The award of the luggage shrink-wrap contract is on the agenda Tuesday (8 on the agenda). If you watch one thing this should be it. The award of the shrink wrap contract is a symptom of everything that is wrong with Miami Dade County. I looked up the lobbyists of the two companies. Someone told me two they knew of were Felix Lasarte for Safe Wrap and Pablo Acosta, for True Star/Sinapsis. How important is this contract? Besides Felix, Safe Wrap has hired Roosevelt Bradley, Armando Gutierrez, Sylvester Lukis, Jorge Navarro, Enrique Ramos, Daniel Valdespino, Jose Villalobos, Radames Villalon, Gregory Hannah and Jose Castillo (that one is for Lynda Bell). Roosevelt Bradley and Armano Gutierrez used to lobby for Sinapsis. In a previous article I wrote in Feb. 2012, I note that Lobbyist Miguel De Grandy has quite a history with the shrink wrap war:
De Grandy, in particular, was cited for a conflict of interest: As a private lawyer, De Grandy had represented a baggage wrapping company, and then their competitor, for the same contract with Miami International Airport.There is a good article in the Miami Herald on the issue:
"The latest chapter involves two competitors with such over-the-top dislike for each other that one accuses the other of hiding his finances and compares him to the Miami Marlins. The second likens his firm to John Wayne and counters that his rival has business ties to Cuba.
'It just seems like a movie,' MIA Director José Abreu said. 'I don’t know anything else that is more controversial than baggage wrap.'"
Based on Lobbyists, I think Safe Wrap/Secure Wrap has a clear advantage. Chairman of the Board Henry Ramos told me in January 2012:
"We have never cheated the County, never under reported & as a matter of fact our payments to the County have always been 50% or more of our gross sales; that's a fact.
Ms. Gittens never gave us anything, everything done had always been done through commission & following the rule of law; also a fact. It is very sad that the rule of law & the truth has little, if anything, to do with what's done nowadays in our society, especially our country.
I'll defend my position & that of my Company telling the truth with tangible documented evidence, that's all I/we can do."
16 comments:
folow the money trail. Sinapsis trading gave Francis suarez $25,000 for his PAC as a favor to the father Xavier who votes on this issue at the county commission. Both of the these sleazeballs dont deserve to be in office. Look at what the younger suarez is doing at the city with regards to clients Steve Marin represents. It would be scary if this puppet becomes Mayor. Facts dont lie. look it up!
Thank you for reporting facts, because all you've reported in this articles are the facts (except where it's said that we do business with Cuba which we deny in its entirety) as they appear in print & what you have been represented in the past by me; I stand by the words I wrote to you then, except that I said 50% or more of Gross & I was mistaken, I should off said 40-50%+ of Gross Net (Gross - Direct Operational Costs = Gross Net); if requested we can provide accurate audited #'s. Operational costs were high due to the fact that we provided 100% Medical coverage to all our employees, something this company has not. All our work force was left without employment in the middle of Xmass & new years (Dec 4th), what can be more gross than that.
Now irregularities are more blatant; how can anyone, least of all elected officials, recommend another entity that has denied access to their daily ledgers, @ a minimum, to county auditors? The list of irregularities are numerous & we'll be happy to share with you in detail, as we know them. All of our allegations are backed by tangible written proof, not innuendos, etc.
If we did not have the ability to hire the lobbyists we've hired, we would never get a fair shot @ wining what we feel we've earned; we follow the rule of law to the letter. BTW I'm one that believes lobbyist perform an essential service under the system of government we have in this country, without them I don't believe we could of conveyed our message to the elected officials & their staff that need to be informed in order to make intelligent decisions.
We invite you to contact us, drop by & see our facilities & if you request any documents they will be provided to you in an expeditious manner.
I thank you for contacting me to let me know of this your latest article.
E Ramos
Too bad there isn't an x-ray machine that could pick up the dollar value of cash in bundles, stacked and loaded in the shrinker wrapped luggage going out of MIA.
Hundreds of millions of dollars must be flying out of the country in those shrinked wrapped baggage.
The county could take a 5 percent commission on whatever the value is, then, and pay down all the debt for the Marlins Stadium, the Jorge Perez Vanity Museum, the Performing Arsht Center and all the rest of the mistakes made by county commissioners. Or must pay me.
Mr. Ramos may we agree to disagree on lobbyists. Remember De Grandy.
Do me a favor -- no more money to that Lynda Bell Lobbyist Jose Castillo.
I agree with first Anom. The decision to award the contract is based on donations made to commissioners or their respective cronies long before. Lobbyists are pigs. Unfortunately in Miami there is not one single politician who will alienate them.
