“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Edmund Burke .
What follows are transgressions that amount to unethical violations of law by Police Chief and former City Manager
Police swear to arrest forms, reports, court documents, and
testimony. An oath by any police
officer, but especially the Chief, must AT ALL TIMES be truthful because it is a rock in the
very integrity of our legal system.
There is no room for falsity, short cuts, or deceptive statements under
oath for Police Officers who have the authority to charge the residents of our
city with a crime.
Chief Martinez de Castro's administration is shoddy, partisan and
unprofessional. They lose notes,
rough up citizens, and most of all, undermine the fragile integrity of the law
enforcement process where the individual rights of citizens can be easily
abused by heavy hand of the state.
The Miami Dade Commission on Ethics has already found 4 Counts of Probable Cause against Chief Martinez de Castro and those charges are now pending.
What follows are MORE transgressions that warrant Chief Martinez de Castro' removal from office and prosecution. What is significant here is that most of these transgressions are confirmed by public documents signed by the Chief and/or former City Manager, so the truth of the evidence is not in doubt. Many of these signatures are specified as equivalent to a sworn oath.
Below I layout this obviously unethical conduct. I reserve other transgressions that are more nuanced for later, so as to not overwhelm the reader.
When I first became Mayor we set out to clean up city government. I was a neophyte to politics drafted into service by friends and neighbors who wanted to turn our city towards a more transparent and civic direction.
To this end we mistakenly paid consultant Ken Harms, who immediately attacked the then current city Police Chief and vociferously urged the city to hire Hector Mirabile as City Manager who would bring in their mutual friend Orlando Martinez de Castro as Police Chief. Harms shamelessly continues to aggressively support his friends despite the conduct I delineate below. And he is attacking me and my family publicly and personally with false accusations.
To my regret, Martinez de Castro and Hector Mirabile were brought into our city under my watch, I feel an obligation, a responsibility, to remove them from our midst.
Of course, this cannot be my decision alone, and so I will lay out for you here some of the facts that explain why Mirabile needed to be removed and why Martinez de Castro still does. I encourage our citizens to have an open discussion on these matters and I publish this material to aid that discussion.
A little history on the State Forfeiture Fund
Three years ago when
Orlando Martinez de Castro was gunning for Bobby Richardson’s job as South
Miami Chief of Police, he told us to look at Chief Richardson's use of the State
Forfeiture Fund. So, a few months back, when we saw that Chief Martinez de Castro's department had improperly used the State Forfeiture Fund to purchase tags and titles from his wife's auto tag company, I looked into Chief Martinez de Castro’s own record with the State Forfeiture Fund. Not a pretty picture. In fact, it's a morass of misdemeanors. Conviction on any one of them will cost the Chief his job. The former city manager appears to have been complicit, having personally authorized several of these transactions. In addition, the Chief directed staff to assist his family's businesses.
Below, I detail what I believe to be:
Laws governing the use of State Forfeiture Funds
Chapter 932.7055-5.a Florida Statutes
allows police to seize money and property that are used in narcotics crimes and to use those assets to support programs to reduce illegal drug use, and to provide a police
department with equipment or new expertise for special investigations not
currently available. The law specifically forbids using forfeited funds for normal operating expenses of a police department. These conditions are reinforced by a
Florida Attorney General opinion. This distinction was put in place by the
State Legislature to protect the rights of citizens by eliminating incentive
for police commanders to confiscate citizen’s personal property to operate
their departments.
The following conditions must be met before State Contraband
Forfeiture funds can be expended:
1. The proposed use must meet the requirements of F.S. 932.7055 and the Attorney
General’s opinion.
2. The Chief of police must write a letter certifying that
the requested use meets the conditions for legitimate use under the statute.
3. The elected
body of the municipality must approve the use of forfeiture funds for the
specific expenditure.
Chief Martinez de Castro's use and misuse of State Forfeiture Funds
Of 33 purchase requisitions charged to the State Forfeiture
Fund account during the tenure of Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro, the Chief
personally certified 32. Of those,
20 met the statutory requirements for legitimate use. The remaining 12 of those
charges appear not to comply with the use requirements of F.S. 932.7055-5.a. Those 12 requisitions were for normal operating expenses of
the Police Department, which are strictly forbidden under the statute and the
Florida Attorney General’s written opinion.
