The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust issued another couple of slaps on the wrists Wednesday, further convincing critics and watchdogs who wish it had more teeth that it is woefully incapable of handling the 305’s level of unethical behavior.
Other than the occasional negligible fines that are worked into the “cost of doing business,” the commission is mostly known for some strong words in the form of “letters of instruction” or “letters of reprimand” — what basically amounts to the finger waving admonishment of public officials who know better but, mostly, really couldn’t care less.
But still, gracias a Dios that it’s there. Can you imagine if it wasn’t? The Ethics Commission serves a much-needed role — even more so in a climate like ours — even if it sometimes it sounds like they’re just training a bunch of misbehaved puppies.
“Bad mayor! Bad lobbyist! No! Bad!”
Because, hey, somebody has to do it.
On Wednesday, the commission approved a letter of instruction to Ed Russo, who had not registered as a lobbyist for Donald Trump on the Crandon golf 
course inside deal (more on that later), and a stronger letter of reprimand to Hialeah Mayor Carlos “Castro” Hernandez for having lied twice — in English and in Spanish — to the public in 2011 about income he earned from a private loan (read: he’s a loanshark like his mentor, former Mayor Julio Robaina).
Read related story: Duh! Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez charged with lying re loan
The mayor’s letter of reprimand states that his conduct “showed a lack of respect for and was contemptuous of the very public he serves,” which is something that, duh, Ladra or any Hialeah firefighter could tell them. “The Mayor’s failure to tell the truth violated the public trust,” the scolding goes on. “It is his ethical legal obligation to be honest and accurate regarding his finances, which are a public matter.”
The Ethics Commission already determined that Hernandez violated the “Truth in Government” provision of the Citizens’ Bill of Rights and fined him $3,000 plus $1,000 for the cost of the investigation. He hasn’t paid yet and Ladra suspects that Hernandez, who is vocal about his disdain for the commission and their authority, will have to be taken to court.
So what’s the value? Well, for one thing, it’s certainly better to have an ethics commission that can vet these kind of complaints than have to go straight to the State Attorney’s Office. Miami-Dade SAO Kathy Fernandez-Rundle takes a complaint more seriously if it is forwarded to her by them than if you or I call her office ourselves. That’s just a fact.
Of course, some things may rise to the level of criminal prosecution and just don’t get pursued for lack of evidence (or because the evidence is just too gosh darned hard to get!). But the truth is far more elected immoral activity does not cross that line. And those violations of public trust that aren’t felonies or misdemeanors should still be recorded somewhere.
Read related story: Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez is fined for loanshark lies
These letters “provide a public accounting of wrongdoing
committed by persons whose holding of public office and future political prospects are dependent upon public approval,” said Ethics Commission Executive Director Joe Centorino, called “Let ‘Em Go Joe” by the critics. And perhaps a bit too harshly. He doesn’t want to let them go.
“Of course, there are times when a matter may be serious enough to warrant criminal charges, but those charges cannot be proven, so we end up with an ethics violation that may not provide appropriate penalties for the activity in question,” he admitted and, trust me, he is as frustrated by that as the rest of us.
“But before there was an ethics commission, there were virtually no legal consequences if the State Attorney elected not to file criminal charges. Unlike public employees, who can be administratively disciplined by their superiors for unethical or inappropriate behavior, there are no ‘supervisors’ for elected officials other than the public and an agency such as ours.”
Many elected officials, he added, often spend big bucks on attorneys to defend themselves of ethics complaints. Some have gone as far as protesting the wording on these letters of instruction or reprimand.
You know why? Because these things can come back and haunt you at election time. If nothing else, these letters and COE rulings provide great material for negative attack ads against incumbents who have violated the public trust. They also may have a chilling effect on smear campaigns when they come from 
pols who have been deemed unethical before. Who’s ever going to believe former State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez again?
Read related story: Ethics Commission: Eddy Gonzalez didn’t lie; just misled
“Despite the limited scope of sanctions the commission has at its disposal, the commission has an important public function, a public shaming function,” said University of Miami law Professor Anthony Alfieri, director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service. “It enables the public to demand greater accountability from public officials and ultimately replace them in an election.”
He’s a fan of the COE.
“Joe Centorino and the commission staff have been very receptive to concerns about public official misconduct we’ve brought to their attention,” Alfieri told Ladra Thursday and immediately won her heart. He runs a civil rights and environmental justice project that has called attention to some local issues and his students found the toxin levels in the soil at Bunche Park. Someone give them a prize, please.
Alfieri suggests that that the commission would be more effective if it had more resources, to expand staff, and “more vigorous legislation or more enabling legislation, including more investigative powers and penalties.”
Hear, hear. How can we get that? Do we have to ask the very same people that they investigate? Or can we go to the state, where the COE has no jurisdiction? Hello? Are you reading this, Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez? Ladra thought of you first to sponsor legislation that would put more teeth into municipal ethics commissions. Maybe at least let there be higher fines to serve as a deterrent.
Read related story: Ethics Commission looks into Miami Beach shakedown PAC
Of course, like most worthwhile causes, it is a double-edged sword. Because the Ethics Commission is also increasingly used by some political consultants who file flimsy complaints as part 
of their campaign strategy and to thwart legitimate criticism and concern.
Yard signs? Check. Palm cards? T-shirts? Check. Ethics complaint? Check.
“Some are abusive and they’re exploiting the complaint system for reasons that undermine the public policy purpose for the commission,” Alfieri said. “But the commission serves an important public communicative function, communicating in a symbolic way to society that these people are not credible, not legitimate and not to be trusted.”
