lighter-than-air gases poses a danger and nuisance to the environment, particularly to wildlife and marine animals.

(2) It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to intentionally release, organize the release, or intentionally cause to be released within a 24-hour period 10 or more balloons inflated with a gas that is lighter than air except for:

(a) Balloons released by a person on behalf of a governmental agency or pursuant to a governmental contract for scientific or meteorological purposes;

(b) Hot air balloons that are recovered after launching;

(c) Balloons released indoors; or

(d) Balloons that are either biodegradable or photodegradable, as determined by rule of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and which are closed by a hand-tied knot in the stem of the balloon without string, ribbon, or other attachments. In the event that any balloons are released pursuant to the exemption established in this paragraph, the party responsible for the release shall make available to any law enforcement officer evidence of the biodegradability or photodegradability of said balloons in the form of a certificate executed by the manufacturer. Failure to provide said evidence shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this act.

Undeterred by the imminent danger to wildlife and the environment, Paule and her fellow criminals went ahead with the event, releasing more than 10 balloons with long strings attached, and released the cruelly caged doves into the atmosphere.

But hey!

These mobsters think absolutely nothing of killing birds and other wildlife.

“For loved ones,” of course.

While we already know that the corrupt Paule Villard’s personal protector and enabler, Hans Ottinot, will do nothing about the scofflaws, PETA is taking this matter very seriously.

In a July 15, 2021 email, to Commissioner Barbara Kramer, Gemma Vaughan wrote, “”We are told that the balloons (unverifiable if they were biodegradable as required) had ribbons on them, which is an explicit violation of state law.  I have followed up with Captain [Harvette] Smith and am waiting to hear back.”

In a July 21, 2021 telephone conference with Gemma Vaughan, she also told VotersOpinion that Captain Smith assured her that she would advise the event organizers about the law prohibiting balloon releases and to refrain from doing so.

After seeing the above photograph, Ms. Vaughan was understandably concerned that not only did Paule Villard and other city officials break the law, but that they defied a directive from their own City’s Police Department.

Without going into further detail of our conversation with Gemma Vaughan of the Cruelty Investigations Unit, suffice it to say that PETA don’t play!

And, yes.

The corn is popping as we speak.

CRIME: Campaign Finance Fraud

During the campaign for the November 3, 2020 municipal election, then-candidate Michael Joseph was consistently late in filing his Campaign Treasurer’s Reports.  Page 6 of the 2020 Candidate Handbook lists the due dates for each of the Reports, as well as the penalties for filing them late, which are mandated by Florida election laws.  The law also states that these fines “must be paid from the candidate’s personal funds – not campaign funds.”

Based on the postmarked dates of the envelopes in which Michael’s Reports were mailed, as well as the stamped dates the Clerk’s Office received his hand delivered reports, copies of which we received by public records request, we calculated the fines that Michael owed the City as $25,750.00.

On November 25, 2020, we sent an email to City Clerk Andrise Bernard, who was also the City’s Supervisor of Elections (SOE), with the calculation and an explanation on how we arrived at that figure.  We then asked for “a copy of the city’s notice to Mr. Joseph of the fines he owes, and also a copy of the paid receipt once you receive payment.”

And we waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

For six (6) months we sent email after email to the Clerk asking for the status of our public records request.  We were continuously ignored.

 

Finally, on May 23, 2021 we filed a formal Complaint against the City Clerk with the Florida Elections Commission for her dereliction of duty as the City’s Supervisor of Elections, which is currently under investigation.

On June 22, 2021, I finally received a response from the Clerk with copies of seven (7) letters, all dated May 7, 2021, assessing fines for the reporting periods of G1, G2, G3, M2, M3, M5, and M6, in the total amount of $7,550.37.  This is a far cry from the $25,750.00 we calculated, but we figured it was a good start, and that we’d tackle that discrepancy in due time.

Imagine our shock and disbelief when we read the final letter dated May 28, 2021, RESCINDING ALL FINES!

With just a wave of his magic wand, the corrupt City Attorney Hans Ottinot wiped out all of the corrupt Commissioner Michael Joseph‘s fines, who filed most of his Campaign Treasurer’s Reports beyond the deadline, and deemed them “timely!”

And the corrupt City Clerk Andrise Bernard followed the Attorney’s orders, no questions asked.

