Some of our ethically challenged want to influence Cuba’s future

By Felipe Pagliery

Florida has many politicians and individuals who would easily fall under a grouping titled “ethically challenged” – if it existed.

Take the case of Governor Rick Scott, who came to office last year using more than $70 million of his own money. Dough he made as chief executive and co-founder of Columbia/HCA, which became the largest private for-profit health care company in the U.S.

He was forced to resign the company in 1997, amid a scandal over its business and Medicare billing practices. In settlements reached in 2000 and 2002, Columbia/HCA pleaded guilty to 14 felonies and agreed to a $600+ million fine in the largest fraud settlement in U.S. history.

Then there’s the ongoing ordeal with U.S. Rep. David Rivera, elected to the Congress last year. Rivera, it appears, has never held a real job (unless you consider what they do in Tallahassee as real work), but as a member of the Florida state house of representatives investigations show that money was funneled to him through his mother, godmother and who knows who else. The amounts not earned by Rivera may run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rivera is currently under investigation by local, state and federal authorities.

We can go on and on. They are at every level of government and the questionable money deals range from the thousands to the millions. There are even situations like Miami’s tunnel from nowhere project and the airport, where the dollar amounts run into the billions.

But the politicians are not alone. This past weekend a story that appeared in The Miami Herald demonstrates how the private sector also benefits from corrupt ‘public servants’. The article titled “Faulty pumps cloud agency” is summarized nicely as follows: “When expensive pumps meant to draw water from Lake Okeechobee failed, the South Florida Water Management District did little to pursue repairs or a refund.”

To make a long article short, The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is a regional government agency that oversees water resources in 16 Florida counties. It has an appointed board. During the time of the faulty deal, the agency’s vice chairman was a Miami lawyer by the name of Nicolas Gutierrez – chosen by Governor Jeb Bush. Under Gutierrez, and the rest of the nine-member board, SFWMD purchased 15 pumps worth $1.5 million from a Hollywood company, Morrison Pump Co. The problem, though, was that the pumps failed immediately after installation and Morrison refused to live up to their five-year warranty. In the end, SFWMD had to purchase 14 replacement pumps at a cost of $1.85 million. Using public money.

Nick Gutierrez, the agency vice chair, also happens to be the lawyer for Morrison Pump Co. When asked why Morrison refused to pay back the money it owed the state agency, Gutierrez’ retort was a classic non-answer: “Why? That’s a good question…”

I thought this last story was important to Progreso Weekly readers because Gutierrez is among a list that would like to plan and develop Cuba’s future. He is a Cuban-American who has been focused in existing property claims against the Cuban government on the island. He is also Secretary and Director of the National Association of Sugar Mill owners of Cuba, general counsel of the Cuban Association for Tobacco Industry, and vice president of the Association of Banks of Cuba.

Nick was the lead writer in the George W. Bush era law that limited family visits to Cuba to once every three years. And, I believe, he had his hands in the Helms-Burton law passed during the decade of the 1990s.

As someone who lives in Miami and is not from Cuba, but who has read widely about Cuba and its history, this fellow Nick Gutierrez sounds like the type of person who would mire Cuba’s future in its past: a time when Cuba was known for its corruption and a close-knit relationship with the mafia.

It’s not for me to say, but this influential attorney may not be what’s best for Florida – as he demonstrates by partaking openly and with impunity in conflict of interest cases like the aforementioned Morrison Pump situation.

And if his standards are dubious here, why should they be better when dealing with Cuba’s future?

Felipe Pagliery was born in Uruguay. He is retired and lives in Hallandale, Fl.