Gables Police Chief Weiner gets $66K exit, no questions asked

Coral Gables Police Chief Lackey Dennis Weiner resigned late Wednesday, under pressure for allegedly fudging the numbers on crime statistics to make the city look safer during what some claim is a crime wave.

He leaves a $165,000 job he has had for four years and will get a $50,000 severance package and $16,500 of unpaid leave and holiday time. That package includes $18,800 in housing subsidies and $3,270 in vehicle and auto insurance through the next five months.

Wonder if Weiner would have still been eligible for that nice exit deal had he been fired today, as was expected when commissioners discuss the apparent crime wave crisis at 11 a.m. Thursday. But Weiner won’t be there to explain or to present his side of the story: His resignation is effective 8 a.m.

Really? Really? He just gets to walk away with that fat chunk of change without having to answer for any of the allegations about the intentional shifting of crime categories to manipulate statistics? That just seems wrong.

Former City Manager Pat Salerno also resigned abruptly rather than answer questions about his fudging numbers about traffic accidents on Ponce de Leon. Is this another, ahem, cop out?

Ladra suggests that Weiner the weenie be forced to answer important questions about whether the crime data was played with “fast and loose” like other officers say. The people of Coral Gables need to know what numbers were fixed, when, how and why. And I say we hold his severance until he explains. After all, he is being paid through October.

Word of Weiner’s quick exit was all over City Hall and the Salzedo Street police HQ Wednesday and Political Cortadito brought it to you first.

We also know that there are two people on the short list to serve as interim chief until the city makes the more permanent search, which won’t be until after a new city manager is hired on Tuesday (more on that later).

The two candidates are retired Maj. Scott Massington — which would be Salerno’s choice and Ladra has to wonder who on Earth (read: Mayor Jim Cason?) reached out to him — and Maj. Ed Hudak, who would be the right choice. Not only because he is a cop’s cop who has worked his entire life in Coral Gables and knows how the city’s heart beats — Hudak deserved the position four years ago when Salerno gave it to some small time chief out of Juno Beach that he could more easily control– but because that is what both the residents and the rank and file want.

Let’s hope the Gables commission has been listening to them.

Hudak will give the city the stability it needs moving forward to the search of a new chief and implementation of new strategies that will make the Gables much safer than fudging numbers for appearances.

Coral Gables

Gables Police Chief Weiner gets $66K exit, no questions asked added by Ladra on September 10, 2014
View all posts by Ladra →