Coral Gables cover-up on police 'spy' protects managers

Why would Coral Gables administrators go against their own police chief’s recommendation to terminate a major who spied on a resident during a commission meeting — taking a picture of the woman’s text messages and then arguing with her — and try to sweep the whole thing under the rug and let the officer retire instead?

The only reason is that they’re complicit.

That’s why Coral Gables Police Maj. Theresa Molina, who took a cellphone picture or pictures of a resident as she texted a commissioner last September, has been suspended with pay since, collecting more than $80,000 sitting at home doing nothing while the city has conducted, basically, a sham of an internal affairs investigation.

That’s why the city’s cover up, er, I mean investigation has been so, um, lackluster, failing to interview Commissioner Vince Lago, who was the elected that Maria Cruz was texting, other witnesses who were there or even City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark or Assistant City Manager Frank Fernandez, who Molina immediately reported her actions to and for whom we all suspect Molina was spying in the first place.

That’s why Swanson-Rivenbark’s recommendation to the city commissioners is for Molina to be allowed to retire –not today, not tomorrow, not retroactive to September, but in November so as to maximize her pension benefits. She doesn’t have to actually come in and work because she can use accrued sick and vacation time.

Are you kidding me?

So this is why Swanson-Rivenbark — who did not return several calls and emails while on vacation last week — has been dragging her feet in the first place, presenting a recommendation that is 88 pages, with attachments, on a Thursday before Memorial Day weekend. And only because Lago put a discussion item on the agenda about it. Otherwise, Ladra suspects we’d still be waiting for the city manager’s word. See? By waiting, they get closer to the November retirement date that allows Molina to use the rule of 70, which means she can get her pension right away — and at 75% of the average of her highest paid three years (which by the way, includes this year). But if she were fired today, she would have to wait until she was 62 and only collect 60 percent.

So, basically, Molina is rewarded for what she did. They might as well have given her a medal.

Let’s quickly recap what she did for those who forgot or were too busy with the crazy presidential race to pay attention last year:

During a September commission meeting, Molina — a 23-year veteran who was acting chief for a short stint in 2014 — took cellphone photos of text messages that resident Maria Cruz, in the audience with concerns about police shortages, was sending to Commissioner Lago. She was asking him to recognize her and let her speak. After Cruz spoke about the 30-some police vacancies and her issue with the city’s fix — a program where civilian employees and security guards patrol North Gables in fancy golf carts as “eyes and ears” of real police officers — she told Molina to stop watching her.

“Stop texting the commissioners,” Molina actually had the audacity to retort.

Cruz felt like she was back in Castro’s Cuba. Lago was outraged that any resident would be discouraged from texting him. City Attorney Craig Leen even chimed in, telling Cruz she had every right to text anyone she wanted. For more details about what happened that day, go to the related story.

Molina was suspended with pay while IA investigated. Chief Ed Hudak recommended May 1 that she be fired. It took this long because the major who was suspended with pay and was supposed to be home during that time was too busy to be interviewed. Seriously. The final word is Swanson’s, according to the city charter, although really the final word is the city commission’s. Many people expected her to go against Hudak’s recommendation since the city manager’s office has done nothing but undermine the chief since Frank Fernandez was brought onboard (go ahead and send Ladra a cease and desist letter). Hudak did not return several calls from Ladra either.

Molina’s attorneys have claimed varying defenses. Early on, even before she was interviewed and before the chief’s recommendation, they said he would retaliate against her for five internal affairs investigations she opened on him during the tenure of the three former chiefs. Later, they switched gears and said that this 23-year veteran who was once the top cop for a short while and also headed internal affairs for a bit didn’t know what she was doing was wrong.

Which brings us back to what she was she doing. Or, more specifically, for whom?

Because, c’mon, you don’t think Molina was taking a picture of the resident’s text messages for her own jollies, do you? For her photo gallery? What? She needed new wallpaper? No, of course not. She took the picture for her bosses. For some reason. It was a police-related item she wanted to talk about. She immediately went to show Fernandez, the director of public safety, who instructed her to show Swanson-Rivenbark the photo. Even her attorneys admit this in their first letter.

Is this why neither the city manager nor her right hand man were interviewed for the investigation? Is this why Frank Fernandez provided a written memo, not even a sworn statement? Since when do internal affairs investigators allow a witness to say how he will provide testimony or be interviewed? Since it’s the investigator’s boss, the man he reports to who is saying how he’ll provide testimony?

Because Ladra believes the city were the ones spying — Molina is just a peon — and that’s why the investigation was so shabby and that’s why Swanson-Rivenbark doesn’t want to fire her. That’s why she’s helping her retire with the maximum pension benefits.

Lago isn’t going to let it go without some heated reprimands. He is not happy with the investigation or the city manager’s memo, which he said was “embarassing” because it relied on irrelevent justifications by comparing this incident to past sins that Swanson said were worse — trolling for prostitutes, beating your pregnant wife — and on Molina’s 23 years of service, which have not been spotless.

“We need to break the cycle of the poor examples of the past, which are no excuse,” Lago said. “This behavior is wrong, it is unacceptable, and we need to set a positive example and ensure that the residents are represented. We are here to serve them and we will not compromise on the substance of any wrong, inappropriate behavior.”

More than one source has said that another outside law enforcement agency — the FBI? The SAO? — is looking into the matter. And that is good because this one is really laughable. There are still so many unanswered questions, the main one being what, or who, was Molina spying for? Without an independent investigation, how do we know that the city managers were not involved? And how do we know that this is the only time a city employee has spied on residents — or, dare I say, commissioners — for top administrators? That should have been what Swanson-Rivenbark did from the start if she truly wanted us to believe that it would be objective and transparent.

That would certainly satisfy Maria Cruz, the resident who was spied on who is outraged with this ending.

“This investigation is a farce,” Cruz, in a screenshot here from WPLG-Local 10, told Ladra Friday. “From the beginning I objected to Frank Fernandez having anything to do with the investigation, both he and Cathy. Shouldn’t part of that investigation be why did she [Molina] go to him? Shouldn’t part of the investigation be why did he tell her to go to Cathy Swanson? What did they tell her?

“Their fingerprints are all over this whole thing,” she added.

Here’s a suggestion for Gables commissioners. Make a deal with Molina. Accept her retirement terms. But only if she spills the beans on what the others knew and when.

Oh, and maybe make her return the $80,000 she’s gotten paid to be on vacation.

Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark, Coral Gables Police, Frank Fernandez, Theresa Molina, Vince Lago

Coral Gables cover-up on police ‘spy’ protects managers added by Ladra on May 26, 2017
View all posts by Ladra →