Institutionalized corruption thrives in Miami
Al’s Loupe
Institutionalized corruption thrives in Miami
By Alvaro F. Fernandez
alvaro@progresoweekly.com
All indicators point to District 2 voters in Miami-Dade County reelecting Commissioner Dorrin Rolle in November. It will demonstrate, once again, how Miami’s political leadership needs to be jump-started and changed, but won’t. Instead of electing politicians who benefit Miami, we keep recycling the Dorrin Rolles we have too many of and seem to reproduce like viruses.
Rolle was initially appointed commissioner in 1998 by then Florida Governor Lawton Chiles. The county commissioner at the moment, James Burke, had just been indicted. (He was later found guilty of accepting bribes.) Rolle headed Liberty City’s most important social services agency, JESCA, and seemed the ideal man to replace an embarrassment like Burke.
But since his appointment, and then his election and reelections, Rolle has been no more than a disgrace. That’s putting it mildly. At the very least this man should be investigated – if he hasn’t already been. And if he has, someone needs to look a little closer. Although he has been slapped on the wrist several times for conflicts of interest as commissioner, I would like to point out a couple of incidents that made bells shrill in my ears.
The project that never was
Commissioner Rolle’s district sits where a Boston developer, Dennis Stackhouse, allegedly stole money backed by public funds earmarked for a bio-pharmaceutical park project that was supposed to help in the revitalization of a Liberty City neighborhood. As part of his plans, Stackhouse helped politicians along the way. One of those was Dorrin Rolle.
Stackhouse received land and public backing for his project, which he pitched to community leaders in 2003 as a $118 million retail and office complex, that would create up to 3,500 jobs. Among his many lies was the promise to deliver prestigious clients, which included the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
By 2009, when Stackhouse was arrested, nothing had been built.
I can’t help but question how the district commissioner where such a project is to happen did not see this coming. Let me draw you the picture: A carpetbagger bearing gifts asks for your help in securing million dollar loans to help him with a project. You give (from public coffers, of course) and apparently receive (from where and how much is to be determined). This dance of the millions is begun in 2003, and by 2009 NOTHING had been built. Not a rock had been turned. And Rolle claims (and this is documented), that he had NO knowledge of what was happening…
At the very least, as a constituent, I would call the commissioner irresponsible. In my case I wonder if this Rolle fellow had become too cozy with this Stackhouse swindler.
Taking from Peter… to pay yourself
But there’s another case where you would think would assure that Rolle is never elected to any position of power ever again. It deals with JESCA, the Liberty City agency he headed until last year. At present, JESCA is bankrupt and battling bill collectors and persons due money dating back to — Dorrin Rolle.
And it’s not the bankruptcy that should heap shame on Rolle. It’s his attitude while running an agency into the ground and caring more for himself than his (here’s the word again) constituents. It turns out Rolle was paid handsomely as director of JESCA – in the $200,000 range. (By the way, meaning Rolle was double dipping – earning money as commissioner and receiving a JESCA salary where part of the money came from the county.)
At a time when JESCA had no money to pay employees and perform their duties as a community social service agency, Rolle was assuring himself that his $200,000 salary was paid by JESCA. In fact, one of his conflict of interest citations came as a result of lobbying the same county commission where he serves to secure funds for JESCA. Interestingly, it was $200,000 he was seeking.
In spite of his record, Rolle has managed to amass a campaign war chest for the November election that dwarfs his nearest county commission competitors. As of the last report, Rolle had more than $154,000 collected. His two opponents had a little over $10,000 – together. And if you take a look at the list of contributors, it is a who’s who of Miami lobbyists and persons who do business with the county. Also found among the names are some of Miami’s most prominent citizens.
Which in the end only proves that elections in Miami are not held for the good of its residents. Elections in Miami are held so that politicians like Dorrin Rolle can assure that a system of institutionalized corruption continues to thrive.