Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi, flanked by his attorneys Benedict Kuehne and Ed Shohat, reacts outside the Miami federal courthouse in August after being found not guilty of accepting payoffs. PATRICK FARRELL MIAMI HERALD STAFF Best photo ever in the Miami Herald
It has been 6 months since Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi has been trying to get his seat back. Spence Jones with a similar City charter got her seat back with back pay.
Ben Kuehne's STERN letter writing campaign did not work at all. They are going back to court. Kuehne (Bow Tie Ben) writes about that decision:
Having no option but returning to the Courts, Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi TODAY filed his lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court to obtain a RETURN to the Office of Mayor to which he was elected by an overwhelming majority of the Miami Lakes voters in November 2012. Immediately upon his successful exoneration on all federal criminal charges with the Jury’s Verdict of NOT GUILTY, Mayor Pizzi sought to have his temporary suspension revoked, but Governor Rick Scott stubbornly refused. Mayor Pizzi went to the Florida Supreme Court to compel the Governor to do what the Florida Constitution required: revoke the suspension.
If Pizzi wins, that Town Manager is toast. On another front, As far as I can tell from reading the docket, Ben Kuehne lost his appeal in that $150 Million dollar jury trial award, where the judge overturned the jury (Katherine Murphy, PhD. suing Charter School and Aventura City Manager Erik Soroka). Unfair.Now, the Town is following the same ludicrous path by refusing to do what the Constitution commands: Reinstate mayor Pizzi to Office. Sadly, the temporary Mayor during Mayor Pizzi’s suspension, Wayne Slaton, has refused to relinquish the office, even though Mayor Pizzi trounced Slaton in the 2012 election, when Mayor Pizzi received nearly 70% of the votes cast in the highest turnout election in the History of Miami Lakes. Refusing to bow to the will of the people and allowing Mayor Pizzi to return to office, Wayne Slaton has now fomented a constitutional crisis by requiring Mayor Pizzi to ask the Court to enforce the Constitution.This lawsuit seeks a Constitutional Writ of Quo Warranto and Mandamus, procedures that force someone from illegally holding a government office, as Wayne Slaton is doing. This litigation should be unnecessary, and the costs and fees will be borne by the Town solely because its officials are refusing to follow the law.
11 comments:
Pizzi is certainly a closet case (pun intended)! I truly doubt the voters would vote him back in to be a dog catcher at this point. Who is picking up the legal fees for all of this? And, whoever that person is, please, please, please, buy him a suit that fits!
You mentioned near the end of the post that the City (I think you meant "Town") Manager is toast. Can you explain why you think that?
Must start having jurors take an intelligence test. Than this issue would have been over.
Jury of my Peers
Aren't most people pretty stupid, why would you expect a smart jury? Why would you want one? I think the Aventura case was a miscarriage of justice. You cannot ignore a jury verdict in my book. Maybe you can change the award amount as a judge but a judge doesn't have the right to second guess my peers.
I love Pizzi. He is a populist.
The only reason he isn't back in the mayor's seat yet is because the current idiot mayor is using taxpayer funds to fight him. If the current idiot incumbent had to use his own money, he would have folded his hand many months ago and Pizzi would be sitting in the mayor's chair.
The good news is that the law is 100% on Pizzi's side and he has great legal representation. He cannot lose, and he will be in his rightful position very soon.
Pizzi has had too many suspicious events NOT to be a crook: the office fire that destroyed evidence, asking his friend to be a hitman, taking money in a closet, pushing Medley and Miami Lakes into a grant scheme he knew was bogus, "giving away" an envelope full of cash without looking inside. Being a populist Is no excuse for electing a man who demonstrates so many behaviors of a yet-to-be-convicted crook. I am not from Miami Lakes, but I would not want to be in a photo with this man.
Maria are you serious?
Did you say Slaton is only staying in office because of his ability to use public money? GET A LIFE and a clue along the way. Do you think for one second that Pizzi will not be asking for all his attorneys to be paid by the public. He is a low down crook but un-convicted just like his buddy in Hialeah Carlos hernandez. How sad. Hang on to panties Maria, if reinstated you will se Hialeah spread into our community faster than ever. Mark my words and save this post!
The law is clear and unambiguous and supports Pizzi's position. Pizzi should absolutely be reimbursed by the city for forcing him to go through this unnecessary litigation just to enforce the law.
Stanton was told by the city attorney Geller in a public meeting that if Pizzi was acquitted, Pizzi would get his mayor's job back.
A jury heard all of the evidence against Pizzi, and voted NOT GUILTY. He is a good guy who was targeted by corrupt lobbyist. I will be celebrating at city hall when he returns to his rightful position. It will happen very soon.
Michelle Spence-Jones was guilty but she got off because Rundle's office screwed up. Then she made the taxpayers pay $125,000 for her attorney and then she got $220,000 in back pay. Yup, City of Miami commissioners are way overpaid. First day back she admitted she knew nothing that had happened at the City in the previous 22 months because she never watched a meeting on TV or kept in touch.
Pigs at the trough:
"Town council members agreed to have town attorney Raul Gastesi defend the town’s interests, at a rate of $200 an hour. In addition, it agreed to pay the Akerman Law Firm $375 an hour to defend Slaton and the law firm Gelber Schachter & Greenberg $375 an hour to defend Tejeda-Castillo, who is named in the suit in her official capacity."
Pizzi is not a crook, the government
used an informant who admitted
he lied under oath in the grand jury to get Pizzi indicted. The
case should have been dropped right then. The FBI case agent could not
testify as his testimony would have contradicted the informant. The informant who started this case
could not testify because of the lies he told including his connection to the Governor and the Obama's. If you doubt this check the transcript.
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