The stunningly incompetent and terminally corrupt former North Miami Beach City “Attorney” Hans Ottinot is the subject of yet another investigation, this time by the Broward County Office of the Inspector General.

And the corn is popping as we speak!

On July 17, 2023 REDBROWARD.com published Why Did Tamarac Taxpayers Spend Nearly $2 Million Dollars On This?!? along with this video from its official YouTube Channel, True Broward TV:

published

A July 18, 2023 follow-up article, Marlon Bolton’s Church Stands To Profit After Tamarac Taxpayers Spend $2 Million Dollars To Buy Dilapidated Clubhouse In Community Where Commissioner Resides, reported:

“The decision to purchase a dilapidated Tamarac clubhouse for nearly two million dollars could land a hefty payday for a church operated by Commissioner Marlon Bolton. Residents were stunned last week when Bolton and fellow commissioners Kicia Daniel and Morey Wright voted to approve a deal to purchase the obliterated shell of the Shaker Village clubhouse for $1.9 million dollars. Mayor Michelle Gomez and Commissioner Elvin Villalobos voted against the purchase.

Since he was first elected in 2016, Marlon Bolton lived in different properties in Shaker Village. Bolton currently lives in a unit on Ann Lee Lane.

According to Broward County Property Appraiser records, the unit where Bolton lives was purchased in May 2023 by Praise Experience World Outreach, Inc. of North Lauderdale.

According to Florida Corporation records, Marlon Bolton is the director of Praise Experience World Outreach, Inc. This is the same name and address of Bolton’s church.

If the deal to purchase the clubhouse is approved by the Shaker Village Homeowners Association, each property owner would receive a share of the $1.9 million price tag. One Tamarac official estimated each property owner could receive $5,000 from the deal.”

Furthermore, REDBROWARD wrote:

“So why did Tamarac City Attorney Hans Ottinot craft a two million dollar deal for this dump and why did Bolton, Daniel and Wright approve it?”

We here at VotersOpinion already know the answer to that question.

On July 20, 2023, two days after REDBROWARD’s scandalous exposé, Tamarac Talk published Opinion: Shady Shaker Village Shakedown Will Cost Tamarac Taxpayers at Least $24 Million, and as usual, Hans is at the center of the storm.

Tamarac resident Kathleen Johnson penned a scathing opinion, much of which will sound very familiar to North Miami Beach residents.  She wrote:

“Vice-Mayor/Commissioner Marlon Bolton and City Attorney Hans Ottinot seem to have violated city procedures, Florida Statute, and public policy by a backroom deal in which they conspired to have the city purchase land belonging to a private community, Shaker Village, at Canterbury Lane in Tamarac.

Without full commission approval, a contract was drawn up by the “city attorney” between the City of Tamarac and Shaker Village, even after he was confronted for doing so at a commission budget workshop. I put the city attorney in quotes because Ottinot appears to work at the behest of one commissioner, Bolton, and takes his direction from him rather than the entire commission or what is best for the city, his actual client for which we pay him. And this deal with Shaker Village is terrible for the city.

Make no mistake; this was intentional. If given transparency in the process, Tamarac residents would have spoken out loud and clearly that this deal is terrible for the residents of Tamarac and the residents of any HOAs in the city. Residents spoke out forcefully about the Colony West Golf Course and successfully stopped that project.

Bolton, using his pressure and private meetings with the HOA Board to get this deal done, stands to benefit financially from this deal, not only with this deal but in continued financial gain. How? Because he, using the name of his church (which is a whole other issue), purchased the Shaker Village residence where he is living. He (and his church) would be assessed for monies owed to the city if this deal was not done and for needed infrastructure for Shaker Village.

Shaker Village and its residents owe the city around $12 million in code violations and fines to date. Some of it is against individual owners, and at least $3 million is against the HOA for the common area property on which the destroyed clubhouse sits (meaning all owners collectively owe that money). That would necessitate the funds to collect the fines through a special assessment against each homeowner. Bolton (by proxy through his church) is a homeowner.

The contract that Ottinot drew up states that all money owed in debt is to be wiped clean so that each home and the common properties have clear title, meaning every homeowner in Shaker Village benefits financially from this sale, and Tamarac taxpayers suffer monies that should rightfully be collected to assist all residents in keeping our taxes low.

The residents of Shaker Village would no longer owe money collectively or individually, meaning Bolton gains a tremendous financial advantage at the expense of Tamarac taxpayers. He refused to recuse himself when confronted about this conflict of interest and that he should not be voting on this project. In addition, he gains financially as Shaker Village will no longer assess for the upkeep of the property, utility bills, and insurance, which will result in a drop in insurance and maintenance fees, all of which will now be the taxpayers of Tamarac’s responsibility. Why should we bail out a private community that mismanaged funds, refused to work with the city to rectify things, and be burdened with the bill for a dilapidated property for years?

So $12 million in public funds will not be collected. Then another $12 million will be spent. There are many other reasons this is bad for Tamarac taxpayers.”

The good news is that all this shady business is now on the radar of the Broward Inspector General, who we suspect will take no prisoners.

