We’ve already proven how some of the North Miami Beach Commissioners are misusing your money with their taxpayer-funded credit cards, a/k/a P Cards.  They have spent a combined $50,984.70 in just the first six months of this fiscal year alone by simply whipping out their P Cards on a whim whenever the mood strikes them.

We’ve also exposed that their personal manservant, City Manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey, has single-handedly blown $55,860.49 of your tax dollars in the nine-month period from September 5, 2021 through June 4, 2022.

While you are struggling to pay your mortgage, groceries, gasoline, insurance and healthcare bills for your family, Duke has been charging up a storm on your dime for expensive food, extensive travel at high-class hotels, and $100 car washes.  This is in addition to his already outrageous annual salary of $247,200, plus a cell phone and expense allowance of $13,200 a year.

What we haven’t yet revealed are the astronomical charges by Duke’s “cabinet,” i.e., his personal command staff, who rule over the masses from their penthouse on the fourth floor at City Hall.

We also obtained copies of the Bank of America P Card statements for the same nine-month period for Duke’s Assistant Managers Gedel Merzius and Kamarr Brown, Chief of Staff-turned-Consultant Willis Howard, Parks & Rec Director Andrew Plotkin, and Marketing & Events Specialist Patrick Blanchard.

We also obtained copies of all 59 Bank of America P Card statements in the entire City of North Miami Beach for the period of April 5, 2022 through May 4, 2022, which we will cover in an upcoming blog.

For now, we will tell you all about the astronomical charges made by Duke Sorey’s inner circle of unelected bureaucrats running your City.

Needless to say we have more questions than answers about some of the shady charges you’re paying for, but considering we’ve been waiting on a public records request since May 19, 2022 for copies of invoices from the Commissioners’ statements, we don’t expect any answers any time soon.

In fact, we now have eighteen (18) outstanding public records requests in the works since March 6, 2022 that Duke Sorey has been deliberately withholding from us, one of which he’s been holding hostage in exchange for a ransom payment of $91.59.

Because according to Duke, asking questions is racist.

Nevertheless, here are just a few examples of the highly questionable charges on all these P Card statements for you to digest and, hopefully, ask your own questions about them to the Commissioners you elected and their hired gun, Duke Sorey.

We’ll start with Duke’s hand-picked demon, Gedel Merzius, a/k/a Beelzebub, who earns a base salary of $127,308.00, and who charged $22,440.56 on his taxpayer-funded P Card for the nine-month period of September 5, 2021 through June 4, 2022.  The more questionable charges include:

