Opa-locka is in a whole heap of trouble once again.
By sheer coincidence, the city is on the hook due to the criminal actions of a high ranking government official that we told you about in yesterday’s column.
Parks Director Zonya Ray was one of the star players in a sordid drama during 2024 when the current North Miami Beach City Manager held that title in Opa-locka.
In his scathing Whistleblower Complaint, Darvin Williams told how he discovered that Mrs. Ray had been covering up for a Parks employee who “was allowed to clock-in at the beginning of his shift and leave for the day,” by “digitally” entering his “punch out times” at the end of the day. In essence, she aided and abetted his theft of tax dollars by allowing him to get paid without actually working.
When questioned by the Human Resources Director about her actions, Zonya Ray refused to even respond.
Instead of firing her in accordance with the recommendation of the HR Director, Mr. Williams chose to have her resign in order to save face and leave with dignity after 37 years on the job. She refused to resign and caused so much trouble for Mr. Williams that he ended up getting fired before he could even deal with Zonya Ray.
As we all know, Karma has a way of taking care of business, and in this case she outdid herself.
Only a few hours ago, NBC6 reported, Opa-locka Parks director charged after child left alone in car 8+ hours, records show, and stated:
“The director of parks and recreation for the City of Opa-locka is facing a criminal citation after authorities said she left a 5-year-old child unattended inside a vehicle overnight for more than eight hours.
According to court records, Parks and Recreation Director Zonya Ray was cited in connection with the incident, which occurred on March 11.
Investigators said the child was discovered around 6 a.m. in the parking lot of an Opa-locka government building on 12950 Northwest 42nd Avenue.
Records indicate Ray had been transporting juveniles to a football practice and was unaware that the child had entered her vehicle.
Ray acknowledged she failed to inspect the vehicle before leaving for the night, and the child remained inside the vehicle until the following morning, when Ray realized the child was missing and returned to the parking lot, records showed.
Police cited Ray for leaving a child unattended in a vehicle with the engine turned off, stating that her actions demonstrated disregard for the child’s safety.”
Ya think?
This story makes even less sense than her clocking out an errant employee that regularly goes MIA.
For one thing, how is a city’s Parks Director “unaware” that a child “entered her vehicle?” Did she leave her doors unlocked? Was she drinking on the job or something?
For another, how did she suddenly realize that “the child was missing” the next morning? What jogged her memory?
And finally, who did this kid belong to and why didn’t his parents notice he (or she) was gone overnight?
According to NBC6, “The city’s website still lists Ray as the director of parks and recreation.”
Why is this incompetent employee still in charge of Opa-locka’s children?
There are way more questions than answers here, but one thing we are perfectly clear about …
Darwin Williams was completely justified in getting Zonya Ray off the Opa-locka payroll when he was the City Manager.
Now the city officials who protected this woman’s job are complicit in this crime, and we suspect there will be a lot more fallout coming their way.
Maybe she should have stayed fired.
Just saying.
Stephanie
You could not make this up if you tried….
No, I absolutely could not.
Confidential message to an “Anonymous” using the fake email address of “j************@gmail.com:”
I know you are Michael Joseph (or one of his evil minions, a/k/a his Anonymous Surrogate Army). Every single thing that comes out of your mouth is a lie and not a single person believes a word you say. If you think I’m dumb enough to approve your idiotic comments, you’re stupider than I thought.
Bye, Felicia
So check this out. Last night the person calling himself “Anonymous” submitted another comment for approval, which said:
“I am not Michael Joseph (whoever that is) and j**************@gmail.com is a real email address, email me any time! How cowardly to run a public blog with defamatory blog entries but you’re too weak to post the comments. HA! Be careful before you are the defendant in a lawsuit.”
In the even that this really is a valid email, I decided to redact it from this blog. But then I took him up on the offer to email him “any time.” I wrote:
“If I post something that’s incorrect or if I get something wrong, I always correct and/or publicly retract the statement.
If you claim I wrote something defamatory, tell me what it was and if that’s the case, it will be corrected.
You also accuse me of being “cowardly.” The only people who are actual cowards are the ones who attempt to insult or threaten me by hiding behind anonymity instead of using their real names. I use my real name and always have because I have nothing to hide. Period.
You are obviously free to have whatever opinion of me that you want, but calling me “cowardly” while refusing to use your own identity is the epitome of hypocrisy.
In any event, as I stated above, if you have proof that I made a false or defamatory statement, and you believe I should retract it, let’s have it.
I’ll wait.
Stephanie Kienzle”
I sent that email at 1:00 pm, but I have yet to hear from him. Who’s the “coward” now?
What a douchenozzle.
It was her granddaughter that she left there and the one that called police the next morning was her own daughter because it looks like everyone there is really irresponsible in regards to a child welfare that the mother didn’t even notice her own daughter was not home and by the way…The parks department is basically a family business everybody there is related one way or the other.
I thought it was strange that no one reported the child missing. How horrible for that poor child to be raised is such an irresponsible home. No child should have to live like that. Maybe DCF should step in.