The two top building officials from the town of Miami Lakes resigned abruptly last month and some City Hall employees and town insiders say they were pushed out by political pressure and/or interference.
Building official Mike Mesa and Permits Director Lourdes Rodriguez both resigned from their positions in the wake of an ad hoc committee that was formed after a connected developer complained about citations he got.
It seems, from all Ladra’s been able to gather, that a developer named Carlos Perez, who has contributed to a number of council members’ campaigns, bought a house for his son on Rosewood Road and started making improvements to it last year — sans permits. Perez said he had the work done during the height of the COVID pandemic, when much of the municipality was shut down.
Hmmm, maybe he was taking advantage of the situation.
Councilman Jeffrey Rodriguez came up with the idea of a committee to review the building department’s citations and operations at a meeting in March. But for many, it’s just a witch-hunt in disguise.
Mayor Manny Cid tripped all over himself telling Ladra that the two simply left for better paying jobs in other municipalities. Mesa is now chief building official in the town of Bay Harbor Islands. Rodriguez is now director of parks and public spaces at the nearby Bar Harbour Village. Congratulations to the both of them.
But Town Manager Ed Piderman — who recommended against the committee process — was honest. He said it was “probably” the political interference that drove the two professionals away.
In other words, they weren’t looking for other jobs until this happened.
“They finally had enough and before their professional reputations were undeservingly tarnished, they decided to move on,” Pidermann told Ladra. He characterizes the March meeting where the committee was formed as “an orchestrated parade of people who disparaged the building department and the administration.”
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Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano, who refused to appoint anyone to the ad hoc committee, calling it a sham, said the entire oversight issue was retaliatory and she didn’t blame the employees for leaving.
“The building department is there to protect us. To interfere with their jobs is dangerous,” Ruano said, and this was weeks before the Surfside building collapse.
Pidermann, the town manager, said the building department was willing to work with the property owner to bring the house into compliance. “But he fought the director every step of the way,” he said.
City Attorney Raul Gastesi said that the Miami-Dade Board of Rules and Appeals had sided with the property owner, who wanted to use x-rays to show the interior of the walls. Mesa wanted ultrasound, which is more expensive.
The developer prevailed and Mesa was told to accept the x-rays. Ladra bets that’s when he started looking for another job.
Mesa, who was brought in by the new city manager in January of last year, was making $139,049 annually. Rodriguez had been with the city for a decade. She was hired in May, 2011, and made $95,373.
The committee plans to present its report and recommendations at the end of this month.
Two building officials resign in Miami Lakes under shady circumstances added by Ladra on
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Joe,
You sound like you had your lunch money stolen by a Miami Laker.
Miami Lakes has become Hialeah North
La ciudad que progresa pa tras
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I have 2 Aunts here , 1 lives in Westchester and one in Miami Lakes .
She has echoed your thought BUT sadly when it incorporated which was year 2000 ( just looked it up ) she and my uncle thought it would be great but now she could kick herself and my uncle , lol.
They also voted for a HOA in their area like 15 years ago , LOL need I say more .
” The worst thing the citizens of Miami Lakes ever did was allowing themselves to be bamboozled into incorporating”.
The Town of Miami Lakes is primed with corruption. The town mayor Manny Cid is half owner of a restaurant located in the town named Mayor’s Cafe. That in itself is a glaring ethical violation.
The town manager Pidermann replaced, Alex Rey Panama, was in bed with every contractor and lobbyist in the area.
As far as permits go, try paying $2500.00 to remodel a kitchen! And God forbid you replace those cabinets without a permit. If caught, that violation will cost you another $2500.00.
On any given day, try going to town hall for any business at Public Works. You will be met at the information both by two lazy female employees who will make you wait for an hour while you cool your heels while talk to each other about their personal lives and the restaurants they will be visiting on the weekend.
All in all, the Town of Miami Lakes is Hialeah North. Ran by the children and friends of corrupt Hialeah officials of the 70s and 80s.
The worst thing the citizens of Miami Lakes ever did was allowing themselves to be bamboozled into incorporating. And as far as CID is concerned, he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Ladra keep digging. If you want a bone The members of the Miami Dade County Board of Rules and Appeals are not suppose to serve for more than years as per MDC Code Chapter 8-4(c). Some of the current members have been there much longer than that up to 20 years.
The POLITICAL Cone of CORRUPTION in ALL Miami Dade County ?
A “Board of Rules and Appeals,” whether the county’s or a municipality’s, is absolutely ripe for corruption. Politicians clamor to be appointed to appeals boards, and there is always a nefarious reason.
For example, former North Miami Beach Mayor Myron Rosner, who was convicted for grand theft and other felonies, and who is currently standing trial for another batch of crimes, was on the M-D Board of Rules and Appeals. His sole mission for that position was to help the Galbut family (yes, that Galbut family) appeal a tax lien levied against one of their properties by the City of Miami Beach in excess of $1M. Myron, nice guy that he is, strong armed just enough members of the Board to score a win by one vote for the Galbuts, who contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Myron’s re-election campaign.
In a rare win for karma, Myron lost the election and went on to become NMB’s most famous felonious politician. It was so worth the wait.