A collective gasp could be heard last Thursday morning in North Miami Beach as residents awoke to the news that Police Chief Richard Rand had unexpectedly announced his early retirement.

No one knew what to make of this shocking turn of events since the 24-year veteran officer of the North Miami Beach Police Department was sworn in as Chief only last February.  Chief Rand had diligently worked his way up the ranks over the years, standing out as one of NMB’s finest in a crowded field of the most professional police officers in the most prestigious agency in South Florida.

Loved and respected by everyone in the community, his supervisors, and most importantly, his fellow men and women in blue, it was a given that Richard Rand would one day lead the department to even greater heights.

On June 26, 2019, the twice lauded NMBPD achieved the highest recognition bestowed by the The Commission for Florida Law Enforcement, Inc. (CFA), the “EXCELSIOR” status for an unprecedented third time in a row.  No other agency in the State of Florida has ever achieved this honorable distinction.

As proud as North Miami Beach residents were of their beloved police department, its achievement was hardly surprising.  The North Miami Beach Police Department was the first law enforcement agency in Miami-Dade County to become accredited in 1991, and the first ever in the County to attain “EXCELSIOR” status, which takes seventeen years to achieve.  The NMBPD was the pride and joy of everyone in the City.

Today our command staff met with the commission for Florida law enforcement accreditation. It is our pleasure to announce that we have once again achieved the excelsior status! We have been an accredited law enforcement agency for over 22 years. #316 pic.twitter.com/rbEyPKIiJ2

— North Miami Beach PD (@myNMBPolice) June 26, 2019

And then, a tsunami of trouble landed on November 3, 2020, when the Evil Triumvirate of Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, and Paule Villard managed to scare up enough votes to get their Puppet Commissioner, Daniela Jean, elected to create a majority of votes on the dais.  At that moment, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse proceeded to decimate and destroy every single thing that made North Miami Beach a great place to live.

And just like that, the brutal raping of City coffers, the violating of federal, state, and municipal laws, and eradicating the last vestiges of all good governance began in earnest.

And the rest is history.

We here at VotersOpinion knew without a doubt that the city’s police department would eventually be in the cross hairs of the four Criminal Commissioners, and sadly that day has arrived.

Although the incompetent — and ultra corrupt — City Manager, Arthur “Duke” Sorey, is publicly supporting Chief Rand, inside City Hall there’s a difference of opinion, which Mayor Anthony DeFilippo alluded to in the Channel 10 news story on Thursday when he stated, “I’m very disturbed at what I’m hearing.  The chief of police I have the utmost respect for.  I believe it because I see it every day.  I have a pulse on my community and I have a pulse on my police department.  He is being micromanaged in every move that he makes, and it is not right.”

It’s common knowledge that Duke Sorey is a bully and micromanages top employees who are more than capable of doing their jobs.  Could this be why the Chief was leaving?  Was he, in fact, being micromanaged?

In his press conference on Friday, the Chief said, “I’m not at liberty to discuss the specific details of my meeting with City Manager Sorey. This is about my ability to effectively lead this police department with the full support from the city officials and the community.  We owe it to the residents of this wonderful city to serve them as guardians, as this is the oath we take as law-enforcement officers. ”

The City Manager may have contributed to this latest scandal to befall on the embattled City, but make no mistake, the real culprit is none other than Paule Villard.  She has done everything in her power to dismantle and remake the Police Department in her own image.

Literally.

After successfully plundering Duke Sorey from the bottom of North Miami’s barrel, she directed him to hire her personal campaign advisor/manager, Willis Howard, the self-proclaimed “legend in South Florida politics and the strategic consultant,” under the guise of “Chief of Staff,” who receives $127,305 of your tax dollars a year to covertly help Paule run for re-election.

And to walk around the Police Department sporting a Marxist, anti-cop BLM button on his jacket and try to intimidate police officers.

Now, mind you.  Paule has nothing against police officers in general.

As long as they “look like her.”

At one time she was a cop, of sorts, for the City of Miami.

All the while breaking every department rule by showing up late, leaving her post without notice, bypassing the chain of command, making unauthorized purchases, and going AWOL to allegedly visit her sick sister in Haiti.

When she did bother showing up for duty, she avoided patrol by hiding out in Little Haiti, according to actual police officers who constantly trashed her on LeoAffairs for being a total loser.