For not a single
purchase of 33 charges against the State Forfeiture account did Chief
Martinez de Castro write a letter certifying that the use met requirements of F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
For 15 of the 33
expenditures, Chief Martinez de Castro obtained City Commission approval before
authorizing the expenditure as required under F.S. 932.7055. However, Chief
Orlando Martinez de Castro personally certified 17 requisitions which had no
Commission approval, constituting 17 separate violations of F.S. 837.012 Perjury
when not in an official proceeding.
Here's what the fine print in the certification box reads:
"I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE MATERIAL, EQUIPMENT, OR SERVICE
IS ESSENTIAL AND A PROPER REQUEST AGAINST THE CODES CHARGED."
Note: as per F.S. 92.52 an affirmation is equivalent to an oath for the purposes of state perjury statutes.
I go through all the improper requisitions in detail below, but here's an example of one such requisition.
[
click here for full sized]. Chief OMC improperly certifies a requisition against the State Forfeiture Fund to pay $1,587 for the September Dade Chief's dinner, a fine event I'm told, but not allowable under F.S. 932.7055. The request was never brought before the Commission, so the expenditure was not authorized through resolution. However, the Manager signed the form anyway to authorize payment from the State Forfeiture Fund. By my count, that's three violations of State statutes over paying for a meal.
On another requisition,
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro got his subordinate, Major Ana Baixauli, to
certify the requisition in his place, even though only the Chief of Police is
authorized by statute to certify a purchase against state forfeiture funds. According to HR records, the Chief was in town at the time. That was the only one of 33 requisitions against the SFF that the Chief did not personally certify. By inducing a subordinate to certify requisitions that did not comply with F.S. 932.7055 in violation F.S. 837.012, Chief Martinez de Castro violated F.S. 777.04 Attempts,
solicitation, and conspiracy.
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro directed his staff to engage his wife’s expert
services in obtaining automobile titles and tags for 3 forfeiture
vehicles. Staff complied and sent
the Chief a memo (
attached) stating the intention to purchase titles through
his wife’s tag agency, Airways Auto Tag Agency. Two weeks later, while the Chief was in town, the memo was
initialed by Major Ana Baixauli, who then signed off on the requisition,
charging purchases against the State Forfeiture Fund. The Chief requested an
accounting of all Forfeiture Fund purchases – the Airways charge was #2 on the list. However the
Chief wrote a summary, which the Manager
forwarded to the Commission, that omitted only the Airways charge. Deliberately leaving out information is
a violation of the
South Miami City Charter – Citizen's Bill of Rights, Truth in Government.
Directing his staff
to use a company belonging to his wife is a violation of:
Note that willful
violation of Ordinance Sec. 8A-1 calls for immediate forfeiture of one’s
position.
In none of these
cases above were State Forfeiture moneys stolen or used for personal expenses,
however, they were often improperly used to fund normal operating expenses of the
department such as the Dade Chief's banquet for $1,587. These uses are explicitly banned by Florida statutes because they encourage the police leadership to step outside
boundaries of the law and confiscate more possessions of citizens than they
would otherwise. Indeed, we have reason to believe this risk is real in the South Miami Police Department. A whistle-blower
in the police department has alleged illegal confiscation of flat screen
televisions from private citizens and placement of those TVs into the offices
of the police command staff. I'm looking into it.
Second, Chief Martinez de Castro has been drafting an ordinance to significantly expand the department’s powers of confiscation and forfeiture. Thus the improper and unauthorized use
of State Forfeiture moneys not only violates Florida Statutes, but poses a real
threat to the private property rights of citizens in South Miami.
If anyone is obligated to follow the letter of the law, it the Chief of Police. We citizens receive a ticket when we fail to produce a driver's license or Proof of Auto Insurance. For sure, we citizens would be prosecuted for making a false statement under oath, and we citizens are prosecuted for diverting money on our tax returns. No one can be above the law, ESPECIALLY THE POLICE CHIEF.
