HomeMy Public PortalAbout2012-11-01 Special MeetingBAL HARBOUR VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - NOVEMBER 1, 2012
A Special Meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council was held on Thursday,
2012, at the Bal Harbour Village Hall Council Chambers (655 — 96th Street,
Florida).
1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL: The meeting was called to
a.m. by Mayor Rosenfield. The following were present:
Mayor Jean Rosenfield
Assistant Mayor Joni D. Blachar
Councilwoman Patricia Coheni
Councilman Martin Packer2
Councilman Jaime M. Sanz
Alfred J. Treppeda, Village Manager
Ellisa L. Horvath, MMC, Village Clerk
Thomas Hunker, Police Chief
Richard J. Weiss, Village Attorney
Matthew Pearl, Village Attorney
As a quorum was determined to be present, the meeting commenced.
November 1,
Bal Harbour,
order at 8:31
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge was led by Village resident
Anthony Gillam.
3. UPDATE REGARDING LETTER FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE: Mayor Rosenfield noted that the Council was disturbed by the articles in
the Miami Herald. She advised that the Council was being proactive about addressing the
allegations. She encouraged the residents to have confidence in their government and
Police Department. She knew the residents expected the Council to ask questions and
provide transparency in the results of the review. Mayor Rosenfield recommended that the
Village retain an outside law firm, as special counsel, to review the report from the DOJ
(United States Department of Justice). She reported that the Council, Village Manager, and
Village Attorney had recommended that the law firm of Gelber, Schachter and Greenberg
be hired, to conduct the review.
A motion was offered by Mayor Rosenfield and seconded by Assistant Mayor Blachar to hire the
law firm of Gelber, Schachter, and Greenberg as special Counsel, with fees to be negotiated by
Mr. (Weiss The motion carried (4-0), with the roll call vote as follows: Assistant Mayor Blachar
Yes; Councilman Sanz yes; Mayor Rosenfield yes; Councilwoman Cohen yes; and Councilman
Packer absent
Councilman Packer arrived.
1 Councilwoman Cohen participated via telephone.
2 Councilman Packer arrived during the Update Regarding Letter from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Bal Harbour Village Special Council Meeting Minutes 11/01/2012 1
Mr. Treppeda reviewed the following timeline:
August 17, 2011
March 2012
October 2012
the DOJ informed the Village they were conducting a routine
compliance review of the equitable sharing program;
the DOJ issued a subpoena for records related to the equitable
sharing program; and
the DOJ provided a letter concerning the findings of their
investigations, but had not provided the audit report. They advised
that a Freedom of Information Act would have to be made, for the
audit to be obtained. The Village Attorney had requested the report.
Once the audit was received, the Village could work to formulate a
report to the findings.
Mr. Treppeda reported that the DOJ made the Village Police Department ineligible for
participation in the equitable sharing program and had requested reimbursement of
$4,227,619.00, in equitable sharing money. He added that the DOJ would be checking for
additional amounts that may be owed, for expenditures made since the end of their original
audit. He reported that the forfeiture fund had a $2 million balance. He clarified that the
expenditures in question were not the items that had been approved by the Village Council
at meetings, but were for operational expenses of the unit. He clarified that the Village was
fully cooperating with the DOJ.
Mr. Treppeda reported that he had stopped items funded with forfeiture funds and the
following items had been addressed:
• Police Department overtime was prohibited, except for unavoidable situations, such
as court or special events;
• The contracts for two officers of the forfeiture unit were cancelled;
• The Task Force is inactive;
• A 30-day notice was provided to the accreditation consultant, which was paid with
forfeiture funds;
• Other items paid with forfeiture funds will be identified and discontinued, if possible;
and
• The Council engaged outside counsel to represent the Village, in dealing with the
DOJ.
Mr. Treppeda reported that the Village would have been entitled to $9 million in forfeiture
funds, if it wasn't ineligible to participate in the program. He requested Council direction for
the outside counsel to negotiate the fastest way to settle the matter, or to work towards
securing all or some of the $9 million (in pending forfeiture proceeds).
Mr. Treppeda noted that the DOJ had requested the Village's plan, within two weeks.
Chief Tom Hunker took full responsibility for the audit and noted that the Police Department
Dal Harbour Village Special Council Meeting Minutes 11/01/2012 2
hadn't done anything wrong. He reviewed a Powerpoint presentation (Tri-County Money
Laundering Task Force — Stats of Seizures & Arrests listed by State 2009-2012), which
included the task force accomplishments (arrests as wells as drugs and money seized), the
money laundering process, and undercover operations. He explained that it wasn't about
the money, but was about getting drugs off the streets and decreasing crime. He reported
that the Tri-County Task Force was a separate entity and followed rules, procedures, and
guidelines. Chief Hunker reported that he had not received the audit report from the DOJ
yet and had only received the subpoena, which the DOJ had said was not responded to in
a timely manner. He discussed the letter received from DOJ, dated October 26, 2012.
Chief Hunker reviewed the money laundering process on the Powerpoint presentation.
Chief Hunker explained that everything purchased with the forfeiture money had gone
through the process. He clarified that the dispute was that the DOJ believed that the
contract employees should not be paid, using forfeiture funds. He spoke in favor of
someone reviewing everything that was done. He noted that they weren't supplementing
the Village budget with the money, but were providing additional services for the residents.
He reported that other local agencies were doing the same thing, with officers in task
forces. He clarified that the Village created its task force, because he believed that they
could do it better, which the statistics showed. He thought that in doing so, it may have
created some discourse with others. He hoped that the Council and community had
confidence in him.
