After ‘time theft’ claims at Miami DDA; city offers director 5 months severance

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The Miami Downtown Development Authority’s troubles just keep coming.

At a contentious board meeting last week, DDA board members openly questioned years of negative vacation balances and what Commissioner Ralph Rosado, the DDA chairman, described as potential “time theft” involving Executive Director Christina Crespi.

Now Political Cortadito has learned that on the very same day those allegations were discussed publicly, attorneys were already drafting a separation agreement that would provide Crespi with five months of pay, continued health insurance, continued accrual of leave time and a sweeping release of legal claims.

The proposed agreement, dated May 27, remains unsigned and says she has 21 days to sign it. Sources say negotiations are continuing.

According to a Miami Herald article posted Wednesday, Crespi has her own separation agreement, sent to the city Wednesday by attorney Robert Twombly. That proposal? To go on paid administrative leave through the end of the year at her current salary of $275,000, plus benefits. After that, she would become one of those “expert consultants” with the city, getting the same pay through May of next year.

Late Wednesday, Crespi issued a second statement to say that the paid administrative leave and consulting gig was the city’s idea, not hers.

“The separation framework described in the article, including the consulting arrangement, the timeline, and the related financial terms, originated in draft documents prepared and presented by the City. Ms. Crespi did not propose that framework. Her submission was a response to, and a revision of, the City’s own documents, which were presented to her the day before the May 27 meeting,” the statement from Crespi states.

“Second, the agency’s own records do not support the suggestion of ‘time theft’ or misuse of leave. Those records show that the negative leave balances described arose from a bookkeeping error the agency itself acknowledged and corrected, from a vacation cash-out benefit authorized by the agency’s own personnel policy and approved and processed by its administration, and from approved, legally protected leave.

“Ms. Crespi’s balances have since been restored, and no finding of wrongdoing has been made against her.”

So, does that mean Rosado made a big whoops?

Which raises a rather obvious question: If Rosado was right to publicly discuss possible leave-balance irregularities and even raise the prospect of notifying authorities, why are taxpayers simultaneously being asked to finance a severance package or some golden umbrella? It’s not like the agency isn’t already in the midst of a fight for survival from those who would dissolve it, based on what they say is bloated salaries and billionaire giveaways.

Read related: Effort to dissolve Miami DDA cites ‘bloated’ salaries, redundancy, UFC gift

According to video of the May 27 board meeting, Rosado discussed concerns regarding negative leave balances accumulated over multiple years and whether those balances represented time that had been taken but never earned. The discussion became so serious that he openly talked about possible criminal implications and whether law enforcement authorities should be notified.

Political Cortadito has not independently verified the allegations and no criminal charges have been filed.

In her original statement, Crespi was defiant: “The negative allegations are without merit and are false. As this matter is currently being addressed through the appropriate legal channels, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this time,” Crespi wrote in a text message. “I remain committed to the important mission the Miami DDA serves and I ask that the focus stay on where it belongs, on the vital work being done on behalf of the Downtown Miami community.”

But the allegations are significant enough on their own. And the timing — and details — of the separation agreement makes them even more remarkable.

The draft agreement that Ladra saw states that Crespi would immediately resign her position and receive five months of salary, paid biweekly, beginning after the expiration of a separate consulting agreement. The DDA would continue paying its share of her health insurance premiums and, perhaps most surprisingly, Crespi would continue accruing vacation and sick leave during the severance period.

The agreement specifically states that any vacation or sick time she may owe the DDA would be deducted from her final paycheck.

That language appears particularly relevant given the board’s discussion concerning negative leave balances. Which might be the hold up. Or, it could an extraordinarily broad legal release covering virtually every conceivable employment claim, including discrimination, whistleblower, wage-and-hour, contract and tort claims. Like Miami knows it needs to be careful of all that.

Perhaps most telling is the agreement’s explanation for why it exists at all. The document states that the parties wish to reach an amicable resolution “for the purposes of avoiding costly litigation.”

Which means that somebody believes litigation is a possibility.

Read related: Where’s the DDA? Miami’s Rolando Escalona calls Sunshine, gets ghosted

The agreement also contains a carefully scripted media statement that all parties would be expected to use publicly. Under that provision, everyone would simply say that Crespi voluntarily resigned and left “on amicable terms after years of dedicated service.”

