Paging Kathy Rundle! North Miami Beach is a cesspool of corruption. Do something already!

Over Thanksgiving weekend, organized mobs of looters ransacked retail stores around the country from San Francisco to Los Angeles to two cities in Minnesota, places where police have been defunded, crime has been decriminalized, and prosecutors campaign for re-election instead of justice.

While theft is still a crime in Miami-Dade County, and police departments still remain intact, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle turns a blind eye to corrupt public officials, especially looters posing as elected officials.

In the City of North Miami Beach, for instance, corruption has become the rule rather than the exception.

North Miami Beach was not the first in the County to be taken over by an organized mob of elected looters. It’s following in the footsteps of Opa-locka and North Miami — both on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to the raping of city coffers by criminals on the dais.

In their most recent act of grand larceny, the four Criminal Commissioners of NMB, Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, Paule Villard, and Daniela Jean, voted to give themselves yet another raise — just four months after they gave themselves the second raise in the two years since three of them were first elected.

In North Miami Beach officials voted to up their compensation. Not everyone is on board, the Miami Herald reported:

“Late last month, commissioners voted 4-3 to allow $6,500 from an “executive expense allowance” to be spent without restrictions, meaning the money could be used for personal expenses if commissioner so choose.

The vote happened after midnight, after City Manager Arthur Sorey expressed confusion around how the money — made available when commissioners voted 4-3 while setting their 2022 budget to increase expense accounts to $13,000 — could be spent.”

What the Herald didn’t mention is that although this $6,500 raise is dubbed an “executive expense allowance,” it will not remain in the general fund to be used as needed. This additional compensation will be added to their already generous paycheck as taxable income.

And just like the raise they gave themselves on June 15, 2021 for their “medical, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits,” this new pay increase is additional compensation.

Although the Herald reported that North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo alleged that the 4-3 vote for this latest pay increase “goes against part of the city charter that requires increased compensation be approved with the affirmative vote of five members of the commission,” there is nothing alleged about it.

Article II, Sec 2-3 of the City Charter, specifically states:

Members of the City Commission shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed by the Commission. The compensation of members of the City Commission may be increased by the affirmative vote of five members of the Commission. The compensation shall be payable as other expenses of the City are paid.

Since both the June 15, 2021 and the November 16, 2021 raises are part of the compensation package of the elected officials, and both raises only passed by a 4-3 vote, both raises were illegal and they must be rescinded.

And all the money that they have stolen from North Miami Beach taxpayers since June 15, 2021 must be returned to the City.

The ultra incompetent Interim City Attorney Hans Ottinot is insisting that the $6,500 is not considered compensation because it’s an “expense allowance.”

Okay, we’ll play.

I’ll take “Hans Ottinot” for $400, Alex.

Which city attorney is so stupid he can’t even spell “trolley?”

How embarrassing!

Mayor DeFillipo is now in discussions with the Ethics Commission, as well as the State Attorney’s Office, in an effort to have the City Charter enforced.

Furthermore, as Interim City Attorney, Hans Ottinot has an obligation to not only familiarize himself with the City Charter, he also has the responsibility to make sure that the Commissioners abide by the laws of the City of North Miami Beach. But, as we all know by now, Hans is so incompetent — and so corrupt — he never objected to either of the two illegal raises they gave to themselves.

This violation of the City Charter is only the latest in a long list of criminal infractions already perpetrated by the mob of looters. That list continues to grow every single day that Michael, McKenzie, Paule, and Daniela occupy seats on the dais.

As we exposed last July, these corrupt politicians had already misused public funds, violated State law regarding balloon releases, committed campaign finance fraud, and violated the City Charter by deliberately breaking quorum. Since then, they have only become more brazen in their criminal activity.

Miami State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle is well aware of the North Miami Beach organized crime ring, and yet she refuses to do her job and uphold the law.

No one should be surprised that grand theft is taking place with impunity. The four Criminal Commissioners are being aided and abetted by their vulgar and grossly overpaid City Manager/Henchman Arthur “Duke” Sorey and Interim City Attorney/Consigliere Hans Ottinot. Duke signs off on whatever his bosses want, and Hans “interprets” laws to cover their asses.

Just like the illegal Publix gift card giveaway, for which Hans refused to obtain an advisory opinion from the Florida Attorney General, the so-called “discretionary funds” of the Criminal Commissioners are illegally being misused.

Even though we made a public records request on September 25, 2021 for “A complete list of all discretionary fund spending by the Mayor and Commission for Fiscal Year 2020-21 through the present date,” Duke deliberately delayed the response to our request until November 16, 2021.

As you will see in a moment, he had reason to hide their spending of public funds for personal benefit.

