In the wake of the arrest this week of the now-suspended Homestead Mayor Steve Bateman on public corruption charges, questions are starting to arise about how much his campaign manager and confidant, Frank May, had to do not only with his graft but with day-to-day city operations.
Described to Ladra by several people as a shady guy (my word, their word was “scum” or “lowlife” or “trouble”), May is a low-profile political operative who concentrates on shenanigans in Homestead, where he is director for a non-profit that runs the city-owned Seminole Theatre, which has received somewhere around $11 million over the years from the city for renovations that are never completed. He was cut off years ago but las malas lenguas say that is why he runs campaigns — to stack the council — because he wants up to $6 million more for the project originally projected to cost under $4 million.
May — who worked as a consultant for former Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flinn when he ran for the commission seat eventually won by Commissioner Lynda Bell, apparently May’s public enemy number 1 — is also accused of a smear campaign against current City Manager George Gretsas, who apparently did not let Bateman run the city and hire cronies like Sergio Purrinos had allegedly done. Like maybe he did with May. And he is widely considered to be the anonymous blogger on Good Morning Homestead (“Grrrrr,” goes Ladra) that started writing in June to praise Bateman and bash mayoral challenger Mark Bell, the commissioner’s husband.
Several sources said May — whose ties to city business and electeds is thoroughly covered in the Homestead is Home blog, which is apparently anti-Bateman and pro-Bell — is also being investigated for his role in Bateman’s deal with Community Health of South Florida, Inc., where Bateman allegedly used his position as mayor to facilitate (read: lobby for and pressure) the company’s projects and permits in government pipelines — which he was arrested for Wednesday. According to the extremely compromising arrest warrant for Bateman for charges of unlawful compensation, he had requested that CHI also hire an assistant for him, one who was paid $40 an hour.
His name: Frank May.
Bateman apparently liked to keep him around as much as possible.
Because May also had a contract with the city to do public relations and “ghost writing” work from January 2010 — starting right after his slate of candidates, including Bateman, was elected in 2009 — to March of 2012, earning $38,000 in total for that. The first year, May had seven bylines in the Community Newspapers about Homestead stuff. Most provided a vehicle for the mayor to raise his profile. Who knows how many others he ghost wrote without a byline?
One of the bylined pieces was on what Bateman called the downtown district’s renaissance since the September 2009 opening of Dade Medical College. It comes accompanied with a photo of Bateman and college CEO Ernesto Perez, who is connected to other suspected Bateman flimflam.
Because while Bateman was only charged with unlawful compensation in connection with his secret payments from CHI (for now), it’s not the only graft he is suspected of. He is also under criminal investigation for allegations that he secretly lobbied (again!) the city to sell Perez 3.5 acres of city-owned property for roughly a third of its value — and getting his wife, Donna, to handle the juicy real estate deal.
Perez later donated at least $7,500 in bundled maximum $500 checks to Bateman’s 2011 campaign. Quid pro quo.
But maybe part of that was payment for May’s propaganda piece, er, I mean story, in which he lauds Perez’s contributions to the community: “[He] recently donated more than $8,000 to renew and maintain Paradise Way, the promenade immediately north of the Art South Sanctuary building. A variety of trees, plants, and flowers were added to the landscape by Mr. Perez. Pavers were pressure-cleaned and a new irrigation system was installed. The impact of the renewal is dramatic and has created an attractive green space downtown,” the story reads.
And, of course, he takes the opportunity to quote the former mayor, and give him a chance to dance for his dollars.
“The impact of Dade Medical College has been positive and dramatic,” Bateman is quoted as saying. “Our downtown is alive with students and the landscaping improvements to Paradise Way have transformed a blighted area to an attractive one. This is a win-win situation for everyone.
“Mr. Perez is a fine corporate citizen and I applaud his efforts,” Bateman said. Ladra is sure he also appreciated his deep pockets.
It seems like very little for $38,000, but maybe May had other duties not necessarily in his job description.
Like ghost write the mayor’s memos to the council members. A pair of emails obtained by Ladra indicate that May, who also allegedly wrote his speeches, could have been literally putting words in the mayor’s mouth within the city, too.
The subject matter on the Feb. 21, 2012 emails is pretty benign: Bateman just wants the council to prepare for the budget process and urges them to familiarize themselves with the city charter and the needs, goals and revenue sources of each department, organizational charts and other things.
It’s the subject lines on both emails — sent 14 minutes apart — that are noteworthy.
The first one sent at 5:23 p.m. was apparently sent without erasing the forward note in the subject line, which says “FW: Budget Comments from Frank for your Approval.”
The final one, sent at 5:47 p.m., more appropriately says “Budget Cycle” in the same space.
But the two emails are exactly alike. So, either Bateman forgot to change the subject line, or he just forwarded it without much of an edit, which seems more likely.
And maybe that’s why May’s employment at the city ended a month later.
Gretsas has been in meetings all morning and has not had the chance to call Ladra back, I was told. May has not responded to several emails.
But stay tuned, folks. Because, who knew Homestead was so hot?
Meet Frank May of Homestead: Steve Bateman’s brain added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
