Miami Commissioner Frank Carollo‘s little stunt to get out of a traffic ticket in 2012 probably cost him about 10 times as much as the original citation would have.
Carollo, who apparently called the police chief in August of 2012 after he was stopped in Coconut Grove, pleaded no contest Wednesday to an accusation that he exploited his office (read: abused his position) and will have to pay about $2,400 — $1,000 for the fine from the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust and investigative costs totaling $1,404.15.
“The investigation determined that, after being pulled over, Carollo called the chief, who subsequently called the area commander, who then told dispatchers to have the officer call him. The officer let Carollo go with a warning,” reads a statement issued by the Ethics Commission Wednesday. During the public hearing, Commissioner Carollo also agreed to accept a Letter of Instruction, which is to be drafted and presented to the Ethics Commission at its monthly meeting next week.
Congratulations to fellow watchdog blogger Al Crespo, of the Crespogram Report, who filed the complaint against Carollo. But he is right when he says there are more guilty parties here, since the chief has encouraged commissioners to call him directly whenever they have a problem.
Hey Chief, can I get your cellphone number, too? You know, just in case?
After the settlement was unanimously approved, Ethics Commission Chairman Nelson Bellido said it would send a message to the community and other elected officials not to exploit their positions or give the appearance of doing so.
“Our elected officials need to be held to a higher standard,” Bellido said.
You think they are moved by that?
Just tell them that breaking the rules could end up costing them more.
Frank Carollo pleads ‘no contest’ to ‘call the chief’ ethics charge added by Ladra on
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