This is not the first time an elected official in North Miami Beach has had his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Back in 2012, we exposed a scam involving Paule Villard’s close personal friend and mentor, former Commissioner/current Convicted Felon Frantz Pierre, and two of his cronies, who formed “non-profit” organizations, then applied for a combined $14,000 in grants from the North Miami Beach Police Department’s Law Enforcement Trust Fund (LETF).

Since the City never took action to recover these stolen funds, and the perpetrators got away scot-free, Frantz urged another cohort, Karyne Sylvestre-Pompilus, to pull the exact same scam in June of 2012 by repeatedly requesting donations from the City for her “non-profit,” Actions for Better Future, Inc.

At the time of the attempted heist, her organization was recognized by the IRS as a legitimate 501(c)(3). However, on May 5, 2017 its tax exempt status was automatically revoked by the Internal Revenue Serivce for failing to file “a Form 990-series return or notice for three consecutive years.”

Although Actions for Better Future, Inc. is still current with the Florida Department of State as a “Florida Not For Profit Corporation,” it is prohibited by the IRS from accepting tax deductible contributions.

According to its website, however, this bogus “non-profit” is still asking for donations.

The reason we’re bringing this up again is that Frantz Pierre’s “non-profit” scams were precisely the reason the then-City Council passed Resolution R2012-72 in September of that year, “establishing policies and procedures for community non-profit groups to request and receive public funds from the City of North Miami Beach.”

Undaunted, Frantz Pierre continued to recklessly spend taxpayer money on events and shady “non-profits,” none of which benefited the residents of the City of North Miami Beach.

He was so out of control that by 2014, resident Bruce Lamberto made a public records request for an “itemized list of any city funds utilized by Councilman Franz Pierre for travel expenses, including, but not limited to, food, transportation, hotel, or any other city funds expended by him for the period October 1, 2012 to July 1, 2014, including his recent trip out of the country.”

On July 10, 2014, Bruce received an email response itemizing Frantz Pierre’s spending spree during that time period.

Even after Resolution R2012-72 was passed, Frantz Pierre spent $11,554.37 of taxpayer money in twenty-one months, only $368.33 of which was for legitimate expenses.

As we reported in Frantzie Watch: Living Large on Our Dime, Frantz spent $11,186.04 of that money on entertainment, vacations to Haiti and Washington, DC, two organizations that don’t exist, a North Miami youth basketball team, two churches (one of which is in North Miami), and of course, the “non-profit” organization run by his very special “friend,” Karyne Sylvestre-Pompilus, Actions for Better Future, Inc.

Frantz Pierre’s misuse and outright theft of public funds led to even stricter legislation for the spending of discretionary funds by elected officials.

On December 16, 2014, Resolution R2014-68 was passed because “the City Council [was] concerned with the current charitable donation policy and recognizes the potential for misuse of public funds with insufficient oversight and policies.” Thus, the then-Mayor and Council (now referred to as Commissioners) established this policy in order to provide “for proper public purposes, a neutral, non-political process, and transparency by posting the donations and accompanying documentation on the City’s website.”

The main directives of this Resolution are, as follows:

There must be a valid public purpose that directly benefits of the North Miami Beach and property owners.
Donations in excess of $100.00 must be made to a charitable non-profit 501(c) corporation as defined by the IRS.
Final approval of a solicitation request by an organization is contingent upon the organization’s signed contract provided by the City Manager in consultation with the City Attorney.
All charitable donation requests must be submitted on the application forms available with the City Clerk.
The Commission shall review all requests.
The applications and supporting documentation shall be placed on the City’s website.

Six years later, every single directive of this City policy has been violated.

Every. Single. One.

The brazen lawlessness began when three of the Criminal Commissioners, Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, and Paule Villard, were first elected in 2018, and has escalated since their Puppet Criminal Commissioner, Daniela Jean, was installed in 2020.

Adding to that unscrupulous mix are the corrupt City Manager Duke Sorey and Interim City Manager Hans Ottinot they all hired for the sole purpose of turning North Miami Beach into a criminal enterprise to satisfy their lust for money and power.

Let’s take a look at Fiscal Year 2020-21 and see how the Mayor and Commission spent your tax dollars, a/k/a their discretionary, or contingency funds.

Mayor Anthony DeFillipo, of course, was the most fiscally responsible. He spent only $1,200 for the $100 registration fee to attend the annual meeting of the Florida League of Cities, $1,000 donation to Helping Florida Foundation, a legitimate 501(c)(3) under the umbrella of the Mourning Family Foundation, and $100 for office supplies.