Well, that may work in Miami Beach and Coral Gables and Pinecrest. But in Hialeah? Sweetwater? It seems that the Ethics Commission has a bigger impact in some cities than in others.
Which brings me back to Hernandez and his slap on the wrist.
It’s difficult to believe that this reprimand will hurt the man who likes to call himself The Rock, boasts about violating the Sunshine Law and steals absentee ballots from elderly voters who are afraid of losing their housing. In fact, he is helping to re-elect two Seguro Que Yes council members in November’s election (the other two drew no opposition).
Because public shaming is all fine and dandy. But sometimes what we need in the 305 is to instill a fear of something stronger… something just short of public flogging.
Ethics Commission’s finger waving plays important role added by Ladra on
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“more vigorous legislation or more enabling legislation, including more investigative powers and penalties.”
Reading this article and the ensuing comments , the above ‘Copy and paste” is the only statement that is worthy of consideration. Granted that I’m somewhat biased having been one of the original Detectives of the then Public Integrity Squad of the MDPD Organized Crime Bureau which morphed into the Public Corruption Investigations Bureau (PCIB)….guess what, both entities felled by politicos. I also have standing in this discussion as I was also the Lead Investigator in the Rosner investigation while with M-D COE. When we as tax payers continue to allow our ELECTED officials to not just hamper but abolish entities such as PCIB, enact legislature that serve as a protective cocoon, allow the “who you know” as a judicial measure to stem prosecution, it is we the people who are ultimately to blame for the state of affairs we are in. The Electoral process was meant to weed out the political riff raff that seeks only self aggrandizement. When will we effectively use it?
The Commission on Ethics has carved out an exception for North Bay Village. In the most recent incident, the CoE heard a complaint (C14-051) made by Vice Mayor Jorge Gonzalez against his campaign opponent that the opponent had sent a false and slanderous flier. The matter was investigated by retired FL Supreme Court Justice Gerald Kogan who found no probable cause because the statements were true.
Because it is North Bay Village, the CoE put aside their own rules and regs under the Fair Campaign Practices Ordinance and did a second investigation. The second investigation found exactly the same thing – there were no false statements and there was no probable cause.
Joe Centorino tried but could not ultimately help his friend Jorge Gonzalez to persecute his opponent for bringing up Gonzalez’s voting record, bankruptcy and failure to pay taxes so in a move that surprised no one in North Bay Village, Centorino came to our commission meeting to explain that even though he wished he could help, it’s hard to prove “actual malice”, never mentioning the truth. He did this to buttress Gonzalez and sent a message to NBV that no complaints against our government will be tolerated.
This has strong implications for any candidate who might agree to the Voluntary Fair Campaign Practices Ordinance as the key element, “A finding of No Probable Cause shall be considered ” in the expedited hearing process can be arbitrarily overturned if the political connections are strong enough.
This is not the only time Centorino has engaged in open support of North Bay Village officials. In a previous complaint, he found that even though a commissioner’s wife had been issued and used a city mobile phone for 7 years, in addition to her husband’s city issued phone, she should not have to pay back the over $7,000 in bills she ran up because, well, he never explained why.
We who live in North Bay Village know that the Commission on Ethics will not find any ethical issues with the officials here, no matter how blatant or grievous. I suspect we are not alone.
I don’t think I can edit my posting and I have a typo in the second to last paragraph.
The CoE rules for the Expedited Hearing Process as part of the Voluntary Fair Campaign Practices pledge state in section
and it was this that was ignored by the CoE in C14-051.
As long as Katherine Frenandez Rundle continues to be our State Attorney there will not be any while successful prosecution of politicians, lobbyists, consultants, contractors, etc. A case in point here is the arrest of former North Miami Beach Mayor Myron Rosner in 2011. Here we are four years later and the case is still lingering at the Stat Attorney’s Office with no resolution. Do you know why? Because Rosner is married to a circuit judge and his attorney is a well known defender of every corrupt scum bag that walks through county halls in South Florida. But don’t believe me, just ask Stephanie Kinsle of Voter’s Opinion who helped get Rosner arrested and she will give you a mouthful about Rosner.
As far as Centorino goes, to think he is going to bite the State Attorney’s hand after she got him the job is wishful thinking. We live in a rogue county, there are no laws, ethics or common morality when it comes to politicians, at al. Juast ask Michael Pizzi- funny he shares the same attorney as Rosner!
“Truth is far more elected immoral activity” you hit the nail on the head there Ladra, but the department along with all its crony players inside has and continues to be a joke. A department like the OIG’s office who continues to be manipulated and run by the SA herself and special interest groups who get to use them for their own bidding. Please if MDPD can be manipulated in its investigations on politicians and their friends and family what gives you the idea that this department will not play the same game. A cest pool of shit we have on our hands when will the clean up begin? By the way did you ask MR Ethics about the Investion into Commissioner Zapata is going regarding the 30 thousand deal he planned on graduating on and his future trips to Boston on our time plus his new residency issue since he now lives in Boston? Let’s stop worrying about who hunts, fishes, or drinks beer, let’s worry about true corruption, it may be hard since many live in glass houses so the rocks they throw might be tiny or very seldom to avoid KarMa. Stop making opinions on your articles and do more investigating, the facts is what we want not opinions.
ETHICS ? This County Does Have ETHICS ! And The Problem Comes Thanks To The “EL CAO ” The County Attorney that ” Runs” YES runs this Ethics and OIG Departments, Yes The Same That His Wife Works For a Attorney and Lobbyist Firm in Brickell Ave. And This Has Not Been A Conflict of Interest ? Simply Because He will not Investigate Him self ! he has Written for the Code Of This County Discriminating Laws and Who will Complaint? The BCC knows about it and All the Lobbyist .