• October 27, 2021:  A $2,000.00 “donation” to Jackson Health Foundation, which is a worthy cause, but you can’t write it off as a tax deduction.
• December 17, 2021:  A $1,000.00 charge at Publix.  What was this for?
• January 10, 2022:  A $3,960.00 charge to Florida Redevelopment Association.  What was this for?
• January 28, 2022:  A $431.14 airline ticket to Orlando.  Why he had to fly to Orlando instead of taking a 3-1/2 hour car trip for less than the cost of two tanks of gas is a mystery.  Then again, it’s not his money.  Also, why did he even go to Orlando?
• February 1, 2022:  Two charges to PAZO 101 totaling $900.00, which appears to be a phone app described as, “Execution takes a backseat when your team is constantly juggling between WhatsApp, Email, and other apps for checklists, tickets, approvals, documents and what not!”  Why did he need a $900.00 app for his phone?
• February 18, 2022:  An $817.19 airline ticket.  The description on the statement does not mention the city, and this date doesn’t coincide with any of Duke’s travel dates, so we have no idea where he went.
• February 25, 2022:  A $1,190.00 charge to Access Intelligence.  This is the same company that Commissioners Daniela Jean and McKenzie Fleurimond each charged $595.00 to on March 8, 2022, which advertises itself as “a multi-million dollar, leading worldwide information and marketing company that provides unparalleled business intelligence and integrated marketing solutions to nearly a dozen key global market sectors.”  It is also one of the charges for which we still don’t have a detailed invoice which we requested over two months ago.  What’s going on here?
• March 3, 2022:  A $247.87 charge to Chic-Fil-A.  There was no Commission meeting held that day, so we have no idea who ate all that food!
• April 2, 2022:  A $1,004.50 hotel room in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he apparently accompanied Duke to the March 30, 2022 through April 4, 2022 National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA).
• March 29-April 3, 2022:  While in Michigan, Gedel also charged $197.90 worth of Uber rides from March 29th through April 2, 2022.
• April 5-April 8, 2022: Gedel charged more Uber rides to the tune of $55.70 for no apparent reason.  Doesn’t he already have a City-issued vehicle?
• April 19, 2022:  $3,250.00 to Lauren’s Kids, which is also a worthy cause, but you still don’t get a tax deduction for your “donation.”
• April 25, 2022:  $129.73 to Fatboy Wings & Tings.  There was no Commission meeting held on that day, either, so again, who was he feeding?
• April 27, 2022:  A $443.87 airline ticket to Washington, DC.  It appears that this was an advance purchase to accompany Duke once again to yet another NFBPA event that he allegedly attended from May 20-25, 2022.  Since we cannot find any information at all on this alleged event, you might want to ask him for details.
• May 12, 2022:  A $169.00 charge to La Bakerie — in Miramar!  Once again, there were no Commission meetings held that day, so who ate all those pastries?  And why was he in Miramar?
• May 13, 2022:  A $2,500.00 charge to the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce.  The Chamber doesn’t list any events held in May, 2022, so we have no idea what this payment was for.
• May 16, 2022:  A $2,100.00 charge for Miami Marlins tickets.  According to Duke Sorey’s “City Manager Monthly Report May, 2022, “Commissioner Daniela Jean and the HR Department coordinated a trip to loanDepot Park where City employees enjoyed a Haitian Heritage Month Celebration at the Miami Marlins vs. Atlanta Braves game held on Sunday, May 22, 2022.”  Because nothing says celebrate Haitian Heritage Month like attending a sporting event honoring America’s Pastime.
• May 26, 2022:  A $1,090.96 hotel room in Washington, DC.  Oddly, the P card statement shows an arrival date of 5/26/22, the day after the alleged NFBPA event ended.  You might want to ask him about that, too.
• May 21-27, 2022:  Gedel rang up $77.94 in Uber rides, only one of which took place at the alleged event in DC.  Again, why are you paying for his Uber rides when you already pay for his City-issued vehicle?

Duke’s other Assistant City Manager, Kemarr Brown, a former City of Miami Assistant Director of Planning and hired by Duke in February, was issued her brand new P Card just in time to start charging up a storm.  We obtained her first two Bank of America statements beginning March 5, 2022, and already we have questions on her charges, including:

• March 8, 2022:  A $595.00 charge to Access Intelligence, the same company Gedel, Daniela, and McKenzie paid taxpayer money to.
• March 10, 2022:  A $1,280.00 charge to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), which we assume was for her membership dues.
• March 17, 2022:  A $819.46 hotel room when she accompanied Duke to a “P3 Conference in Dallas, Texas,” which was hosted by the International Society for Concrete Pavements.  This was in addition to her $736.75 airline ticket Duke purchased for her on his P Card.
• April 20, 2022: A $147.55 charge to Chicken Kitchen — in Miami Gardens!  Who was she feeding and why was she in Miami Gardens?

Then there’s Willis Howard, former Chief of Staff/current “Consultant”/Lobbyist/Campaign “Strategist” to Paule Villard.  When he was hired on May 17, 2021, he was paid a base salary of $127,305, or $10,608.75 a month.  On April 13, 2022, his title changed to “Consultant,” and was given a 32% raise to $14,000 a month, when he entered into a Consulting Agreement “to assist [sic] Office of the City Manager to complete projects relating to annexation and the extension of the CRA [Community Redevelopment Agency] agreement with Miami-Dade County.”  This Agreement will allegedly expire on September 30, 2022, but Duke said on the dais it could be extended through November, which is enough time to get Paule re-elected.