___________________________________________________________________
The Chief's dishonest statement about city resident Michael Davidson-Schmich
Michael Davidson-Schmich was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after exercising his first amendment rights. Davidson-Schmich says he politely told a cop to set an example. The cop insists it was not polite. Finger wagging was involved, described as index vs. middle by the two parties. Either way both actions by Mr. Davidson-Schmich were protected speech.
On September 21, 2012, Police Chief Orlando
Martinez de Castro emailed Commissioner Valerie Newman, in response to a
question she had asked him whether Michael Davidson-Schmich’s had ever filed a
formal protest of his arrest. The
Chief wrote to City Manager Hector Mirabile: “The answer is NO he never did, even though we made numerous
appointments but he failed to show.”
Here is the Chief's email.
Commissioner Valerie Newman forwarded this email to city residents, inserting derogatory text into the Deputy Clerk's note. Her alteration of that public document is currently under investigation by the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission (a body she publicly derided last week as "a kangaroo court").
I personally searched Mr.
Davidson-Schmich’s email for evidence of appointments. I found email (linked here)
indicating that Internal Affairs investigator Sgt. Jeff Griffin had tried to schedule an appointment with Mr. Davidson-Schmich for the day before the Davidson-Schmich’s family was to leave town for their annual summer trip to
Germany. Mr. Davidson-Schmich had
responded back by phone that he was busy packing that day, and could not come
in.
Since an appointment exists only when both
parties agree, no appointment was made and no appointment was broken. There were no subsequent attempts to schedule appointments in Mr. Davidson-Schmich’s
email, and nobody has produced evidence to show any appointments were actually made, or that Mr. Davidson-Schmich failed to show up.
Thus, Chief Martinez de Castro’s written
claim of "numerous appointments" where Mr. Davidson-Schmich failed to show, was both false and misleading, a violation of:
___________________________________________________________________
Manager awarded raises contrary to the City budget
“In this year’s budget, the city did not include any salary
increases.”
“In this year’s budget, the city once again did not include
any salary increases.”
On 3 Oct, 2011, the first business day after the new budget went into effect,
On 14 Nov, 2011, a department director received a $3066 raise for promotion to “Chief Coordinating Officer” a position that doesn’t exist in the city’s approved HR classification. On 16 Nov, 2011, a sergeant received a step raise even
though, as the Manager explained to the Commission, step raises had been
frozen. On that same date, a sergeant was restored to the rank of
lieutenant, receiving a $767.52 raise over his previous lieutenant salary.
Since they took effect on the first business day of the new fiscal year, it's obvious that the raises the Manager awarded to the Chief and CFO were planned with full knowledge that the budget book said no raises were budgeted. The three
raises in mid-Nov 2011, just 45 days into the new fiscal year also appear
contradictory to the budget statements.
Failure to follow the budget as written violates the
City Charter:
2. Article III - City Manager, Section 5. Powers and Duties
B. Prepare the budget annually and submit it to the
Commission and be responsible for its administration after adoption.
___________________________________________________________________
Carpet contract: public deception and alteration of public documents
On 20 Mar 2012, city CFO Alfredo Riverol had emailed the
Manager about an approved contract to purchase carpeting for the Community
Center, the Police Station, and the Code Enforcement Department. The
CFO’s email appears to have been
sent in response to a verbal request by the Manager. Mr. Riverol made
uncharacteristically vague statements about budgetary caution, but in the
middle he made this very direct point to the Manager:
“The funds allocated
within the CIP Fund [
city budget Capital Improvement Plan]
for carpet installation included, and was primarily for, the installation of
carpet within the Community Center second floor….”
Indeed, the approved city budget contained funds only for
carpeting the Community Center, and not other city departments. To spend this money on other departments would not be a legitimate use of funds.
Since the City's fiscal year is still a ways away and the current
U.S. economic conditions is less than certain staff realizes that the prices of
certain commodities such as petroleum product including fuel may have an
adverse impact in our budgeted estimates even though we took a conservative
position. With the continued destabilization of the Middle East and the threats
of Iran impacting oil commerce traffic along the Strait of Hormoz [sic] it
is in the City's best interest to hold the replacement of the rugs in the
police and code enforcement departments until next fiscal year. This will allow
$9,391 to be available for reallocation should the need arise.
