MIAMI MIRROR TRUE REFLECTIONS

Political Cartoon by Marian Del Vecchio

MIAMI-DADE ETHICS COMMISSION STONEWALLS THE PUBLIC

Secrecy may be maintained until Doomsday
22 November 2014
By David Arthur Walters
MIAMI MIRROR
Miami BeachNelson Bellido, Esq. Chairman of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and
Public Trust (COE) did not respond directly to the Miami Mirrors inquiry yesterday as to
whether or not it had taken or would take any action on an Information filed on 15 October
with Joe Centorino, Esq., the director of its staff, in regards of the failure of several lobbyists for
Miami Beach real estate developments to either register as lobbyists or to disclose the names
of the persons heading the limited liability companies they represented, and the identities of
anyone holding a 5% or more interest in those entities, as required by the citys lobbyist
ordinance 92-2777.
Certain kinds of artificial persons are commonly organized not only to shield their officers,
investors and beneficiaries from personal liability, but to conceal the identities of such natural
persons. Therefore, the commission of the City of Miami Beach, observing that all citizens have

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a right to know what their officials are doing, a right that includes knowing the names of parties
influencing legislation and administrative decisions, mandated that:
"If the lobbyist represents a corporation partnership or trust the chief officer partner or
beneficiary shall also be identified. Without limiting the foregoing, the lobbyist shall also
identify all persons holding directly or indirectly a five percent 5 or more ownership interest in
such corporation partnership or trust." (Ordinance 92-2777, as adopted 4 March 1992)
Instead of responding directly to a member of the legitimate press who serves the public as a
delator* i.e. a common informer, Mr. Bellido was purportedly bound to take cover behind the
skirts of the county code as summarized by COE Communications Director Rhonda Sibilia.
When information is received by this office regarding a possible violation of any ordinance
under this agencys jurisdiction, it is confidential, Ms. Sibilia advised. Once probable cause is
found, the case is closed or the complaint is dismissed, we can acknowledge it publicly. Until
either of those things occurs, we can neither confirm nor deny our participation. I hope you
understand that these are parameters we must operate under according to the enabling
ordinance that established the Ethics Commission.
Indeed, Sec. 2-1074(e) of the Miami-Dade Code of Ordinances states that, All proceedings, the
complaint, and other records relating to the preliminary investigation as provided herein shall
be confidential and exempt from the provisions of Section 119, Florida Statutes, either until the
alleged violator requests in writing that such investigation and records be made public records
or the preliminary investigation is completed notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 120,
Florida Statutes, and Chapter 286, Florida Statutes. As provided in Section 2-1074(b), the
preliminary investigation is completed when the probable cause determination is made. All
other proceedings conducted pursuant to this subsection shall be public meetings within the
meaning of Chapter 286, Florida Statutes, and all other documents made or received by the
Ethics Commission shall be public records within the of Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.
A complaint was not filed with the COE. Public informationlobbyist registration forms with
inadequacies acknowledged by the city clerkwas simply brought before the director with this
underlying statement: The City of Miami Beach has evidently been remiss in diligently
enforcing its lobbyist ordinance in crucial provisions, at least in respect to these lobbyists and
their principals. It may also be negligent in providing for effective penalties and adequate
remedies so that the goal of compliance will more likely be obtained in the future. This
communication comprises an Information, and not a Complaint, therefore you are left to act on
your own initiative according to your conscience while the lobbying industry and the public
watches.

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Nothing in Sec. 2-1074(e) prohibits the COE from affirming or denying that an investigation has
been opened or will be conducted into information brought before its staff. Even if a formal
complaint were filed, nothing would prohibit the commission from acknowledging that one has
been received or that an investigation has been or will be initiated, while, at the same time,
refusing to provide any specific record such as the complaint itself or investigative documents.
The Florida Bar has a rule similar to the county ordinance, yet it will acknowledge to the press
that an investigation of an attorney is underway providing that the request provides specific
identifying information. In the United Kingdom, the agency that handles complaints publishes
online the names of lawyers against whom current investigations are pending. The failure to
publish this kind of information may prevent members of the public from coming forward to
testify against miscreants before their cases are decided.
Hopefully every civilized citizen knows that people are innocent until proven guilty. The type of
secrecy employed here is designed not only to protect the innocent, but officials who wish to
protect their colleagues and/or cloak their negligence and other forms of malfeasance.
We may reasonably infer from Ms. Sibilias statement in this instance that damning information
could be received by the COE, never inquired into, or, if inquired into, never acted upon, and
anyone following up to see if the behavior of officials were appropriate would be confronted by
a boilerplated stonewall.
Now let us imagine, arguendo, that Mr. Centorino, a former public corruption prosecutor,
looked at the Information filed with him, and decided that no action should be taken since it
was not a complaint filed by the city clerk, the process provided for by the local ordinance,
which the city clerk, Rafael Granado, Esq., decided not to follow, instead electing to ask the
lobbyists to file corrected forms long after the issues lobbied on were decided on information
hidden from the public view.
If that were the case, then Mr. Centorino, and Mr. Bellido as well, since a copy of the
Information was filed with him, could be in violation of Floridas public records law as well as
the countys Citizens Bill of Rights and the very rule referred to by Ms. Sibilia, since the decision
to take no action would in effect be a dismissal or finding of no probable cause.
Indeed, a common complaint against investigative bodies, especially bar regulators, is that
officials dismiss most complaints they receive without investigating them and entering them
onto a public record for everyone to view. The Florida Bar keeps a record of complaints it does
investigate and dismiss for a year before destroying them. Police departments make records of
dismissed complaints against police officers public, but some departments have begun to
destroy the records when a short period of time expires, so private watchdogs attempt to
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collect them beforehand because they might indicate a pattern of misconduct by certain
officers even though the complaints were dismissed.
On the other hand, let us assume that Mssrs. Centorino and Bellido comply with the law. Then
we may interpret the silence here as an affirmation (qui tacet consentire videtur) that an
investigation has been initiated. Still, if the investigation is never concluded, the public shall be
kept in the dark forever and ever or until Doomsday when officials are judged.
##
*

The Common Informer, with his eyes constantly fixed on the flaws and crookednesses of the
statutes, and feeding upon them, contracts in his features an habitual sharpness and wary
meanness of expression. The Common Informer may be an injured goodness, a real
benevolence under a cloud of odium; inasmuch as his labours, suspected and despised as they
always are, may, in many instances, enforce the working out of legislative wisdom. A
celebrated Informer laid an information against the servants of our maiden queen for having
failed to emblazon her initials on the vehicle. And why have we thus dwelt upon this ancient
folly,--this grim absurdity of our law-makers? Simply, that it is to their love of the obscure--to
their admiration of the dim twilight of sense, in preference to the broad daylight of truth--that
we owe nearly all the labours of the Common Informer. Bentham has declared the functions
of the Common Informer to be most honourable: in truth, Cato, with his sour face and bare
feet, might have plied the trade, gaining a civic wreath for the energy and utility of his
practice.... (Jerrold, Douglas, The Common Informer, in HEADS OF THE PEOPLE, PORTRAITS OF
THE ENGLISH, Vizetelly & Co., London: 1840

PUBLIC RECORD LINK TO FILE:

MIAMI BEACH LOBBYIST REGISTRATION IRREGULARITES
https://www.scribd.com/doc/239176286/Miami-Beach-Lobbyist-Registration-Irregularities

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