Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has officially told former Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo “nananina” to his final appeal, the city he used to represent has decided it would like its money back. Or at least some of it.
Good luck with that.
On Thursday, the Miami City Commission unanimously approved a proposal by Commissioner Miguel Gabela directing the city to file a civil lawsuit against Carollo to recover the millions of taxpayer dollars spent defending him in the now-infamous political retaliation case brought by Little Havana businessmen Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, owners of Ball and Chain.
Everyone remembers that one. But por si las moscas: In 2023, a federal jury concluded that Carollo had used the machinery of 
City Hall to wage a political vendetta against the two men after they backed his opponent in the 2017 election. The verdict? A stunning $63.5 million judgment against the then commissioner.
Carollo appealed. And appealed. And appealed again.
But last week the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear the case, effectively slamming the door on his final legal lifeline.
Game over.
Read related: Supreme Court slams door on Joe Carollo’s appeal of $63.5 million verdict
Which brings us to Thursday’s vote — the city’s attempt to claw back the legal fees it spent defending Carollo during the years-long litigation. Exactly how much that cost taxpayers is still a little fuzzy. At a recent commission meeting, Commissioner Ralph Rosado asked City Attorney George Wysong, who estimated the tab at about $6 million, though other reports say the defense costs across related cases already exceed $10 million.
And that’s not counting the $12.5 million settlement the city paid in a related lawsuit in 2024.
Still, even city officials acknowledge the effort to sue Carollo may be more symbolic than profitable. Fuller and Pinilla are first in line to collect their $63.5 million judgment — and so far they haven’t seen a dime. The city would be next in line — it if wins.
Wysong told commissioners the only realistic scenario in collecting anything might come if Carollo suddenly wins the Lotto.
But, c’mon, the universe would not be that cruel.
Gabela has long waged war against the legal fees that the city has been paying for Crazy Joe. But he apparently won the support from his colleagues after Carollo revived a long-dormant pension lawsuit he filed 20 years ago, which could cost the city another 
$1.5 million. Carollo says that figure is the result of the city miscalculating his pension benefits.
“I was willing to say, ‘You know what? Let bygones be bygones. But now we have a different situation,” Gabela told his colleagues. “After he spent millions of dollars o the taxpayer money… now, I don’t want to let it go because now he’s going after us.
“Now, I got a problem and it’s out of principle,” Gabela said.
Read related: How much longer will Miami taxpayers pay for Crazy Joe Carollo’s lawyers?
Wysong noted that pension benefits are also, like Carollo’s Coconut Grove house, protected from collection — meaning the city couldn’t touch them even if it wins the new lawsuit — and Gabela admitted that it might just be a symbolic legal action if the city sues Carollo.
And here’s the irony: It would cost the city more because Wysong said the city attorney’s office can’t represent the commission on this. “It would be a conflict of interest,” he said, “if we still defend him in other cases.”
In other words, they would have to hire outside counsel and spend money to try to get back some money the city may never see.
Maybe the motion should have been to stop defending him in other cases.
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