Is it that commissioners won't meet with normal business people, organizations, and citizens and entertain their requests without them first paying money to a middleman, in this case they are labeled "lobbyist"? Are decisions regarding public policy, grants, and contract awards being bought and sold through payments to these middlemen? If this is the case, there is something wrong with this. Our tax money and the policies that govern us should not be for sale. Is it like a form of racketeering?
A politicians most common line in Miami is " have you spoken to xo?!$&?! Yet? The middlemen Marin, Gutierez, May, De La Portilla, de Grandy, and the rest of the usual suspects have ruined our once proud city. There will come a day when they are all exposed for what they truly are.
Wow you are correct first ANOM . Francis Suarez did indeed take $25,000 from Sinapsis trading. Gotta hand it to the old man. Taking care of his little one. Tregalado gonna wipe the floor with him anyway
Geniousofdespair:
I will agree to disagree & you're absolutely correct in many points; we bth are.
As a businessman that pioneered this business, I've learned the hard way that logic & common sense is semantic when conducting business with any government body & that is a Global challenge, hence my opinion on the necessity of professionals, in this case lobbyists, to assist in the task at hand (can't blame them all for a few bad apples).
I believe whole heartily in Democracy & part of the foundation of our democracy is the right to dream, act on that dream in a free pro business society, without fear that your own government, who is I supposed to work for you, unlike other systems that the people work for the government (reason I was brought to the USA & I served honorably for 8 yr. in the US Army during the Vietnam era) will step in & blatantly disregard such a right & do as they pleased without respect & or regards for your hard work & sweat equity (dissect the history of baggage wrapping & make your own conclusions).
I best stop, emotion is also semantic in this issue, so I'll leave you with this:
The core of this issue is that the primary reason I pioneered this concept was SECURITY & the reason that it took so long to implement has been because it has been & it is a SECURITY issue (hence the reason that this system has not been able to be implemented widely throughout the USA), not money $$$$ as the powers to be continue to hammer on & an irresponsible attitude as not caring where the $$$$$ comes from (i.e. the results of a county audit on present vendor clearly states that they were refused access to daily ledgers, therefore auditors were unable to verify accuracy or validity of source of reported revenues) we regular citizens will be in a heap of trouble if we do that to the IRS; follow the $$$$....as the old adage goes "a tank of manure remains a tank of manure, irrelevant of how much perfume you throw into it"; plainly speaking, this mess stinks......
I work & I expect & demand to get paid, that simple; that's the system I've chosen to live in & defend; I voluntarily swore allegiance to a Constitution & it's flag, to me that's simplicity to the core.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my sentiments & hopefully I won't get into too much trouble for this writing or get too many insults, but that is also the beauty of our Democracy; freedom of speech & expression.
ER
There is a lot I like about you...even though I don't like your cadre of lobbyists.
Good luck tomorrow.
As you said "we can agree to disagree" :-)
Thank you for your well wishes, coming from an active member of my community, it does have a especial meaning.
ER
This contract exemplifies what is wrong about the way the county conducts itself.
Why can't we just have a purchasing staff committee who are randomly selected and not known to the lobbyists evaluate the bids and make a recommendation? Mayor/Manager presents to the board for an up or down vote, if rejected the commissioners go on the record as to why they voted no.
Automatic rebid, new random committee repeats the process, same result is an automatic acceptance of the Mayor/Manager recommendation.
Eliminates commissioner favorite donors, lobbyists and sunshine violations.
You are right. The rules need to be changed right away.
To the last 2 comments... It's not that simple. The Bid process as a whole is flawed. The minute we start going from RFQs to RFPs you take the technical aspect and essentially throw it away. You make the money the main priority. So in a case where a company under bids or over bids a contract, even if the mayor/commissioners reject it, with your theory if they come back and under/over bid it again they would automatically win.
In most bids there is currently a selection committee as you suggest. The problem lies when it goes to the mayor for award and the BCC for execution. That's when the lobbyists come into play. In my opinion, lobbyists are the main engine behind everything that is wrong with our county, our state and our country.
The evaluating committee would have access to prior performance, complaints and adherence to specs etc.. etc., it is just not about money unless it actually is. Which is the current scenario that continues to suck.
Let the human element actually evaluate the facts of reality without favoritism and watch the efficiency improve and costs tumble.
Would an independent committee armed with facts and asking questions have approved the Marlins stadium deal?
Think about it.
Reform is definitely needed, and we need to move quickly to make the rule changes.
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