Despite his outrageous salary, Willis Howard managed to charge on his P Card a total of $18,049.43 in the nine-month period from September 5, 2021 through June 4, 2022.   As you can imagine, we have questions.

As you read through this extensive list, keep in mind that Willis was Paule’s campaign adviser when she ran for office in 2018 and she’s running for re-election in November.  Just saying.

Here are Willis Howard’s curious charges on his City-issued, taxpayer-funded credit card:

• September 10, 2021:  A $945.00 charge to attend the 2021 NRPA Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.  Why the then-Chief of Staff had to attend an event sponsored by the National Recreation and Parks Association is a complete mystery.  You might want to ask him about this trip.
• September 13, 2021:  The first one of Willis Howard’s monthly $198.00 payments to Sprout Social, Inc., which advertises itself as an “all-in-one social media management platform unlocks the full potential of social to transform not just your marketing strategy—but every area of your organization.”  How North Miami Beach ever got by without this expensive — $2,376.00 a year — app is a mystery, right?
• September 23, 2021:  A $802.74 hotel room in Nashville.
• September 28, 2021:  A $416.66 charge at Costco — in Miami Lakes!  What did he buy, and why did he have to go all the way to the Miami Lakes to get whatever he bought?
• October 7, 2021:  A $79.63 charge to Pizza Hut.  There was no Commission meeting scheduled for that day, so who did he feed on your dime and why?
• October 13, 2021:  A $383.76 charge to Maypo’s Ice Cream.  As far as we can tell, there were no City events held that day, or even that week, so what’s this about?
• October 14,  2021:  Willis paid $1,075.00 to Kiwanis Northeast Miami-Dade.  A worthy cause, but where’s your tax deduction?
• November 1, 2021:  A $52.75 charge to Fiverr International Ltd., an Israeli online marketplace for freelance services.  Interesting site, but why does he need this?
• November 8, 2021:  Once again, Willis shopped at Costco in Miami Lakes, this time dropping $713.96 of your money.  What did he buy there and why?
• November 17, 2021:  A $469.85 charge to Urbaprint, LLC.  What did he buy and why?
• November 18, 2021:  He charged $399.00 at Amazon.  What did he buy and why?
• November 18, 2021:  Willis dropped $127.01 at La Granja restaurant.  Who did he feed and why?
• November 19, 2021:  Another $726.99 to Amazon.  Again, what did he buy and why?
• November 24, 2021:  A $288.56 charge to Dollar Tree.  This is getting tedious, but it’s your money and you deserve to know where it’s going.
• December 5, 2021 through December 23, 2021:  Willis spent $438.89 at Amazon on ten orders.  For what?
• December 11, 2021:  Another $109.75 at Dollar Tree.  Why?
• December 22, 2021:  Another meal at Panera Bread, which cost taxpayers $168.95.  Why?
• January 6, 2022 through January 26, 2022:  Eleven purchases at Amazon totaling $673.93.  We know it’s only too easy to shop at Amazon around the clock, but this is ridiculous.  Especially because it’s not his money!
• February 10, 2022:  Willis charged $179.97 at Grabull, Inc.  According to its website, “Grabull is for community this portal helps you find food and order online, or takeout from any location you are in.”  Poor grammar aside, who is eating all the food Willis is constantly buying on your dime?
• February 13, 2022 through March 1, 2022:  Six purchase at Amazon totaling $533.30.  If we didn’t know better, we’d think he’s buying stuff under the radar for someone’s re-election campaign.  Just saying.
• February 17, 2022:  A $221.67 charge to GoDaddy.com, apparently for the purchase of a domain name.  What domain name did he purchase and why?
• March 8, 2022 and March 25, 2022:  Two Amazon purchases $216.51.  Again, what is he buying and why?
• March 19, 2022:  A $391.95 hotel room in Orlando.  We could not find any events held in Orlando that month, so why was he there?  Disney World maybe?
• March 25, 2022:  Another $896.31 charged at Costco in Miami Lakes.  Why is he spending so much of your money at Costco?
• April 4, 2022:  Willis spent $1,500.00 of your money via PayPal to something called “Chukapa.”  He gets brownie points for winning Stump the Gadfly with this one.  We furiously Googled “Chukapa” and only came up with two possibilities:  (a) He’s buying a whole bunch of handmade thangka paintings from Tibet, or (b) He’s supporting some dude from India named Chukapa on YouTube and Twitter, who’s not having any luck getting followers.  Either way, this purchase, as well as many of the above, is practically screaming, “Public Records Request!”
• April 12, 2022:  A $141.06 charge to Whole Foods.  Who is eating all this food?
• April 13, 2022 through May 4, 2022:  More Amazon charges!  Willis rang up a total of $795.66 on six orders.  Seriously, what’s up with this already?
• May 5, 2022:  Willis got a credit of $51.99 from — Amazon.  NMB taxpayers, you finally got a refund!

