UPDATED: This week, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine was on the defense about 
everything, it seemed.
He’s taking a PR hit on massive flooding he’s boasted about fixing in glitzy TV commercials paid for by shaken down vendors and developers through a shady PAC. And he’s been questioned by his coveted viejito voters for his ties to a political operative that wants to redevelop Rebecca Towers, an elderly Section 8 housing facility on Alton Road into a luxury condo and marina.
Levine and one of his handpicked slate commission candidates, Betsy Perez, have sent email blasts calling the apparently planned redevelopment of Rebecca Towers an outright lie that is being promoted for political reasons. Levine’s email included his letter to Miguel Del Campillo, executive director at the Towers “in response to a false rumor spread by a candidate and a political operative.
Read related story: Phil Levine’s consultant pushes marina at Rebecca Towers
“Two years ago, thanks to the trust, friendship and support of Miami Beach voters, especially senior citizens, I was elected to serve as mayor of our great city,” he wrote in the letter to Miguel, boasting of his well-known dedication to the comedores where he buys the votes and telling him to feel free to distribute the note to the residents.
“Yesterday, a rumor and lie about me and my commitment to Rebecca Towers was sent through email and social media. These acts of deceit to cause fear in the hearts and minds of senior citizens, with the intent to score political points, are despicable and shameful,” Levine wrote. Ladra can guarantee that the only intention in my publishing the Rebecca Towers news is to let people know what Levine’s consultant is up to and what could happen if he and all three of his slate mates are elected.
“I want our seniors to rest assured that I
would NEVER do anything to jeopardize their trust and confidence in my dedication to serve their best interests. My support and dedication to our city’s senior centers and their residents is well known in our community,” Levine wrote. And yes, it is, especially at election time.
“I write to you today with absolute clarity to assure the residents of Rebecca Towers that as their mayor of Miami Beach, I am fully committed to make sure that Rebecca Tower will ALWAYS remain as a senior housing facility. Rebecca Towers is a powerful institution in this community and it has my full support.”
But that doesn’t mean that the institution is not relocated to a better suited location with more space and amenities.
“In fact, following my re-election I pledge to explore options to increase and enhance senior housing in Miami Beach.”
What’d I just say?
Let’s examine the facts, shall we? Starting with their campaign manager and 
political pariah David Custin, who has registered to lobby on behalf of TC Miami Beach Marina and is being paid $10,000 a month for the “redevelopment of property and city approvals for Miami Beach Marina and Rebecca Towers.”
Well, it’s right there in black and white. See for yourself. Here is the link to the page on the Miami Beach website where the lobbyists are registered. Ooops. Wait. Well, it was there when you click on the first PDF for the lobbyists’ log. Now, while you may notice that Custin has quite a few other clients paying him the big bucks to grease the wheels in Miami Beach — where he is currently running four campaigns, already has Commissioner Joy Malakoff on the dais and already won the tennis center and commercial waste contracts — you might notice there is no TC Miami Beach Marina entry. It has mysteriously disappeared since my first story about this secrete backroom deal that Custin and Levine were planning.
The city clerk on Monday provided Ladra with a copy of the withdrawal that Custin had filled out Sept. 30, saying he no longer represented TC Miami Beach Marina. He had also sent an email on Sept. 4, the same week as qualifying, saying he was no longer representing them.
Good thing Ladra downloaded the list last month and has a save screen of it. So, here, see what it looked like for yourself what the lobbyist log looked like before Custin had (or Levine asked him to have) this Rebecca Towers entry removed. I have no confidence, however, that he is really not representing them anymore. How much you wanna bet he registers again after the election?.
Custin sai his total compensation at the time of withdrawal as $30,000. But $10,000 a month through August is $60,000. So which time was he lying. Plus he was not getting paid $10,000 a month — that’s $70,000 since February — to ignore Rebecca Towers, which sits on rare waterfront land that could be worth $100 million, and just let it be. There is some kind of redevelopment in
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Rebecca Towers and a campaign manager’s $10K a month added by Ladra on
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