Opening statements began today in the federal tax evasion and fraud trial against former Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina and his wife Raiza, in 
what is likely to become one of the closest watched local political trials lately — and that’s saying something in this atmosphere.
According to documents from the U.S. Attorney’s office, witnesses include convicted Ponzi scammer Luis Felipe Perez, Robertico Blanco and his uncle Rodolfo Blanco, who were business partners with the former mayor. Roberto is son of Rolando Blanco, at whose home Robaina reportedly received envelopes stuffed with cash. The Blancos and Robaina were pals of “Felipito,” who was the one who dropped the dime on the Hialeah shadow banking industry — just in time for the 2011 county mayoral election — in order to have time off his sentence.
Other witneses are Councilwoman Vivian “I’ll Notarize That” Casals-Munoz, who signed as a notary on most if not every single illegal loan that Robaina made, and former Councilman Willie Zuniga, who sued both Robaina and Casals-Munoz — claiming that they conspired to charge him an illegal 36% interest on a mortgage loan.
Also among those expected to testify: City Clerk Marbelys Fatjo, who will likely testify to the veracity of the documents in evidence; the current mayor’s liaison for community development, Jonathan Martinez, who used to drive Robaina around and maybe witnessed one or more of the cash deliveries; and Rolando Bolanos, Jr., son of the former police chief, who had a business with Roberto Blanco in 2007 called Blanco Bolanos Consulting.
But there is one curious hole in the witness list: Mayor Carlos “Castro” Hernandez, a Robaina mentee who everyone knows was in cahoots with the mayor and who was in the illegal loan shark business himself, as he practically admitted on a Spanish language news magazine show during the 2011 mayoral election.
That was when TV host Oscar Haza exposed a couple of checks made to Hernandez by Perez– checks that are now in the hands of the feds — that indicate he was getting 36 % interest. Hernandez basically admitted it was interest — which the calculations worked out to 36%, because you can’t fudge the math — before he went back and said, basically, “Wait, no, I mean principal!”
Yeah, sure he did.
There is also a bankruptcy filing by Recaredo Gutierrez, one of the Hialeah maquinita kings, who listed a $50,000 debt to Mayor Hernandez in his filing.
Why on Earth has Hernandez, who steals votes from the elderly and abuses his power every chance he gets, been given a pass on this? If he isn’t going to be charged, why isn’t he at least called to testify?
Also conspicuously missing from the witness list is Luis Miramontes, a convicted felon to whom the Blancos made a $65,000 loan, but who was instructed to deliver payments to Robaina’s home every month. I kid you not.
In the “mortgage note” part of a mortgage deed recorded by the county on Feb. 1, 2007, Miramontes, “promises to pay to Rolando Blanco or order, in the manner hereinafter, specified the principal sum of $65,000 with the interest from date at the rate of 20 percent per annum on the balance … payable in lawful money of the United States of America at 6140 West 10th Ave., Hialeah.” Which happens to be Robaina’s 6-bedroom, 5-bath home that he purchased in 2002 for $230,000.
And isn’t “lawful money of the United States” another way of saying cold hard cash? Why, I believe it is! And isn’t 20 percent above the 18 percent allowable by law in the state of Florida for usury interests on loans under $500,000? Why, I believe it is!
Yet, Miramontes — who coincidentally had a garage full of illegal maquinitas at his West Dade home, and a photo of him and Robaina on his mantle when Ladra went to speak to him — is not on the witness list. How come?
Also missing from this list is the alleged mistress that was the reason why Robaina allegedly took cash payments that he could hide from his wife, according to prosecutors who let that little bomb out a few weeks ago. While the former mayor is allegedly a ladies man with several indiscretions — who would have thought? — everyone surmises that his fulltime squeeze on the side was Carmen Cue, a city employee who was suddenly promoted to director of the newly-created, multi-million dollar communications and special events department. Her daughter, Katherine Fernandez-Cue, was appointed to the council by Robaina, even though it was basically shown she didn’t live in the city at the time. And the councilwoman’s husband, a Hialeah police officer, has enjoyed a series of promotions that have raised eyebrows.
Anyway, back to the trial. If prosecutors believe this mistress, whoever she is, was important enough to bring up in the case — which some say indicates the feds are playing hardball — why isn’t she on the witness list?
If federal prosecutors are serious about this case and about political corruption, why aren’t any of these people on the witness list?
Last year, a federal grand jury indicted Robaina, 49, and his wife, 40, on charges that they avoided paying more than $1 million in taxes, lied to federal agents about Robaina’s involvement in his wife’s two lending businesses — that must be when he threw her under the bus and said he had nothing to do with her shenanigans. Robaina is also additionally charged with lying about receiving cash payments of interest on personal loans made to friends — including the Ponzi schemer, who is the feds’ key witness with an $850,000 loan at a reported 36% interest, also above the legal maximum of 18%.
Robaina faces at least five years in prison.
But the investigation, which was in full swing during Robaina’s 2011 county mayoral campaign, already cost him his political life. The allegations unveiled a shadow banking industry in Hialeah that many believe dates back to before Robaina.
Still, Ladra thinks it is pretty safe to say that Robaina, who was leading in the polls and the early frontrunner in the race, will never be on a ballot again.
Who really cares anymore whether he does time or not?
It’s time to question Hernandez, who is still in office, doing damage.
Julio Robaina witness list holes: mistress, Carlos Hernandez added by Ladra on
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