The Manager’s report feeds the Commission and the public a
load of nonsense about Middle East oil traffic to convince the City Commission that because of his global financial
vision, he was prudently canceling part of a contract to protect the city from
overspending in a dangerous financial climate, when, in reality:
(1) At the
advice of his CFO, the Manager was back-tracking on his plan to spend funds
outside the approved City Budget (
budget page attached) and contrary to best
accounting practices. In fact, the
portion of the carpet purchase that the Manager was canceling fell outside the
budget the Commission had approved, a fact that the Manager had never mentioned
to the City Commission.
(2) The City was on strong financial footing. Short of a true and tangible fiscal emergency, capital
improvement funds would not be held back from needed and budgeted repairs.
On 22 March 2012, two days after presenting his Manager’s
report and giving a copy to each member of the City Commission, the City
Manager altered his City Manager’s Report, removing the paragraph with the
“Straits of Hormoz” explanation. He posted the altered document on the city
website (
0320 CM Brief to Comm Mar 20 2012.pdf). Because the
report had already been given out to the Commission it constituted a public document.
Violations
The Manager’s deceptive statement in his Manager’s Report,
fabricating fiscal concerns and concealing a prior violation of the city budget
procedure, violates:
___________________________________________________________________
City Manager Hector Mirabile has been terminated after losing the trust of the Commission. To restore the integrity of our Police Department, Chief Martinez de Castro must go as well.
___________________________________________________________________
Appendix 1: some requisitions to the State Forfeiture Fund bearing improper certification
Full details are in Appendix 2. "OMC" squiggle signatures below belong to Police Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro.
___________________________________________________________________
Appendix 2: details of violations involving the State Forfeiture Fund (SFF):
Goods or services
obtained: Re-key
police department by Dade Lock & Key.
Requisition
# 12524
Date
signed 11/08/10
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Authorized
by nobody
Purchase
Order # 11567
Date
issued 10/12/10
Amount $2,357.56
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because re-keying a police department is a normal operating
expense, contrary to statutory requirements & Attorney General ruling.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the service requisitioned was in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a,
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Repair
forfeited pickup truck by Midway Ford for undercover use.
Requisition
# 12530
Date
signed 11/30/10
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Authorized
by Hector
Mirabile
Amount $3,302.45
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the service requisitioned was in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a
(2) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services
obtained: Gun
repair parts by Lou’s Police Distributors
Requisition
# 12555
Date
signed 01/03/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Authorized
by Hector
Mirabile
Purchase
Order # 11587
Date
issued 01/06/11
Amount $9,998.
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because keeping police firearms in good repair is a normal
operating expense of the department since every officer is so equipped. Using State Forfeiture funds for
routine expenses is contrary to statutory requirements & Attorney General ruling
(“section 932.7055, Florida Statutes,
requires that contraband forfeiture trust funds be used only for the expressly
specified purposes set forth in the statute or for other extraordinary programs
and purposes, beyond what is usual, normal, regular, or established.”). Officers carrying the sort of guns in
this purchase is normal, regular, and established.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 777.04 Attempts,
solicitation, and conspiracy.
Hector
Mirabile conspired on above
violations of F.S. 932.7055 by approving requisition when certification was not
in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a and F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Purchase
of title & tags for 3 forfeited vehicles from Airways Auto Tag Agency
Requisition
# PD
9358
Date
signed 02/23/11
Certified
by Ana
Baixauli
Amount $525.00
Statutes violated:
F.S. 112.313-3 Standards of conduct for public officers,
employees of agencies, and local government attorneys, Sec 3: Doing business
with one’s agency.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 112.313-3 by permitting the city to do business with his wife’s tag
agency, because “No employee of an agency acting in his or her official
capacity as a purchasing agent, or public officer acting in his or her official
capacity, shall either directly or indirectly purchase, rent, or lease any
realty, goods, or services for his or her own agency from any business entity
of which the officer or employee or the officer’s or employee’s spouse or child
is an officer, partner, director, or proprietor or in which such officer or
employee or the officer’s or employee’s spouse or child, or any combination of
them, has a material interest”.
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Expenses
incurred preparing forfeited vehicles for auction must be paid from the general
fund to be reimbursed from auction proceeds. Surplus funds are deposited to State Forfeiture Trust fund.
