Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Criminal Complaint: Michael Pizzi Caught in a Sting. By Geniusofdespair

Richard Candia Becker & Poliakoff Lobbyist - First Bernadino now Candia, You know how to pick them Jose Fuentes
 Sounds like Richard Candia is a slime and it sure sounds like he set up Pizzi.

 Criminal+Complaint+Michael+Pizzi+and+Richard+Candia 2


LINK TO MANUEL ROMANO CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

33 comments:

Leslie said...

Wow! What a sleazy setup. Pizzi must have been a real thorn in the side of Becker Poliakoff and company. Disgusting. And what about the FBI conspiring with Becker Poliakoff against Pizzi and trying to manufacture a crime where none exists?

The federal government makes me sicker every day. I regret my votes for Obama.

Anonymous said...

GOD BLESS MICHAEL PIZZI. THESE DOCUMENTS PROVE HE WAS UNFAIRLY SCREWED. I CANT WAIT UNTIL HE CLEARS HIS NAME.

Anonymous said...

What idiots.. Not the FBI, but the Pizzi supporters who left the previous comments. You make him sound like a robinhood. If you rob a bank to give to the poor you a still a thief. Pizzi did say he cared that the city would prosper and the "DEAL" would not cost taxpayers a dime. But that was only facilitated by cash and political contributions. Ever look at a campaign finance reports? You don't see too many individual contributions rather the people looking to get there way through business or zoning changes. Disgusting. Seems Pizzi did too much associating with his buddy in Hialeah. You definitely become more and more like the people you hang around.

P said...

Please tell me why Jose Fuentes shouldn't be the one in jail. Anyone who reads this complaint can see Pizzi was framed by a lobbyist who was willing to screw over his co-lobbyist Candia to get at Pizzi. Candia looks like a dupe who thought he was a partner in the sting to fuckover Pizzi instead of a target.

Anonymous said...

Fuentes made the deal first.

Anonymous said...

Who is the sleazebag confidential human source ("CHS") who was paid by the FBI? Is that Jose Fuentes?

Tracey said...

There is absolutely no way Pizzi gets convicted based on these facts. Unless there is something more, I can't see this even going to trial much less leading to a conviction.

I wish the FBI would bug the offices of known crooked politicians instead of wasting time on this silliness. Why is Pepe Diaz not in prison?

Anonymous said...

FBI must have had stuff on Fuentes or Fuentes came forward stood strong and delivered the goods.
Bet he will soon be on the road with G. Zimmerman traveling the country.
I would be worried if Fuentes ever represented my entity as a lobbyist and that means a lot of people and places will be waiting for the boom. In any event his career is finished in this town.

Anonymous said...

Forte was chief of staff to Bovo in county hall, nobody seems to remember. Maybe Forte is friends with Pizzi that's why Pizzi supported Bovo when Sijas was recalled.

jesus h. christ said...

Listen to you all. You all complain about corrupt politicians and whine that they operate with impunity in this Banana Republic and then when someone does something about it you all become armchair barristers passing judgment on people and procedure that you know ZERO about.

Make up your minds what you want, folks, because, seriously, you're sounding downright pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Not sure who is guilty or innocent, just hope all the obviously corrupt names and schemes in South Florida will blossom out of this case.

Anonymous said...

Interesting reading. There are a few campaign violations here, to say the least. The most obvious is taking contribution checks while inside the town of Medley as the attorney for the town. That's not the Fed's - FEC, are you reading?

Pizzi knew something was wrong and should have walked away. That's what I gather from reading his conversation with Candia.

It's too bad the focus of this could not have been the Miami Dade BCC, or maybe is. The pond of fish is much larger from commissioners to their staff to county administrators. At any given commission meeting I'm always curious about the grants the County applies for and how much of those received grants actually go to the named cause and how much goes to administration. That would be fascinating to do a forensic accounting on those. That is in the millions of dollars.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. If nothing else, all elected officials should realize anything they say or do may be recorded at any given time and used against them.

Anonymous said...

Scott's BFF Marono and side kick Forte are certainly much more blatant. Candia received chump change compared to the two of those. Pizzi - well, he's rough around the edges and should have walked away.

The irony here is the Marono and Pizzi connections. Both of those city's' mayors are trying to annex areas of unwilling property owners. Both of them currently serve on the Jordan/Moss created Annexation and don't you dare let anyone Incorporate task force. Pizzi is the chair or was of that task force. For more irony is the fact that the Vice Chair of this task force was appointed by Moss and is the ethically charged/convicted, not sure if all the fines are paid, Ken Forbes!

Going back to Scott, it seems like all the King's horses are falling from DCF, Education, Elderly affairs and so on. If there's a GOP scum bag out there, Scott is buddy's with them.

I'm waiting to know who wouldn't take this scheme. If they were buddy's with Marono I'm assuming they're fellow GOPer's.

Good for the Fed's. At least they're trying to do something about the corruption down here. However, what happened with Rivera and Ana? Where's KFR with the AB brokers? I won't hold my breath for either prosecutions.

Diggy said...