Kenneth Each, City of North Miami (776 NE 125th Street) - former Police Officer and
Police Chief, spoke in favor of Chief Hunker and supporting him. He spoke against the
nonsense in the newspaper.
Brian Mulheren, 10245 Collins Avenue, spoke in favor of appointing a federal monitor.
He spoke against taxpayer dollars being used for an outside law firm. He spoke against the
Village having its own task force with Glades County, since there weren't enough officers to
patrol the Village, and a few officers could be assigned to an established task force. He
questioned the action taken by the Village regarding its own audit and why the residents
weren't notified about it. Mr. Mulheren discussed the Miami Herald suit against the Village,
which the taxpayers had to pay for.
Dina Cellini, 211 Bal Cross Drive, clarified that the items in the letter from DOJ were not
allegations, but were findings. She reviewed the findings listed in the letter from the DOJ,
including: the Village Police Department repeatedly failed to cooperate with the DOJ, the
OIG (Inspector General) concluded serious financial deficiencies and compliance failures
by both Bal Harbour Police and the Tri-County Task Force, they brought in over $56 million
without adequate written policies or procedures, prosecutorial oversight, or audits of
undercover bank accounts, and they failed to follow the Glades and Village Memorandum
of Understanding. She highlighted that the Village was dealing with cash and that abuses
could occur, which is why strict procedures and guidelines were in place, which the Village
didn't follow. Ms. Cellini discussed the overtime for the officers who counted the money.
She reported that the audit by Village Auditors Marcum LLP found serious and material
weaknesses. Ms. Cellini spoke against spending more money. She suggested that the
Weiss Serota (Village Attorneys) malpractice carrier be put on notice, since they had
approved all of the expenditures. She also spoke in favor of letting Chief Hunker know that
he couldn't do whatever he wanted.
Ms. Cellini discussed a complaint filed by Bal Harbour Police Officer Ray Fernandez, in
Bal Harbour Village Special Council Meeting Minutes 11/01/2012 3
May, which alleged some of the same lack of oversight that the DOJ had concluded. She
urged the Council to send Chief Hunker on his way.
Doug Rudolph, 212 Bal Bay Drive, spoke in favor of looking into the issue and having an
independent law firm (attorney) to represent the Village, before jumping to conclusions and
making decisions. He noted that those attending the Council meetings were aware of the
forfeiture program and benefited from it.
Larry Jaffee, 10175 Collins Avenue, didn't believe that they were allegations, but were
findings by a federal government. He questioned what the Village did, in response to the
findings of its own audit, regarding the discrepancies. He also questioned why the Police
Department failed to cooperate with the DOJ. He spoke against the residents having to pay
and spoke in favor of a substantial investigation by the federal government, not paid by the
taxpayers. He suggested that the violator(s) pay the amount.
Steve Greenberg, 9800 Collins Avenue, requested the amount that the Village owed and
noted that the residents didn't want taxpayer dollars to be used. He suggested that Doug
Rudolph pay the amount, since he supported Chief Hunker.
Dan Holder, 24 Bal Bay Drive, spoke in favor of a full investigation and withholding
judgment, until the facts were in. He spoke in favor of hiring outside counsel, paid by the
Village.
Dr. Michael VVittels, 78 Camden Drive, spoke against judgment, based on the Herald
articles, before all the facts were presented. He noted that the forfeiture expenditures were
used to maintain a first class Police Department, not for personal use by the Chief or
Officers. He clarified that the expenditures were approved by the Village Attorneys and
Council. He spoke in favor of the Village being cohesive and the residents not speaking ill
of the Village, since nothing had been proven. He spoke in favor of hiring outside counsel
and the Village paying to do so.
Councilman Sanz voiced concern, because it was the DOJ making the allegations. He
noted that the Council and the Village's reputation needed to be defended and cleared.
Assistant Mayor Blachar discussed the letter and spoke in favor of innocence, until proven
otherwise. She noted that a full investigation would be conducted and spoke against
residents making accusations. She clarified that nobody had complained when they had
benefitted from the proceeds of the Task Force. Assistant Mayor Blachar explained that the
items under review were the operational expenses of the unit and not the items that the
Council had approved. She spoke in favor of supporting the Chief and discussed the
positive qualities of the Police Department. She spoke in favor of hiring outside counsel to
review the audit, when it was received. She clarified that the audit had not been received.
Councilman Packer agreed with everything voiced by the Council. He spoke against
rushing to judgment and spoke in favor of hiring outside counsel to review the issue. He
spoke against rushing to judge the Police Department, which was the finest on the east
coast.
A letter from Councilwoman Cohen was read by Mrs. Horvath. In the letter, Councilwoman
Cohen voiced concern regarding the allegations, but felt that all the facts needed to be
brought to light, before hasty conclusions were reached, final decisions were made, or
definitive actions were taken. She spoke in favor of the Village retaining outside counsel.
Bal Harbour Village Special Council Meeting Minutes 11/01/2012 4
Mayor Rosenfield noted that she was pleased with the work that the Village law firm did
and for recommending that outside counsel be hired. She read the following paragraph
"our residents don't expect us to circle the wagons. They expect us to ask questions in a
thoughtful and thorough manner and to provide transparency in whatever results from our
review." She explained that was what the Village would be doing.
4. ADJOURN: There being no further business, a motion was offered by
Assistant Mayor Blachar and seconded by Councilman Packer to adjourn the meeting The
motion carried (4-0) and the meeting was adjourned at 9:27 a.m.
Attest:
Ellisa L. Horvath, M illage Clerk
Bat Harbour Village Special Council Meeting Minutes 11/01/2012 5