Yesterday, REDBROWARD first reported in BROWARD INSPECTOR GENERAL WANTS RECORDS AND COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING TAMARAC’S $2 MILLION DOLLAR SHAKER VILLAGE DEAL that:

“Two sources confirmed the City of Tamarac is in receipt of a letter from the Broward OIG. The letter seeks:

• • Records of any meetings between Commissioners, city officials and Shaker Village homeowners association members and residents between 2019 and 2023.
  • A copy of a park feasibility study and resolution to adopt the study.
  • All communications between Tamarac Commissioners and City employees with Shaker Village HOA members regarding code enforcement and liens.
  • Any legal opinion written by City Attorney Hans Ottinot or other legal representatives regarding the purchase of the Shaker Village land as well as Marlon Bolton’s involvement in the purchase.
  • All contracts and drafts between the City and Shaker Village HOA.
  • All emails, telephone calls and text messages between Marlon Bolton and city employees about the Shaker Village purchase.

The Broward OIG asked the City to provide the records by July 28, 2023.”

Shortly thereafter, Tamarac Talk published Broward Inspector General Demands Access to Tamarac’s Shaker Village Deal Documents, confirming:

“A hard look into Tamarac’s $2 million Shaker Village deal is underway as the Broward Office of the Inspector General (OIG) calls for complete access to all the associated documents.

Carol I. Breece, Inspector General, has sent a firm request to the City of Tamarac, demanding transparency and comprehensive details about the controversial purchase of Shaker Village Clubhouse and land.

The nine-point request list, issued on Thursday, focuses heavily on the records of meetings, correspondences, resolutions, studies, analyses, legal opinions, contracts, and communications from the city regarding the Shaker Village deal spanning from 2019 to 2023.”

The article continues:

“The request dives deep into the need for insight into any potential discussions between city employees, including elected officials, and the Shaker Village Condominium Association. This includes access to sign-in sheets, agendas, and meeting minutes concerning the deal.

The OIG also demands to see the East Side Parks Feasibility Study conducted by Miller-Legg and Associates, Inc. This study presumably contains valuable information about potential park facilities on the eastern side of University Drive. The OIG’s request specifically targets the resolution to adopt this study.

The investigation also calls for full access to any cost-to-benefit analysis, legal opinions, and communications regarding the Shaker Village deal. The request goes as far as to question the involvement of Vice-Mayor Marlon Bolton in the purchase, hinting at a possible conflict of interest.

All sales agreements or commercial contracts related to the Shaker Village deal are also being demanded, along with all relevant communication records.

The OIG has given a one-week deadline for the city to comply with the request.“

The Sun Sentinel weighed in on this scandal today in Tamarac plans to buy a community’s clubhouse, and it’s causing a stir.

In an interview with the Sun Sentinel, Mayor Michelle Gomez “blasted the plan,” and said, “We are talking specifically about the city of Tamarac potentially buying a piece of property that is currently owned by a person sitting on the commission.  It also doesn’t pass the sniff test. He’s also been involved in the negotiations of this.”

The Sentinel also reported:

“The one-story structure came under disrepair in August 2017 when a windstorm, not a hurricane, blew through. The roof collapsed and the property has since racked up $3 million from 43 liens in common areas. Gomez said board members have reported that insurance shelled out $397,934.64 for the clubhouse, but the work was never done.

Tamarac’s Bolton said he has lived at two different locations within Shaker Village since about 2017, first renting from the association, then a private landlord.

He is a church pastor, and his North Lauderdale-based church bought the home he was renting from a landlord two months ago, he said. Bolton still lives in that home and now rents from the church, he said. Property records show the home was purchased for $195,000.

Still, he said the city attorney ruled there is no conflict for him voting on the city’s purchase because “a church is not owned by an individual” — state records show there is a board of directors including Bolton and his wife — and ‘the sale of the clubhouse benefits all residents of Tamarac.'”

ALL residents of Tamarac?

Really Hans?

Of course, North Miami Beach residents know just how credible Hans Ottinot’s legal opinions are.

This is a City “Attorney” who opined that ex-Criminal Commissioner Paule Villard’s illegal $100,000.00 Publix gift card giveaway was perfectly fine.

This is a City “Attorney” who allowed his four Criminal Commissioner bosses to illegally vote on giving themselves raises.

This is a City “Attorney” who illegally “deemed timely” Criminal Commissioner Michael Joseph’s late filing of seven Campaign Treasurer’s Reports in order to protect Michael from paying more than $13,000.00 in late fines.

This is a City “Attorney” who stupidly approved a secret plan to sell off the City’s 10.06-acre property where the Arthur J. Snyder Tennis Center is located, only to be told the sale would be illegal under the City’s Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FDAP) grant — but not before ex-City Manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey illegally spent $67,000.00 on a “Pre-Solicitation Launch Event.”

This is a City “Attorney” who in two short years gouged North Miami Beach taxpayers for “legal” fees of $2,286,163.95, which was nearly twice his base salary of $1,380,000.00, and $426,064.95 over budget for the City Attorney Office.

North Miami Beach residents dodged a torpedo when Hans finally resigned in shame, but Tamarac residents are now suffering at his hand.

Now that the Broward Inspector General is taking a hard look at Hans Ottinot’s shady dealings, justice may finally be served at last.

Hey, Hans!

The Broward IG is not the media.

You can run, but this time you can’t hide!

Stephanie