In this case, Major Ana Baixauli certified
use of State Forfeiture Trust Funds to process forfeited vehicles in violation
of F.S. 932.7055 sections 4 and 5.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the service requisitioned was in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Major Ana Baixauli and Police Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did not
obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
South Miami Code of
Ordinances Sec. 8A-1. - Conflict of interest and code of ethics ordinance.
Family
members of City employees are forbidden from doing business with the city. Airways Auto Tag Agency belongs to the
wife of Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Ana Baixauli falsely certified requisition was “a proper request”
when
a) it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with the terms of F.S.
932.7055.
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
b) use of the Chief’s family company violated city ordinances.
F.S. 777.04 Attempts, solicitation, and conspiracy
1. Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro directed his staff to seek advice
from his wife’s company on the procedures for obtaining titles for these
forfeited vehicles.
2. Prior to issuance of the
requisition, Chief Martinez de Castro was the recipient of a staff memo
directing use of his wife’s company.
3. Chief Martinez de Castro signed
every other of ~30 requisitions certifying use of State Forfeiture Funds, and
was in town when Ana Baixauli signed this requisition in his place.
4. Chief Martinez de Castro
received an email and spreadsheet from the Finance (see supporting materials)
which showed the use of this tag agency.
He could have corrected the problem at that time by reimbursing the
Forfeiture Fund from the General Fund.
Orlando Martinez de Castro solicited his staff to violate F.S.
112.313, F.S. 932.7055, and the city’s code of ethics ordinance by referring
staff to his wife’s company, being fully aware from the staff memo to him that
they planned to use that company’s services, and for having his second in
command, Major Ana Baixauli, certify the requisition in his place.
F.S.
837.06 False official statements
Major Ana Baixauli was asked by the Miami Herald about the failure to
obtain Commission approval for this purchase. On 04/12/2012 she emailed back:
“All I can say is it was an unintentional
error. I have checked my records and that was the only error I found. We work hard to avoid these types of
mistakes but in the end, we only human. [sic]”
Her written statement was a
bold-faced lie. She was in the
process of making another unauthorized charge to the State Forfeiture
Fund. In fact, every purchase
charged to the State Forfeiture Fund between 07/28/11 and 04/28/12 lacked approval by the City Commission. Major Baixauli’s records include all of 18 charges lacking Commission Approval. Her false statement was
published in the Herald and misled the City Commission to believe the
unauthorized charge to the Forfeiture Fund reported by the Herald was an
accidental and isolated incident, rather than part of a deliberate, systematic,
and persistent pattern of statutory violations.
Goods or services obtained: Annual
maintenance contract on ticketing software from Advanced Public Safety.
Requisition
# PD
9380
Date
signed 03/10/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Authorized
by Hector
Mirabile
Amount $4,725.
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because the maintenance contract on ticket generation
software is a normal operating expense of the police department, contrary to
statutory requirements & Attorney General ruling (“section 932.7055, Florida Statutes, requires that contraband
forfeiture trust funds be used only for the expressly specified purposes set
forth in the statute or for other extraordinary programs and purposes, beyond
what is usual, normal, regular, or established.”). The city has previously used General
Funds to pay $4725 to Advanced Public Safety on 02/01/2008, 11/20/2008,
04/28/2009, 12/17/2010. A $4,725
check to Advanced Public Safety drawn on the general fund was voided on
03/11/2011, and the expense was subsequently charged to the State Forfeiture
Fund.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a,
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 777.04 Attempts, solicitation, and conspiracy.
Hector
Mirabile conspired on above
violations of F.S. 932.7055 by approving requisition when certification was not
in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a and F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Annual
maintenance contract on GPS units in police cars from GPS International
Technologies (GPS IT).
Requisition
# PD
9620
Date
signed 07/28/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Amount $484.40
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because the annual GPS location service applies to all police
cars. The GPS units being operated
under this contract replaced GPS units that were removed from police cars two
years prior. GPS location of police cars would be considered a normal operating
expense of the police department, contrary to statutory requirements & Attorney
General ruling (“section 932.7055,
Florida Statutes, requires that contraband forfeiture trust funds be used only
for the expressly specified purposes set forth in the statute or for other
extraordinary programs and purposes, beyond what is usual, normal, regular,
or established.”).
