Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo is facing a lawsuit that claims he misused funds from the Bayfront Park Management Trust and retaliated against whistleblowers. According to NBC Miami, two former employees, Jose Suarez and Jose Canto, who previously worked as the Trust's executive director and finance director, respectively, are alleging Carollo leveraged the organization's resources to benefit friends and family and squashed concerns about improprieties.
The plaintiffs accuse Carollo of nefarious dealings, including allowing unpermitted electrical work by a local food truck company and invoicing the Trust for personal events, such as a yacht party. Carollo strongly denies these allegations, labeling them as "baseless" in a statement obtained by CBS Miami.
"This is gonna get thrown out quickly. They're claiming whistleblower. Look, I know a little bit about whistleblower and they have no basis whatsoever for whistleblower," Carollo stated, dismissing the claims and suggesting that the plaintiffs were "lying through their teeth." At the heart of the lawsuit are several specific allegations. Suarez and Canto claim that the Bayfront Trust paid for Carollo's political endeavors and events that the Trust did not stand to benefit from, NBC Miami reports. These included an allegedly unpermitted electrical job by the restaurant El Toro Loco, which was described as a powerful political ally to Carollo, along with questionable payments for broadcasting rights of an event and for a mobile veterinary van filled with controlled substances.
In response, Carollo has mounted a vigorous defense, arguing that any funds used were part of legitimate efforts to serve Miami residents, including organizing vaccination and sterilization programs for pets. "Sixty-five percent of voters in this district elected me," he told CBS Miami. "I'm here to serve them and I will not be deterred by baseless lawsuits." Meanwhile, Javier Baños, another board member implicated in the lawsuit, has denied the allegations as well, emphasizing collective decision-making processes and transparency in his rebuttal statement.
"The temperature and climate at the trust just got impossible to be able to move forward on anything," Suarez told NBC Miami. Carollo, on the other hand, insists these claims are a distraction from the work he has dedicated himself to for Miami's residents. As the lawsuit proceeds in federal court, the details of these allegations will be closely examined in the light of justice.
