Pot calls kettle black in Tri-Rail bid protest by MCM’s Munilla

Pot calls kettle black in Tri-Rail bid protest by MCM’s Munilla
  • Sumo

In a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, Pedro Munilla of MCM has complained that another building company got the recommendation for a government contract because of an inside deal and political palanca in other words, because of who they know.

One would think Pedro Munilla, pictured here with his wife and Mayor and Mrs. Gimenez, are used to inside deals.
One would think Pedro Munilla, pictured here at some posh gala with his wife and Mayor and Mrs. Gimenez, are used to inside deals.

Yes, this is the same Munilla who is related, by marriage I think, to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez and who gets millions of dollars of work through the county and the Miami-Dade School Board, where the mayor’s wife works as a top level administrator.

The $40 million Tri-Rail bid in question went to Gulf Building and Munilla says MCM provided a lower estimate, by $700,000, and has more experience in that kind of work. Munilla also indicates that Gulf Building only got the bid recommendation from staff because of the board’s connections to the firm.

Gulf’s president and CEO, John Scherer, is the son of GOP powerbroker William Scherer, a Gov. Rick Scott confidant. Company VP Chip Derrer, is the son of Rick Derrer, president of James A Cummings Inc. general contractors. Cummings himself, the company’s chairman and founder, sits on the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, or the board that governs Tri-Rail and makes the final decision.

In a three-page letter to the authority’s procurement director, Pedro Munilla rips Gulf Building while he provides a detailed technical analysis of what he calls “serious errors, oversight and shortcomings of this procurement process,” which “could cast a shadow over the fine work” of the regional board.

“MCM would not normally request a reevaluation of a recommendation, but we are dismayed that a firm that lacks the required qualifying experience and submits a bid $700,000 more expensive than MCM would be ranked the highest,” Pedro Munilla wrote in the Nov. 24 letter. “While we understand that personal relationships may on occasion provide one company an advantage over another, this recommendation is alarming in our comparative analysis and unfairly distorts this competitive procurement.”

And he should know a thing or two about personal relationships that provide an advantage.

And not just at the county it seems.

Because Munilla got Sen. Anitere Flores and State Reps. Jeanette Nuñez and Manny Diaz Jr., to pen a letter of protest expressing “disturbing concerns” about the bid process. In a letter Monday to Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, who chairs the regional transportation authority, they seem to overly promote MCM’s qualifications and they ask the board to skip the staff recommendation and hear oral presentations by both bidding firms themselves. Ladra has quoted it in its entirety, so you can see what I mean by overly promote.

“We write this letter to urgently bring to your attention and that of your fellow SFRTA Board members some disturbing concerns that Anitere_Floreshave publicly surfaced as enumerated in the attached letters from MCM, the lowest price bidder on the above referenced project by $700,000. The concerns relate to the Evaluation Committee’s recommendation of award, without conducting any form of oral presentations, to a firm that is not only $700,000 higher, but which appears to not have demonstrated the requisite experience in similar scope and size projects. We ask that this matter be considered and given the highest level of scrutiny before approving a recommendation to award a contract on this RFP.

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4 Responses to "Pot calls kettle black in Tri-Rail bid protest by MCM’s Munilla"

  1. Another thought that would make a true transparent disclosure is for elected officials to openly report which of their family members work for the government. As an example, Gimenez tries to come off as a guardian of taxpayers money when his entire household has been support and continues to be supported by taxpayers money. His wife’s salary=tax dollars. Carlos Gimenez entire career, even in multiple positions= tax dollars. Both their pensions = tax dollars. Their health insurance paid for for life for both of them = tax dollars.
    Most, if not all, of our elected officials enter government to enrich themselves and or family members by getting them cushy jobs. Let’s make that a mandatory disclosure. Just like Manny Marono had his family, mother, wife, uncles, cousins and their respective employed by the city of sweetwater.

  2. one of the absolute best articles among the numerous top quality articles you pen Ladra. it would be incredibly wonderful to understand and know how many relatives (by marriage or otherwise) do lobbyists or companies are connected to Gimenez. llorente, etc. lets start to connect the dots. it would be th greatest exosure of Gimenez, who is in most corrupt policitcan, not yet arrested, Miami-Dade has ever known.maybe the public can help.

  3. Local corruptor meets state corruptor! MCM and the Munilla brothers, long time beneficiaries of every major construction contract in this county cry foul when overtaken by a bigger fish. Don’t worry Muni, soon enough you will get your hands on the FIU construction contract, after all those contributions of $25K a piece to the FIU PAC that sponsored it will get you far. AND OF COURSE YOU WOULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN IT HAD AL LORENZO NOT BEEN SNUCK IN THE BACK DOOR AS AN FIU REGENT AND RAFAEL GARCIA TOLEDO NOT HAVE BEEN MADE A BOARD MEMBER OF THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY YOUTH FAIR, INC. As far as the ladies pictured here, we are glad they have an inside track on those private conversations as well. In federal prison, the preferred color is orange so enjoy those gala dresses for now girls.

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