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods & services requisitioned were in compliance with F.S.
932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a,
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Vests
& shoes for sergeants and officers from
Lou’s Police Distributors
Requisition
# PD
9554
Date
signed 08/15/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro and Ana Baixauli
Amount $1,679.04
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro and Ana Baixauli violated F.S. 932.7055-5.a
because vests and shoes are normal operating expenses of the department since
every officer is so equipped.
Using State Forfeiture funds for routine expenses is contrary to
statutory requirements & Attorney General ruling (“section 932.7055, Florida Statutes, requires that contraband
forfeiture trust funds be used only for the expressly specified purposes set
forth in the statute or for other extraordinary programs and purposes, beyond
what is usual, normal, regular, or established.”). Officers wearing the vests and shoes in
this purchase is normal, regular, and established practice.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro and Ana
Baixauli falsely certified requisition was “a proper request” when it was
not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services
obtained: Assorted
petty cash expenditures.
Requisition
# PD
3439
Date
signed 05/03/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Goods or services
obtained: Assorted
petty cash expenditures.
Requisition
# PD
9585
Date
signed 05/03/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Amount $256.66
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because the charges include a hodgepodge of expenses from
parking for a chief’s conference to batteries for a radar gun. At least some of these are normal
operating expenses, contrary to statutory requirements & Attorney General ruling.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the charges paid were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditures, as required
by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) At least some of the charges did not comply with F.S.
932.7055-5.a,
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a
(3) The payments had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Computer
supplies from Tiger Direct
Requisition
# PD
9596
Date
signed 09/15/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Amount $494.07
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated F.S.
932.7055-5.a because computer maintenance is a normal operating expenses of the
department. Using State Forfeiture
funds for routine expenses is contrary to statutory requirements & Attorney
General ruling (“section 932.7055,
Florida Statutes, requires that contraband forfeiture trust funds be used only
for the expressly specified purposes set forth in the statute or for other
extraordinary programs and purposes, beyond what is usual, normal, regular,
or established.”).
Maintaining computers is normal, regular, and established practice.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Village
of Pinecrest for Miami-Dade County Association of Police Chiefs September
dinner
Requisition
# PD
9602
Date
signed 03/10/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Authorized
by Hector
Mirabile
Amount $1586.81
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because a monthly police chiefs’ association dinner would be
considered a normal operating expense of the police department, contrary to
statutory requirements & Attorney General ruling.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
expenditure of State Forfeiture Trust funds for the chiefs’ dinner was in
compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a,
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission.
Goods or services
obtained: Flashlights
from Lou’s Police Distributors
Requisition
# 12757
Date
signed 09/15/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Purchase
Order # 11737
Date
issued 09/22/11
Amount $1,344.36
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because purchasing flashlights is a normal operating expense
of the department since every officer is so equipped. Using State Forfeiture funds for routine expenses is contrary
to statutory requirements & Attorney General ruling (“section 932.7055, Florida Statutes, requires that contraband
forfeiture trust funds be used only for the expressly specified purposes set
forth in the statute or for other extraordinary programs and purposes, beyond
what is usual, normal, regular, or established.”). For officers to carry the sort of
flashlight in this purchase is normal, regular, and established.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Cable
to lock impounded bicycles (originally paid to Ace Hardware with Bank of America
credit card)
Requisition
# PD
9616
Date
signed 09/26/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Amount $99.23
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because securing property in custody is a normal operating
expense of the department. Using
State Forfeiture funds for routine expenses is contrary to statutory
requirements & Attorney General ruling (“section
932.7055, Florida Statutes, requires that contraband forfeiture trust funds be
used only for the expressly specified purposes set forth in the statute or for
other extraordinary programs and purposes, beyond what is usual, normal,
regular, or established.”).