Pizzi is on tape saying he “cant do it if it’s just bogus.” He said on the secret recoding that he was not worried about help for his campaign and doesn’t want the town to pay anything. When told “We are all gonna make money on it,” Pizzi said, “Well, I don’t need to make anything.”

This transcript only proves Pizzi is uncorruptable. So why the charges? What a bunch of bullshit.

Anonymous said...

Diggy, did you read the conversation with Candia & Pizzi after that? Unfortunately, he took the money. What about the campaign contributions? Pick and choose what you like. Anyone can. The courts will decide all of this at some point.

Anonymous said...

Should have written "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" in reply to Diggy.

Anonymous said...

The common element here is Jose Fuentes. This will spread far beyond Medley/MiamiLakes/Sweetwater as this slimy cast of characters starts to squeal they will implicate others who will in turn sing like canaries. Example: Fuentes was representing Charter Schools USA, Wayne Rosen ( a stakeholder in the CSUSA Keys Gate High School project) and the City of Homestead at the same time when the give away of City land was approved early in Mayor Batemans first term. Then, coincidentally, the Mayors long time business partner ends up with the construction job on the new high school building. Neither lobbyists nor public officials should be allowed to serve competing masters... CSUSA is connected to the activities of Tony Bennett in Indiana so it's not a stretch to think it will stop at nothing to keep the money machine rolling here.

Anonymous said...

Why couldn't they do a sting on a county commissioner? They had bigger fish they could have fried.

Anonymous said...

Another interesting undercurrent here is the purchase of Fuentes' and Candia's Lobbying Firm by Becker & Poliakoff in 2012. This was obviously going on at the time Becker was purchasing the firm. If it wasn't disclosed, I'd think Becker is probably going to sue Fuentes and Co. for Fraud, in order to get their money back that they paid for the Fuentes firm.

Becker sure has had a run of shitty things this year. Their whole Gov't Relations Team jumped ship, and then they bought the Fuentes firm while it was already embroiled in this mess. Not to mention all the Marlins Stadium crap surrounding Burgess.

Yikes! Not sure how they are going to keep their Miami-Dade Lobbying clients.

Cato II said...

Pizzi's a crook and he got caught pocketing cash. He participated in a scheme he told was corrupt, then shook down contractors for campaign contributions and cash. The campaign check violation is evidence of a guilty mind. Plus, keep in mind that each exchange is an independent violation of the Hobbs Act. Next shoe to drop for Pizzi: getting fired by the Town of Medley.

Anonymous said...

All politicians are guilty of shaking down people for campaign contributions. What do you think Lynda Bell is doing right now for Mark Bell who is running for Mayor?

Anonymous said...

so the so-called bribe was actually campaign contributions? Are u shitting me? why is he being singled out for harassment by the feds?

Geniusofdespair said...

No that is PART of the crime. You have to read the whole complaint.

Anonymous said...

Is Jose Fuentes the CHS (confidential human source) in the Pizzi complaint?

Anonymous said...

I like you GoD. But you missed a big possible big connection here. Take a look at the COO of Becker-Poliakoff...George Burgess.

Anonymous said...

I forget about the biggest scum in the fish pond - Mr. Marlins, George Burgess. I guess he feels off the hook for screwing everyone in Dade County except the lobbyists and their owners!

Anonymous said...

Burgess just got an appointment by the Gov to some new Public/Private oversight board.

Candia said he gave Pizzi the first $1,000 but there is no proof of that.

Candia also made statements that contradict Pizzi's statements.

Pizzi definitely crossed some lines here.

Yes, I agree ... why didn't they go after the really truly incredibly corrupt ones? Some of this stuff is gray area for sure.

Let's not lump Pizzi in with Morono. We are talking apples and assholes here.

Anonymous said...

The fact is, law enforcement doesn't spend the time and manpower on a sting unless they are going after someone who is suspected of wrongdoing through a pattern of behavior. Obviously, the FBI got wind that these individuals were up to some bad stuff, so they created a sting operation that would catch them in the act.

The Jolly AntiChrist said...

Pretty Lame how some C-List lobbyists, who couldn't get a client on their own, are throwing their colleagues under the bus as anonymous posters.

Stop gossiping and get back to work you slackers.

Anonymous said...

The complaint states that they started in June 2011. Does that mean that Forte did this while working for Bovo?
Wasn't Bovo elected in 2011?
I'm surprised the media hasn't picked up on that small fact.
I wonder how many other "small" laws Forte violated. For example, reporting that he was a lobbyst while working for a County Commissioner.
Channel 10 has a good report on Pembroke Pines Commissioners NOT falling for Forte's scam.

Anonymous said...

I hope every politician gets their anuses puckered up every time they meet with lobbyists. Which lobbyists are still wearing wires? Which elected officials are wearing wires? Which vehicles are wired?

Anonymous said...

Every tub has to sit on its own bottom. It is every man for himself. People have to sing to survive and everyone understands that.

Unknown said...

Pizzi was set-up and will probably get off but the implication of the charges are damning. In modern times when many politicians who have been charged and convicted for worse and then returned to public life . . . anything is possible. I wish Pizzi well because he didn't deserve this.