That about says it all.

Paule Villard has publicly lied on numerous occasions claiming that she was a “police sergeant” for 20 years.

The truth is, Paule Villard retired as a City of Miami police officer, not a sergeant, on December 21, 2014 — exactly 20 years from the day she was hired.

Like many police departments, the City of Miami bestows an honorary “rank” to police officers upon retirement.

Sort of like a participation trophy in Little League.

Becoming an actual sergeant takes hard work, initiative, above average intelligence, and the ability to pass a stringent written exam, none of which Paule Villard possesses.

Paule Villard was lucky enough to get by with the barest minimum of effort and ability, and retire before eventually getting fired for cause.

Worse than her inherent stupidity and constant lying, is the revelation that she’s also a predator of the weak and vulnerable.  Here is where this whole debacle gets really interesting.

A series of emails was sent to the Mayor and Commission from a man by the name of David Melnick, a member of the Orthodox Jewish community who lives around the corner about a half block from Paule’s house.  In her quest for political power, Paule has “befriended” this gullible, impressionable person, and offered him her assistance — and has indoctrinated him with lies about her political enemies.

David Melnick was easy prey for Paule’s machinations.

Earlier this year, he tragically lost his mother, who was his primary caretaker, and Paule seized the opportunity to fill that void.  As you will see by the emails we obtained, David has been literally brainwashed with Paule’s lies and orchestrated manipulations, and has turned him against the Mayor and even Commissioner Kramer, who has been in contact with him and assisted him with various issues over the years.

This is not the first time that Paule has urged her political operatives to flood the Mayor and Commission with emails to lavish praises on her, especially when she’s publicly come under fire for wrongdoing.

In David Melnick’s case, however, she is preying upon one of the most vulnerable members of the community, who is only too willing to gain her approval.

These emails, in which he is clearly being coached, are heartbreaking to read.  They also reveal the pure evil that is in Paule Villard’s heart.

As you read through these emails, keep in mind the following facts:

• During the 2018 election, one of Mayor Anthony DeFillipo’s opponents was Robert Dempster, whom Paule supported because, well, he “looked like her.”  While campaigning, and especially on Haitian radio, Paule constantly referred to Tony as a “racist” in order to garner votes for Dempster.  Even before Tony was first elected to the City Commission in 2013, he and his father, Kenny DeFillipo, have been prominent members of the community and City government for over three decades.  Tony and I worked together on campaigns and as community activists since the early 2000s, and Kenny was a councilman for 14 years before losing to Phyllis Smith in 2007.  In all these years, not one person ever called Tony a “racist” until Paule Villard came on the scene.
• Both Tony and his father have actively assisted members of the Jewish community of North Miami Beach in every way possible, and especially during the pandemic food drives by making sure Kosher meals were available.  In fact, Kenny lives, and raised Tony in, the predominantly Orthdox Jewish neighborhood of the City, and their family has been embraced by the Jewish community since they moved to North Miami Beach in 1974.  In all these years, not one person ever called Tony an “anti-Semite” until Paule Villard came on the scene.
• Mayor Anthony DeFillipo has always been a staunch supporter of Police Chief Richard Rand, the North Miami Beach Police Department, and the entire law enforcement community.  There is no way in hell Tony would advocate for the firing of Chief Rand or the defunding of the police department.  Not one person ever accused Tony of being a “cop-hater” until Paule Villard came on the scene.
• Chief Richard Rand unexpectedly submitted his letter of retirement on Thursday, November 4, 2021.  Prior to that date, no one in the City had any idea that the Chief was having problems with the administration.  More importantly, there were no suspicions that the City Manager was about to fire him.  In fact, Duke Sorey even told CBS Miami, “I was caught off guard by the news of the resignation of Chief Richard Rand. I am respectful of the 25 years of service he has provided to the City of North Miami Beach. I respect him as the Chief of Police and hope to reach a resolution soon.”
• Everyone knows there is no love lost between Mayor DeFillipo and City Manager Duke Sorey.  There is no way in hell Duke Sorey would fire any City employee if Tony wanted that employee gone.  If anything, Duke would keep that employee just to piss Tony off and make his life miserable.  On the other hand, Duke Sorey has been doing Paule’s bidding since the day he was hired.  Under her direction, Duke has been actively purging the City employment rolls of everyone Paule deems racially or ethnically “incorrect,” and hiring as many Haitians as possible whether they’re qualified or not.  It’s no secret that Paule’s been ordering Duke to make the Police Department “more representative of the community,” (read: more Haitians), including and especially the Chief of Police.