For a police department to secure property in custody is normal,
regular, and established.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Office
furniture, eyewash station, and filing supplies for Police Dept
accreditation purchased from Galloway Office Supply
Requisition
# PD
9618
Date
signed 09/26/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Amount $943.95
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because office furniture, complying with accreditation rules,
and filing accreditation materials are normal operating expenses of the
department. Using State Forfeiture
funds for routine expenses is contrary to statutory requirements & Attorney
General ruling (“section 932.7055,
Florida Statutes, requires that contraband forfeiture trust funds be used only
for the expressly specified purposes set forth in the statute or for other
extraordinary programs and purposes, beyond what is usual, normal, regular,
or established.”). The
City has been pursuing accreditation for years using General Funds. For a police department to provide
chairs and comply with accreditation rules is normal, regular, and established.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Lodging
for 2 dispatch officers in training program paid to Comfort Suites.
Requisition
# PD
9613
Date
signed 10/03/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Amount $179.90
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The requisition
lacked a letter from the Chief of Police certifying compliance with F.S.
932.7055-5.a.
(2) The use of funds for this purpose had not been approved by the
City Commission as required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Dispatch
officer training program per diem expenses to Joellen Barinas.
Requisition
# PD
9614
Date
signed 10/03/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Amount $72.00
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods & services requisitioned were in compliance with F.S.
932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The requisition
lacked a letter from the Chief of Police certifying compliance with F.S.
932.7055-5.a.
(2) The use of funds for this purpose had not been approved by the
City Commission as required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Dispatch
officer training program per diem expenses to Karen Lopez.
Requisition
# PD
9614
Date
signed 10/03/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Amount $72.00
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods & services requisitioned were in compliance with F.S.
932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The requisition
lacked a letter from the Chief of Police certifying compliance with F.S.
932.7055-5.a.
(2) The use of funds for this purpose had not been approved by the
City Commission as required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services obtained: Dog
food and vitamins from South Dade Animal Hospital.
Requisition
# PD
9380
Date
signed 03/10/11
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Amount $71.72
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because dog food and dog vitamins are normal operating
expenses of the police department, which has long maintained K9 units. Charging a normal operating expense to
the State Forfeiture Fund is contrary to statutory requirements & Attorney
General ruling (“section 932.7055,
Florida Statutes, requires that contraband forfeiture trust funds be used only
for the expressly specified purposes set forth in the statute or for other
extraordinary programs and purposes, beyond what is usual, normal, regular,
or established.”). The
city has previously used General Funds to purchase these items from South Dade
Animal Hospital on a regular basis since at least 2008.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a,
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
Goods or services
obtained: Police
Explorer’s competition
Requisition
# PD
12945
Date
signed 03/29/12
Certified
by Orlando
Martinez de Castro
Purchase
Order # 11870
Date
issued 04/11/12
Amount $3,548.00
Statutes violated:
F.S. 932.7055-5.a Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.a because the travel programs for the Police Explorers is not a
listed or approved use for State Contraband Forfeiture Trust moneys (“Such proceeds and interest earned therefrom
shall be used for school resource officer, crime prevention, safe neighborhood,
drug abuse education and prevention programs, or for other law enforcement
purposes, which include defraying the cost of protracted or complex
investigations, providing additional equipment or expertise, purchasing
automated external defibrillators for use in law enforcement vehicles, and
providing matching funds to obtain federal grants. The proceeds and interest
may not be used to meet normal operating expenses of the law enforcement agency.”).
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Orlando Martinez de Castro violated
F.S. 932.7055-5.b. by failing to write a letter as Chief of Police certifying that
the goods requisitioned were in compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
F.S. 932.7055-5.b Disposition of liens and forfeited
property.
Police
Chief Orlando Martinez de Castro did
not obtain the City Commission’s permission for the expenditure, as required by
F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 837.012 Perjury when not in an official
proceeding.
Orlando Martinez de Castro falsely certified requisition was “a
proper request” when it was not in full compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.b
because:
(1) The service requisitioned did not comply with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(2) The requisition lacked a letter from the Chief of Police
certifying compliance with F.S. 932.7055-5.a.
(3) The purchase had not been approved by the City Commission as
required by F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
F.S. 777.04 Attempts, solicitation, and conspiracy.
Hector Mirabile conspired on above violations of F.S. 932.7055 by
approving requisition when certification was not in full compliance with F.S.
932.7055-5.a and F.S. 932.7055-5.b.