Paule Villard, on the other hand, spent $4,521 of your tax dollars, most of which is either unaccounted for or a misuse of public funds, for:

$1,500 on “Donation to Community,” for which no explanation was given, and for which the City has not yet provided an explanation or an invoice.
$425 for “Promo Pens,” which actually cost $442.08, according to the invoice from 4Imprint, Inc. for “1,000 Cubano Pens” to promote — herself. Not surprisingly, the City has still not provided us with a copy of the artwork.
$500 for “HROOHB Event Sponsorship” which, according to the invoice from A Reflection of Me, Inc., was actually for a “Virtual Haitian Heritage Month Kickoff event.” Not surprisingly, the City did not provide us with this invoice when we previously requested copies of all invoices for Haitian Heritage Month events held in May. We asked for an explanation of this omission, as well as any other invoices they kept hidden from the public. Still waiting for a response …
$100 for a North Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
$500 for “Donation for helping South Fl,” for which the City has not yet provided an explanation or an invoice.
$646 for “Woman Event,” for which the City has not yet provided an explanation or an invoice.
$350 for “Paule Sponsor,” which according to the invoice, was a donation to We Stand Together, Inc. for its first annual Blue Hope 5K for Colon Cancer Awareness. Although this is a legitimate 501(c)(3) organization, it is located in Plantation, and does not directly benefit the residents of North Miami Beach.
$500 donation to Helping Florida Foundation, the only legitimate 501(c)(3) organization on her list.

NMB’s high maintenance diva, Daniela Jean, spent $5,048.53 of her allocated $7,000 contingency fund, mostly on parties and personal swag, as follows:

$1,800 for “Donation and Ballet Event,” for which the City has not yet provided an explanation or an invoice.
$138.53 for “Office Supplies” which according to the invoice from Amazon.com included such “necessities” as: Pirate’s Booty Aged Cheddar Cheese Puffs, a Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible Gen5, (a $60 light for her personal camera), a 3-pack of Phone Card Holder Stretchy Lycra Pocket Credit Card ID Case Pouch Sleeve for her personal cell phone, a Handmade Premium Leather Business Card Holder for her personal use, and a Kenneth Cole REACTION Grand Central Vegan Leather Laptop & Tablet Crossbody Travel Messenger Bag for her personal use, none of which are actual “office supplies.”
$125 for her Florida Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials membership.
$100 for a North Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
$231 for “Keychains for Pathway Meeting,” for which the City has not yet provided an explanation or an invoice.
$54 for “FANM Jean/Virtual Event Ticket,” for which the City has not yet provided an explanation or an invoice.
$750 for “Jazz Canal,” which we assume was for her Let’s Jazz ~~party~~ event held April 29, 2021.
$150 to The Doctor Abe Chames Foundation, which is actually a legitimate 501(c)(3) organization.
$1,000 donation to Helping Florida Foundation, which once again, is a legitimate organization.
$300 donated to Thynk Global Foundation, Inc., a sketchy “non-profit” that was formed on March 18, 2019 and was administratively dissolved on September 24, 2021. This now-defunct organization, which was located in the City of Miami, never applied for an Employer Identification Number, nor was it ever recognized by the IRS as a 501(c) corporation. Its only internet presence is a dormant Facebook page, which advertises a website that doesn’t exist. This “non-profit” is definitely shady AF!
$400 for more “Office Supplies” from Office Depot, the actual invoices of which only add up to $277.39. This time she ordered a personal Hewlitt Packard printer, a stapler, paper tray, and desk valet, and of course, more snacks in the form of trail mix.

Fortuna Smukler spent $4,700, of which $100 was for the North Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce luncheon, $600* paid to Verizon for her official cell phone expense, and $4,000 for donations to following legitimate 503(c)(3) organizations all located in the City of North Miami Beach:

$500 to The Doctor Abe Chames Foundation.
$500 donation to Helping Florida Foundation.
$500 to JCS Kosher Food Bank.
$500 to Joshua’s Heart Foundation.
$500 to Tomchei Shabbos of Florida.
$500 to Love to Help Foundation
$500 to Build a Better Tomorrow.
$500 to the Humane Society of Greater Miami

*CORRECTION: Commissioner Smukler advised us that this expense was not for her cell phone, which the City does not pay for, but for a wifi hot-spot so she could attend Zoom meetings since her internet at her residence is not compatible.

McKenzie Fleurimond really went to town spending $4,577 of your tax dollars, only $500 of which was a donation to Helping Florida Foundation, the only legitimate 501(c)(3) organization directly benefiting the residents of North Miami Beach.

He spent $3,477 on the following:

$200 for TWO North Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce luncheons. Who did he bring with him and why?
$215 for “Flowers for Ms. Lafueir,” with no explanation whatsoever.
$500 for “Passover 2021 Donation” with no explanation whatsoever.
$250 for “Blue Hope 5K Sponsorship,” as a donation to We Stand Together, Inc., a legitimate 501(c)(3) organization, but is located in Plantation, and does not directly benefit the residents of North Miami Beach.
$750 for Daniela’s Let’s Jazz party.
$969 to Constant Contact so he can send out his ridiculous newsletters to make sure he gets his name and face out there for his next campaign.
$500 for a donation to the same sketchy Thynk Global Foundation, Inc. “non-profit” that Daniela gave $500 to.
$93 for “Embroider 1 City Logo Jacket.” Oy!