In the first email that David Melnick sent to Commissioner Barbara Kramer on September 6, 2021, he asks her to vote for another one of Paule’s Publix $100,000 gift card giveaways, and suddenly attacks Tony out of the blue.

On October 19, 2021, the date of the most recent Commission meeting, the apparently distressed David Melnick sent a torrent of angry, rambling, and confused emails between 4:57 PM and 5:55 PM, re-sending some of them multiple times.

Take note that on the date of this email, October 19, 2021, David Melnick is insinuating that Mayor Tony is “trying to get rid of Chief Rand” and “trying to defund the North Miami Beach Police Department.”

Where did he get this idea?

Here David Melnick once again insinuates that Tony would “try to do wrong the police department.”   How odd.

And, here’s David Melnick insinuating that if Barbara Kramer doesn’t “like the city manager” she must be “racist.”

At 5:55 PM, David Melnick re-sent the very same email he already sent at 4:56 PM.

Although the City Clerk’s office received the above emails on October 19, 2021, she was out of the office and unable to forward them to the Mayor and Commission until October 25, 2021.  When she received them, Commissioner Kramer immediately responded to him.

For some reason, her response only angered Mr. Melnick further and he launched into another email storm to Barbara Kramer over the course of two days, once again attempting to trash Mayor Tony with “rumors about him getting rid of Chief Richard Rand” and saying that “he’s never helped anybody in this Jewish community” or “the Haitian community.”  Where did he get this idea from?

By now, David Melnick’s angst was escalating.  Fourteen minutes later, he sent yet another email to Barbara repeating himself again, and claiming again that Tony, “never helped anybody in the Jewish community.”

The next morning at 8:10 AM, after he apparently shared his emails with Paule the night before, David Melnick resumed his tirade against Tony, accusing him of “trying to get rid of Richard rand [sic],” and praising his predator, Paule Villard.

And at 8:11 AM, Melnick re-sent the exact same email he sent to Barbara only one minute before.

How incredibly sad is that?

Commissioner Barbara Kramer has always treated David Melnick and his family with kindness and respect, and they have had a perfectly fine relationship over the years … until now.

Now that Paule Villard has unscrupulously indoctrinated this poor, vulnerable man, he suddenly wants nothing to do with Barbara.

Why would David Melnick suddenly say all of these ridiculous things?

Where did he get the idea that Tony is a “racist?”

Where did he get the idea that Tony “was trying to get rid Chief Richard Rand?”

Where did he get the idea that Tony “never helped anybody in the Jewish community?”

Did David Melnick really come up with all these preposterous assumptions on his own?

The Mayor doesn’t even know who David Melnick is.

Melnick was obviously fed these lies by Paule Villard, and took them at face value.

Our guess, based on the information we have gathered, is that Paule ordered Duke Sorey to make Chief Rand’s life miserable to force him to leave, and then blame it all on the Mayor, whom she has despised for years.

Paule Villard may think she cooked up a clever scheme, but as we’ve already proven, she is an imbecile.

Literally.

Then again, what can you expect from someone so vulgar and uncultured that she would literally campaign at a funeral?

Paule Villard is just as manipulative, divisive, destructive, and evil as her mentor and fellow criminal, former Commissioner Frantz Pierre, who first recruited her to run for office, and who is now a convicted felon.  Water really does seek its own level.

What she is doing to David Melnick is horrific on so many levels, it’s borderline criminal.  We certainly hope that someone in authority in the Orthodox Jewish community, preferably a Rabbi, will intervene and rescue him from her predatory clutches.

Thankfully, as we reported earlier, Jewish community activist Alan Sakowitz stepped up to the plate.  Not only did he rally the Jewish community and urge them to send emails and make phone calls to the Manager, Mayor and Commissioners in support of Chief Richard Rand, but he also appeared on Channel 10 to plead with the Chief not to leave.

In response, Manager Duke Sorey refused to accept the Chief’s retirement letter, and encouraged Chief Richard Rand to remain on the job for the good of the Police Department and the residents of the City of North Miami Beach.

Stephanie