Then there are the charges made by Parks & Recreation Director Andrew Plotkin on his taxpayer-funded P Card, some of which require scrutiny.  For the nine-month period from September 5, 2021 through June 4, 2022, Andrew charged a total of $43,637.31.

Since the Parks & Rec department is responsible for setting up and running most of the City-sponsored events, we necessarily assume that the vast majority of these charges are legitimate.  However, we did receive a tip from a source that quite a bit of Paule’s taxpayer-funded campaign expenditures are run through Parks & Rec to avoid being charged against her discretionary account (and more importantly, to hide from the blogger’s prying eyes), so we can’t help but be suspicious about a number of Andrew’s purchases.  Some examples are:

• September 7, 2021:  $992.24 at Costco.
• September 7, 2021:  $238.21 at Gordon Food Service Store in Hollywood.
• September 8, 2021:  $438.54 at Walmart.
• September 23, 2021:  $371.25 at Swago T-Shirts, Inc.  Could this be for the invoice for Paule Villard’s campaign-like tee shirts that the City is hiding from our public records requests?
• October 18, 2021:  $764.31 at Amazon.
• November 9, 2021:  $975.00 to “PAYPAL *SALES.”  This one is curious indeed, and definitely requires a public records request.
• December 1, 2021:  A $1,839.30 to American Bronze Foundry.  WTF?
• January 5, 2022:  Another $2,039.30 to American Bronze Foundry.  WTF AGAIN?
• January 10, 2022 to January 20, 2022:  A total of $1,051.38 at Amazon.
• His charges for the entire month of February totaled $7,686.18, with over $5,000.00 being spent at food and retail stores, such as Costco, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Publix.  Curiously, $755.35 was charged at Pollo Tropical.  But the big ticket item was the $1,620.90 he charged at TeamFootWorks, a fitness training program.
• A treasure trove of hidden gems (from a Gadfly’s perspective) were discovered on Andrew Plotkin’s P Card Statement for the period of March 5, 2022 through April 4, 2022, where at least $1,800.00 was charged for Paule’s party to honor her personal friends and family under the guise of “Unsung Heroes.”   This party cost taxpayers a non-refundable $5,175.16 in goods, $2,401.64 in police overtime, and $1,197,57 in employee overtime, and had absolutely no public purpose for the benefit of the residents of North Miami Beach.  At least we know our anonymous source was right — Paule’s frivolous expenditures ARE being secretly run through Parks & Rec!
• Lastly, the only questions we have about Andrew’s P Card spending in May is why he charged $2,000.00 for artificial fruit, and $89.96 at Soho Asian Bar & Grill in Aventura.  Those are just really weird purchases by a Parks & Rec Director.  Just saying.

And finally, we have a couple of questions about the charges made by Marketing & Events Specialist Patrick Blanchard, who works in Paule Villard’s unofficial campaign office, a/k/a Public Affairs & Communications.

• How much of the $1,305.44 he charged in October, 2021 and the $2,229.98 he charged in May, 2022 were for the benefit of Paule Villard?
• Did the $113.42 charge on May 5, 2022 include a meal for Paule Villard at her favorite restaurant, Family Cuisine?  Asking for a friend.

In Part 2 of NMB City Officials Gone Wild, we will review some of the questionable charges made by several other employees, but for now we have a whole bunch of public records requests to make.

Stephanie