McKenzie’s most egregious “donation” of your tax dollars was the $600 he gave to “Pisgah Pantry Outreach” located at the Mt. Pisgah SDA Church in Miami Gardens.

Although Pisgah Pantry Outreach is currently a legitimate 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, according to the Charitable Request Donation Application submitted by its Director Peggy Joseph to the City on June 14, 2021, it had not been recognized as such by the IRS until July 28, 2021 — a month and a half after Ms. Joseph attested that the information she provided was “true and correct.”

We have no way of knowing, but if Mt. Pisgah SDA is the church McKenzie personally attends, this “donation” would clearly be a conflict of interest.

Then again, this wouldn’t be McKenzie’s first conflict of interest rodeo.

As we reported in August, when he arranged for the City to turn over public property worth over $265,000 to Haitian American Nurses Association of Florida, Inc. (HANA), and expend over $90,000 on “improvements,” he refused to answer VotersOpinion’s question as to whether or not his wife, a nurse, was benefiting from the deal.

Barbara Kramer spent her entire allocated $7,000 contingency fund on charitable donations to legitimate 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations, all of which are located in the City of North Miami Beach, with the exception of $100 for the North Miami Beach Chamber luncheon, as follows:

$500 to The Doctor Abe Chames Foundation.
$1,000 donation to Helping Florida Foundation.
$720 to Chessed of South Florida.
$500 to Mystic Force Foundation.
$720 to JCS Kosher Food Bank.
$1,000 to Joshua’s Heart Foundation.
$1,000 to the North Miami Beach Police Athletic League.
$460 to Friends of the Library (North Miami Beach).
$1,000 to the Humane Society of Greater Miami

Incredibly, Michael Joseph did not misuse any of his discretionary funds, either, spending only $1,610.00 of your tax dollars on the following:

$125 for his Florida Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials membership.
$100 for a North Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
$185 for flowers for the same Ms. Lafuier that McKenzie gave flowers to. No explanation was forthcoming.
$700 to The Doctor Abe Chames Foundation.
$500 donation to Helping Florida Foundation.

We made a public records request for copies of all the Charitable Donation Request Applications and the Charitable Grant Agreements signed by the recipients of these funds, as required by Resolution R2014-68.

So far we have only received applications from two of the organizations, Joshua’s Heart Foundation and Pisgah Pantry Outreach, but no signed contracts. We are hoping to receive the remaining documents in due course.

If they even exist.

Furthermore, the Commission did not review these applications prior to the funds being distributed, nor are any of these applications and supporting documentation posted on the City’s website, also as required by Resolution R2014-68.

By now, no one should be surprised by the flagrant violation of the City’s own laws by the scofflaws on the dais and their enablers at City Hall.

At the end of the day, the Criminal Commissioners will keep stealing your tax dollars right from under your noses.

They will continue to waste your money on even more vote-buying parties, giveaways, and other self-promotional pens, tote bags, tee-shirts, and doorknob hangers to campaign on your dime, while they blow through whatever is left of the healthy $30 plus million in reserves your City once had.

They will continue to vote for no-bid contracts with Duke Sorey’s Friends & Family second-rate vendors from North Miami who engage in pay-for-play kickback schemes.

They will continue to violate the City Charter, Ethics Ordinances, Florida Statutes, and any law they want with impunity, and they will never suffer any consequences.

Why?

Not the Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission.

Not the Florida Ethics Commission.

Not the Florida Elections Commission.

Not the Miami State Attorney.

Not the Florida Attorney General.

Not the FDLE.

Not one government agency tasked to enforce the laws and hold public officials accountable for their actions give a fuck.

But the biggest problem of all is the unfathomable apathy of the North Miami Beach residents, who refuse to give any fuck at all.

They refuse to go to Commission Meetings.

They refuse to participate in civic affairs.

They refuse to insist on honest and ethical government.

They refuse to hold their elected officials accountable.

They simply don’t know what’s going on, or don’t care, or both.

And to be honest, folks, we here at VotersOpinion are fresh out of fucks, too.

Then again, this blogger lives in the incredibly awesome Town of Davie, where professionals run the city, elections are civilized, reserves are plentiful, elected officials aren’t criminals, public safety is top priority, and public corruption is literally non-existent.

Which is the complete antithesis of everything in North Miami Beach.

Criminal Commissioners Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, Paule Villard, and Daniela Jean, and their corrupt henchmen, Duke Sorey and Hans Ottinot, are all stealing you blind.

And they’re laughing at you because you’re letting them do it.