Heat and fury have consumed Miami's political landscape after filmmaker Billy Corben blasted city leaders for alleged corruption, dubbing the metropolis "a predator city." During an explosive city commission meeting, footage of which Corben posted on his Instagram, the director of "Cocaine Cowboys" skewered Mayor Francis Suarez, City Attorney Vicki Méndez, and others as exploiters rather than public servants, as TheRealDeal reported.
Corben's ire was particularly directed towards Méndez, who, along with her family, has come under fire following a WLRN investigation into real estate dealings. According to the investigation, Méndez's husband, Carlos Morales, allegedly converted a profit from flipping properties acquired from a county-funded guardianship program. "We have a city attorney who also doesn’t live in the city who is being sued for a house flipping scheme with her husband that allegedly exploits, and deceives elderly homeowners," Corben charged at the meeting.
The nonprofit Guardianship Program of Dade County, which helps manage the assets of incapacitated individuals to cover their living expenses, reportedly sold homes to Morales’ company, Express Homes. He then renovated and flipped these homes, making considerable gains—activities that may have benefitted from Morales' connections to city hall to swiftly address code violations, claimed a lawsuit cited by X post.
Filmmaker Billy Corben: “Miami is a predator city” https://t.co/87zpiAaM3I pic.twitter.com/9jWYWbuZH1
— Tarah Young (@TheMissTarah) January 15, 2024
Despite the uproar and subsequent calls for her dismissal, Méndez defended her decade-long tenure. "The reason why I’ve lasted over 10.5 years is because of my integrity," Méndez retorted. "The reason why people like you get to bully me every day, and I don’t lose sleep over you is because you are a vile little man," she added, responding directly to Corben's allegations. Her fate was sealed nonetheless as the commission decided she would be terminated, but not before June.
Corben persisted with his appeal for a change in the Miami political scene, pointing to a legacy of scandals and imploring the city commission to act. "The city is drowning in a sea of scandals, unethical and possibly illegal conduct," said Corben, hoping to turn the tide against what he sees as a corrupt current in Miami's corridors of power.