Yeah, that’s not exactly true. It’s spin. And it should make us all question everything else that comes out of this “new and improved” City Hall.

Because residents watching last week’s board meeting saw something very different. They saw directors discussing negative leave balances, questioning payroll practices and talking about what Commissioner Rosado outright called “time theft.”

Could his scandalous words be the possible litigation the city is trying to avoid? Hmmm. Ladra would bet on that.

“Her time records over the years show on and off that she is negative vacation time, meaning she owes the organization, or rather the public, money,” Rosado said. “This is a public agency. It’s here to serve the public. However the executive director has been in negative vacation hours multiple times a year for nearly a decade, which is concerning as to the use of time and public funds.”

Read related: Downtown, Brickell residents still question Miami DDA benefits, future

Rosado, who seems to have suddenly learned this after nearly a year in office, said the “abuse of paid leave” dates back to 2022, when she cashed out on vacation time into the negative. “That was a cash out payment with public funds. I truly. sieve this could be time theft,” Rosado said, and you could hear a pin drop in the room. “And we must now inform the proper authorities.”

Board members pushed back. They said the very broad and serious allegations had not been fully investigated and should not be aired publicly.

Now they know that a severance package was apparently being negotiated at the exact same time Rosado made those allegations.

For Downtown residents already frustrated by years of criticism involving DDA spending priorities, corporate grants, consultants, public relations contracts and the never-ending Flagler Street construction disaster, the latest revelations are unlikely to inspire confidence.

In less than two years alone, the DDA has handed out more than $3.2 million in corporate giveaways to business interests, including $100,000 to the UFC and $450,000 over three years to FC Barcelona. Supporters say the agency is critical to draw new corporate moves and events. It also provides services like graffiti clean-up, street ambassadors, mobility services and more with its roughly $30 million budget from a special tax that only goes to downtown and Brickell homeowners.

But critics like James Torres, president of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, say it has become a bloated taxpayer-funded bureaucracy where roughly half of its staff earns more than $100,000 annually and residents are forced to bankroll more than $700,000 a year for luxury office space, over $736,000 annually on marketing and public relations alone, consultants, sponsorships, and a growing bureaucracy while continuing to pay an extra tax no other neighborhood in Miami is required to bear.

Read related: Ka-ching! Miami DDA is doling out more checks to billionaire companies

“Downtown residents are paying what amounts to a hostage tax while millions flow to corporate giveaways, consultants, public relations contracts, luxury office space, and photo-op block walks,” Torres said. “Now we’re learning about allegations involving taxpayer-funded payouts, years of negative leave balances, and discussions about notifying authorities. Residents deserve answers.”

The DNA wants a full and independent investigation into the latest allegations, the immediate release of all relevant payroll and leave records, complete transparency regarding DDA operations, and a comprehensive review of taxpayer-funded spending, waste, and mismanagement inside the agency, Torres said.

Keyword: Independent.

The other thing that he and some critics wonder is why the city is cutting off the tail and not the head. Is Crespi going to be a scapegoat?

“If these allegations are true, residents have every right to ask how this was allowed to happen under Ralph Rosado’s watch,” Torres said. “Nearly a year into his tenure as DDA Chairman, residents have gotten more marketing, more public relations, more photo-op block walks. That’s not leadership. That’s a failure of oversight.

Read related: Op Ed by DNA President James Torres: Miami doesn’t need a DDA anymore

“The DDA is collapsing under the weight of its own waste, controversies, and failures,” Torres said. “It’s time to investigate these allegations, end the waste, stop the double tax, dismantle the DDA, and return those resources to core city services.”

The whole debacle raises a series of uncomfortable questions: How long did management know about the leave-balance issues?Who approved them? Were internal controls ignored? Were there any internal controls? Was there an investigation? Why was a separation agreement drafted the same day the allegations surfaced publicly?

And if the DDA believes taxpayer resources were improperly used, why is it negotiating severance at all?

Those are questions the DDA board may soon have to answer.

Especially if the price of making this controversy disappear keeps going up.

This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

Severance Christina Crespi Miami DDA by Political Cortadito