Rest assured, we are not taking this blatant violation of Florida election laws lightly, and we intend to do whatever it takes to hold these corrupt public officials accountable.

In the meantime, we are still keeping track of all their crimes.

CRIME: Illegal Breaking of Meeting Quorum

Chapter II, Article I, Subsection 2-2.1 of the North Miami Beach City Charter states [emphasis ours], “Before the City Commission can transact any legal business, there must be not less than five (5) duly qualified Commissioners present. Furthermore, in order to promote the integrity of Commission meetings and to ensure the performance of public duties by the City’s elected officials, Commissioners shall (subject to restroom or other temporary personal breaks, and subject to a Commissioner’s duty to leave Commission chambers during that portion of a Commission meeting in which the Commissioner has a voting conflict) remain at City Commission meetings throughout the entirety of such meeting, barring an emergency or other matter beyond a Commissioner’s control which compels his/her presence elsewhere, in which event he/she shall state into the record the basis of such emergency/other matter prior to leaving the meeting. Failure of a Commissioner to truthfully state the basis of emergency/other matter prior to leaving the meeting shall constitute a violation of this Code subsection. The Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust shall enforce the provisions of this subsection and may impose any penalty authorized by County Code pertaining to violations of municipal ethics laws.”

This subsection was amended by Ordinance No. 2016-9, and was necessary due to the fact that “within the past several months, certain Councilmembers have left Council meetings before the Council’s completion of agenda items, necessitating either the postponement and rescheduling of time-sensitive items for future Council meetings or the need for meeting adjournment pending the Council’s ability to obtain a quorum, both situations serving to obstruct and impede good, responsive government in the City of North Miami Beach.”

What the Ordinance was referring to was the July 19, 2016 Council (n/k/a Commission) Meeting when then-Councilwoman Beth Spiegel left the dais after an intense argument with then-Mayor George Vallejo.  Then-Councilwoman Phyllis Smith followed her and refused to come back.  Not to be outdone, then-Councilman-turned-convicted felon Frantz Pierre left and broke quorum, and the meeting had to be adjourned.

Fast forward to the July 20, 2021 Commission Meeting, at minute 40:18 of the video when the Mayor stopped public comment and announced that a Commissioner had to leave due to an emergency.  Michael Joseph stated that he had to leave due to a death in the family.  As he was finishing his comment, the corrupt Commissioner McKenzie Fleurimond put on his mask, took off his headphones, and walked off the dais.

At that point, the Commission did not have a physical quorum because Paule Villard was attending the meeting via Zoom.

All of a sudden at minute 56:35, the Mayor announced that they lost quorum because Paule’s screen went blank and she was refusing to respond.

Once again, a North Miami Beach Commission Meeting had to be prematurely adjourned because two Commissioners violated the City Charter by breaking quorum, thus hindering the integrity of the meeting and repudiating the performance of their public duties.

Of course, no one should be surprised by this blatant violation of the City Charter.  Michael Joseph was the only one who had a legitimate excuse to leave the meeting.

But once McKenzie realized he didn’t have a guaranteed fourth vote for the controversial, and costly, items that Team Apocalypse placed on the Agenda, he knew they would all die on the dais.  Any Commission vote that’s split 3-3 is an automatic fail.

They left Paule Villard in the lurch, because even her virtual presence still constituted a quorum.  So she hightailed it out of there without a word to anyone.

Like a thief in the night.

Literally.

Yes, these four NMB Commissioners really are that corrupt!

They also seem to be untouchable, thanks to their enablers, City Manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey, Interim City Attorney Hans Ottinot, and City Clerk Andrise Bernard, who answer to them and only them.  At the moment, the well organized criminals of North Miami Beach appear to be untouchable.

Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, Paule Villard, and Daniela Jean took the North Miami Circle of Corruption playbook that was created by its former Mayor Andre Pierre, and fine-tuned it to suit their self-serving, greedy needs.  As a result, North Miami Beach is now more corrupt than its neighboring city ever was.

Andre must be very proud of his protégés.

We here at VotersOpinion, however, are undeterred in our demand for truth, transparency and good governance.  We will not rest until every single corrupt public official is taken to task and held accountable for their crimes.

Count on it.

Stephanie