As Ladra researched the Miami Beach mayoral elections and talked to dozens of people, one name came up as often as that of the candidates’: Commissioner Jonah “Potty Mouth” Wolfson, un fosforito with possible ethics lapses who is hell bent on getting questionable millionaire jerk Philip Levine elected and is alternately described as Levine’s attack dog, influence peddler and sponsor.
Why are they saying these things about him? Wolfson wouldn’t tell me.
Read related post at Random Pixels: Random Pixels presents The Jonah Wolfson File
In what became a high-pitched, loud, whiny diatribe that is, apparently, characteristic of the personal injury lawyer, Wolfson refused to answer any questions Saturday about his involvement in the race and other ethical issues that were pointed out to me in the past few weeks. Those include dueling professed values on his Normadec Avenue home, a $100,000+ campaign to run against nobody in his last election, tens of thousands of contributions to his PAC by developer Russell Galbut — on the same day Wolfson voted to give him a parking variance (more on that later) — and, among other things, he and his wife’s rapidly climbing net worth, which has more than tripled from $118,000 to $372,000, according to Judge Andrea Wolfson’s financial disclosure forms.
Mental illness is not something to joke about, but maybe some of those people were right: Wolfson — who is known to go postal at the drop of a hat — may need to up his meds.
He did confirm that one of his office staffers has taken a leave of absence to work on the Levine campaign, which he said was perfectly legal and protected under first amendment rights. And he is right about that. But Wolfson — who has a PAC paying for attack ads on fellow Commissioner Michael Gongora — wouldn’t tell me why he is so invested in this race.
When I asked him about the different values on his home, he went off the reservation. His wife, the judge, claimed their home in the 8000 block of Noremac Avenue was worth $500,000 on her financial disclosure this year, an increase from $470,000 in 2011. While the address — which I have removed at the request of their attorney, JC Planas, to protect Judge Wolfson, he said — does not come up by number on the county’s online property records, homes on that block are assessed at between $155,000 and $170,000 with market values of $200,000 to $415,000. The house in between the house number to the north and the house number to the south — which should be the number corresponding to the Wolfson home — is assessed at $175,000 and has a stated market value of $207,000. But a reliable source tells me the couple is appealing that appraisal by the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, insisting it is lower still.
So which is it, Commissioner — $500,000 or less than $207,000?
“Oh! I see! You’re on the Bower Gongora payroll,” he answered. It was about the fifth time he made that baseless ridiculous accusation that everyone is coming to recognize already as what politicians typically and predictably turn to when I am on to something. My readers know that I have been accused of being on the payroll of several politicians/candidates whenever I tend to ask reasonable, legitimate questions of the other. They know it is not true. If nothing else but because nobody is safe with me.
“You’re not asking me any questions,” he yelled.
“Um, yes, I am. Which is it? Which is the value of your house?”
“You’re not asking questions. You are just attacking because that is what Matti Bower and Michael Gongora pay you to do,” he insisted over and over again. Which usually means Ladra is barking up the right tree.
Ladra tried to speak over his insults and asked him about his 2011 campaign, where he spent just over $107,000 against nobody and automatically won re-election. About $100,000 went to his consultant David Custin — who is now running the Levine campaign — for advertising, “thank you mailers” and even a $10,740 “retainer and bonus.” Then in March of this year, Wolfson came up with a hefty down payment to purchase a four-plex property in North Beach under the business name 601 74th Street LLC and a source says the cash down may have been funneled campaign funds.
“Of course you are going to say that. You are on the Matti Bower, Michael Gongora payroll,” he replied, when he could have used the same breath to deny it if it wasn’t true. Anywhere else in the business world, that might be suspected money laundering. Especially in light of the commissioner’s recent land purchase. There’s no indication on the judge’s financial disclosure that they had that kind of disposable income.
His answer to everything sounded like a broken record. “Bower/Gongora payroll. Bower/Gongora payroll.” He barely said anything else, except that I was not a real journalist.
But, of course, that is not what he thought when he was drumming his wife up to me during her judicial campaign last year or when he contacted me through a mutual friend to get me to write about the convention center vote he was pushing for. He thought I was a real journalist then, of course.
“I don’t know what you are talking about. Stop yelling! Stop yelling,” he yelled, practically at the top of his lungs, sounding sort of like a parrot or something. I was getting groceries at Winn Dixie, so I may have raised my voice up at some of his rants, but not to his level.
And how can Wolfson think I’m on Gongora’s payroll when I’ve sorta dissed the commissioner and already said I like third candidate Steve Berke better than the two front runners? He doesn’t read the blog, Wolfson said. Well, you should, maybe, before you go off casting false (read: slanderous) allegations. Because I’ve already noted that I don’t like your boy’s campaign and where he’s coming from.
That was a gotcha for him.
“Aha! You don’t like a candidate! I’ve never heard of that before. A journalist covering a race who doesn’t like one of the candidates?” His feigned surprise was very condescending.
It happens all the time, Ladra tried to explain to him, fully suspecting that he knows the Miami Herald recommended Gongora. And if you think all the reporters from TV and the few local papers like your candidate just because they are, um, less inquisitive than I am, you really shouldn’t even be in public office. Of course there are candidates and politicians they don’t like. Ever heard of a column? Or an editorial? Political Cortadito is all column all the time. Nobody is pretending to be unbiased and impartial here.
Doesn’t make the questions any less legitimate. After all, Ladra is not the only one who has heard the concerns. Fellow blogger Bill Cooke at Random Pixels has heard about a lot of nefarious stuff, too. And when I try to be balanced and reach out to the commissioner, all I get is slanderous accusations and insults. I half expected him to call me an “asshole” as Wolfson shouted to Berke at one of the debates last month.
It really doesn’t matter who I like or don’t like. The point is, Commissioner Wolfson, why do you like Levine so much?
Sources say that it wasn’t even Levine’s idea to run for mayor. Why would it be? He has voted only twice in the many years he has lived in the city, hasn’t been to one meeting, hasn’t served on one board and is suddenly interested in civic involvement at the highest level? It lends credence to the rumors that Levine was convinced to run by Wolfson and Custin so they could have more control over city contracts.
Why else would Commissioner Wolfson so ardently be supporting Levine?
You ask him. He won’t answer my questions.
Levine handler Jonah Wolfson dodges ethics questions added by Ladra on
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