Dear Assistant State Attorney VanderGiesen,

Imagine my surprise to learn that the State Attorney’s Office is “reviewing the 2022 voting record of North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo,” according to CBS Miami (Channel 4).  It certainly is concerning that the Mayor forgot to change the address on his Voter Registration when he moved from one North Miami Beach residence to another North Miami Beach residence, and then voted in North Miami Beach.

It’s good to know that the State Attorney is finally getting tough on crime.

Perhaps Channel 4 reporter Joe Gorchow would also be interested about why the State Attorney actively quashed an investigation by the Ethics Commission into North Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Joseph for literally extorting Weiss Serota current and former attorneys, Brett Schneider and Dan Espino, respectively.  I’d love to know why.

In fact, I’m told that your office pressured former Ethics Commission Advocate Michael P. Murawski into recommending a “no probable cause” finding, despite overwhelming evidence, including detailed interviews with Mr. Schneider and Mr. Espino, to the contrary.  I was also told the State Attorney advised the Advocate that she would not prosecute the case regardless of the Commission’s decision, so it’s best to drop the matter or else.

In other words, nothing to see here.  Move along.

Copies of the Investigative Report and the interviews of Brett Schneider and Dan Espino are attached in case the media cares about real public corruption.

Mr. Gorchow might also be interested in why the State Attorney’s Office refused to prosecute actual election fraud committed by former North Miami Beach Commissioner Paule Villard, in light of a thorough investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Public Corruption Unit and a report providing the inculpatory evidence needed to make an arrest.

According to a sworn statement by a voter, i.e., the witness/victim, during the 2020 municipal election Paule Villard literally took the ballot out of her hands while inside the voting booth.  She did so for the purpose of personally filling in the bubbles for three candidates, presumably Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, and Daniela Jean.  Villard then handed the ballot back to the witness/victim, and waited beside her while she completed filling in her ballot for the other races and questions.  Villard then walked the witness/victim to the ballot tabulation machine so she could complete the voting process, after which Villard left the building.

The witness/victim did not ask for assistance from Paule Villard, nor did Villard submit to the Miami-Dade County Elections Department the required ADA Declaration to Provide Assistance in order to “help” the witness/victim fill out her ballot.

According to the FDLE Investigative Report, Paule Villard’s taxpayer-funded, personal “Attorney” Hans Ottinot advised FDLE Special Agent (SA) Perez that his “client” Paule Villard “declined to be interviewed.”

The FDLE Investigative Report also notes that on “Wednesday, June 2, 2022, Special Agent (SA) Jose Perez discussed with Miami-Dade State Attorney (ASA) Johnette Louise Hardiman the facts of this investigation,” and the very next day on “Thursday, June 3, 2022, ASA Hardiman sent me an email stating to consider this criminal matter closed and declining prosecution.”

The ensuing, one-page, five-paragraph “close-out memo” from the State Attorney’s Office, a copy of which is also attached, highlights exactly how little thought and consideration State Attorney Rundle gave to this actual crime committed by a public official.

Please note that due to potential retaliatory acts by Paule Villard against the witness/victim, I have redacted her name and identifying information.  She was already victimized once, and bravely testified under oath, only to be “rewarded” for her courage by a State Attorney who is supposed to enforce the law, but rarely does unless it’s politically expedient.

In any event, I am attaching the FDLE Investigative Report and the State Attorney’s “memo” in case the media cares about real election fraud.

Better yet, why don’t you just publish a list of politically protected corrupt public officials in Miami-Dade County so we don’t waste our time expecting them to be held accountable and hoping for justice to be served.

I have my suspicions as to who that leaker is, but since I don’t have any proof, unlike the FDLE, I will keep my thoughts to myself.  For now.

Mr. VanderGiesen, I’m not sure when the State Attorney’s Office initiated the practice of leaking “reviews” and “inquiries” to the media, but it certainly appears there is someone in your office who has taken a highly inappropriate “interest” in this matter.

Meanwhile, I personally remember in 2012 when Katherine Fernandez Rundle reluctantly decided to prosecute former North Miami Beach Mayor Myron Rosner due to the fact that he was married to then-Circuit Court Judge Sarah Zabel.  I only found out after the fact from former Ethics Investigator Kennedy Rosario and former Miami-Dade County Police Department Detective Luis Rodriguez that they were forced to “shop” their Investigative Report to the Broward County State Attorney, who saw no problem doing the job Rundle refused to do and issued an arrest warrant for Rosner.

Although Myron finally took a plea deal in 2016, he went on to do another perp walk a year later after committing more felonies while on probation, the State Attorney’s Office never issued a press release on this arrest until after charges were filed — certainly not during the “review” or “inquiry” stage.

By the way, any other convicted felon would have been imprisoned for violating probation, so why wasn’t Myron?  I’m sure we’d all love to know.

I also personally remember Rundle finally arrested former North Miami Beach Commissioner Frantz Pierre after being on her radar for over seven years for everything from absentee ballot fraud, stealing from a church, money laundering, abuse of position, and framing of city employees.  She finally charged him in 2018 with eleven (11) felony counts, without any advance notice whatsoever to the media until the very day she had him handcuffed.

So my question, Mr. VanderGiesen, is why is your office suddenly leaking your decision to “review” a matter?

And, especially, why to Channel 4 Joe Gorchow in particular?  I find that rather curious since he’s the one local reporter who has been particularly biased and antagonistic toward Mayor DeFillipo.

Since your office already leaked its pending “review” of Mayor DeFillipo, I think the public deserves an answer to that question, as well as why your office has ignored all other complaints filed by the North Miami Beach Mayor, at least one Commissioner, and several residents about the flagrant public corruption being committed by certain elected and public officials in their City in the past two years.

And finally, I’d really love to know why Michael Joseph’s and Paule Villard’s actual felonies, as outlined above, were deliberately ignored by the State Attorney’s Office.

I respectfully await your response.

Very truly yours,

Stephanie Kienzle