Two commission meetings have come and gone since Miami City Manager Art Noriega said he would provide a report on his wife’s business dealings at the city. Y nada. And it’s odd that none of the commissioners — especially the two recently-elected, reform-minded guys — haven’t held his feet tot he fire.
Last month, WLRN exposed that Michelle Pradere-Noriega‘s family business was awarded more than $440,000 in city contracts for new office furniture and furniture assembly. The public documents obtained by the station show that $37,000 worth of furniture was purchased for his offices at City Hall and the Miami River Center over two months early last year.
But that’s nothing compared to the nearly $1.6 million Noriega apparently spent in office furniture from 2009 to 2012 when he was director of the Miami Parking Authority.
The reporting also uncovered that the furniture seems to be grossly overpriced.
A single 17-foot conference table for city hall cost taxpayers $17,860 in 2022, records show. Similarly sized tables from less expensive brands can be found online for between $1,600 and $3,000.
Re-laminating a TV console with wood grain cost the city $6,720 in the same order, which also included sixteen swivel chairs. Pradere Manufacturing charged taxpayers a total of $6,201 to deliver and install the products, an invoice shows.
The total bill for the furniture order — for a table, sixteen chairs and re-laminating a TV console — came out to $38,212 in city funds.
Other city contracts Pradere Manufacturing fulfilled since 2020 include furniture orders for the office of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, totaling $8,707.94. Former District 1 Commissioner Alex Diaz De La Portilla’s office paid the company $1,160.18 for re-furnishing. One of the largest orders was for a total revamp of District 5 Commissioner Christine King’s office in May of 2022 that totaled $56,833.64.
— Daniel Rivero and Joshua Ceballos, WLRN 91.3 FM
Former City of Miami Chief of Police Art Acevedo, who was chased out of town after he called out the corrupt commissioners (and he was right!) told WLRN that Noriega had recommended Pradere Manufacturing if he wanted to change up his office. A staffer in for newly-elected Commissioner Miguel Gabela said he was also pointed in the direction of the company for the District 1 office. Neither one bought anything from Pradere.
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Noriega told WLRN that he had recused himself from all the decisions regarding furniture purchasing and that the Pradere family had been a city vendor since 2008 — which is when he was just the director of the Miami Parking Authority, and ordered more than half a million in furniture from the family biz.
Is there more to say? Because at the first commission meeting in January, Noriega told commissioners that he was going to provide them with a report that would explain everything.
“In light of all of the, um, public discussion, uh, both in the media and social media, reference, um, the company that my wife works for and the work they do in the city, um,” he said, and he looked nervous. (By the way, it’s not the company his wife “works for.” Her family owns it).
“And in spite the fact that most of the information that’s been put in the public realm is inaccurate or incomplete, um, I wanted to just put forth to you, um, I have, uh, um, my intent to come back ahead of the next commission meeting with a full reporting, um, and accounting of exactly, um, the vendor relationship, the procurement process, the disclosures, um, everything we did, um, roughly around four years ago, um, to create transparency around that. Um, that way you are well informed with the facts.”
“Um, and on a parallel track, I am also going to request an ethics opinion with regards to that vendor relationship,” he added. “So, um, I just want to put it on the record so that all of you are acutely aware that I’m going to address it and I’m going to address it head on.”
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Head on, huh? That was 39 days ago. Y nada. Maybe he should do one of those videos in the promised series he has also not followed up on.
When asked about it recently, Commissioner Damian Pardo said he was sure that Noriega would explain everything in due time.
Four former city managers have — Danny Alfonso, Emilio Gonzalez, José García Pedroza and Congressman Carlos Gimenez, who managed the city from May 2000 to January 2003 — went on Actualidad Radio after the WLRN story aired and called for a thorough investigation.
Former City Manager Joe Arriola said Noriega should just resign already.
Miami’s Art Noriega still has some ‘splaining to do re wife’s work in city added by Ladra on
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