UPDATED: Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine is not the most forthcoming guy. He seems to have a lot of secrets and doesn’t feel like he needs to explain anything to anybody. He does not volunteer information.
But, hey, you don’t get to be a millionaire by sharing all your secrets. His business is none of our, well, business.
Like that $4 million New York condo on Park Avenue he bought in 2011 using a corporation that he solely owns and that apparently was set up specifically to buy the Manhattan home. Neither the property nor the company is disclosed in his financial disclosure forms that he had to file when qualifying for the mayoral race. It’s none of our business!
In fact, there may a lot of companies that Phil Levine has not disclosed. Attorney Steve Cody — who has already produced three videos slamming Levine for his involvement in the shady Relentless for Progress political action committee — counted 31 registered corporations in which Levine is a principal that were not listed on his disclosure. It’s none of our business!
Read related story: New Steve Cody video jabs shady Miami Beach PAC
For the most part, it is. Florida law requires elected officials and candidates to disclose their financial interests so that we, the average voter, can know where their interests may lie and who they may really be representing. Or who signs their checks, anyway.
In this case, however, as clarified by former State Rep. turned attorney to the bad politicians J.C. Planas, the property was out of state and does not have to be disclosed. He also says that companies that produce no revenue for Mayor Levine do not have to be disclosed either.
It’s a fine line but it looks like he’s right. So what? I mean, he doesn’t have to disclose it but it’s still the right thing to do. Reminds Ladra of Congressman Carlos Curbelo, who hid his clients by putting his lobbying firm in his wife’s name. It gave him legal cover to keep private the list of people who paid him to lobby Congress, among other bodies (including one fugitive). This is the same kind of thing.
If there is no special interest at play here, why not just disclose everything? Especially if you always talk about transparency?
Hard to believe that Mayor Ego Levine would represent anybody but himself, but stranger things have happened. And remember, he took $1.4 million from contractors and developers with business in the city, so his own business ties become that much more important. And it becomes doubly important if, as Cody states in his “What’s Phil Hiding?” video, Levine keeps most of his investment money in a company he does not disclose.
Cody said he started digging for the records after Levine missed the Sept. 10 budget meeting.
“When Mayor Levine didn’t show up for the budget meeting, I thought it was strange. 
They were going to be taking up things like his $90,000-a-year driver, his growing office staff, and the expansion of the City’s PR office, all items dear to the Mayor’s heart.”
He wasn’t at any of his four campaign headquarters, as the video states. He wasn’t at any one of the dozens of properties he owns with partner Scott Robins.
“Someone tipped me that he had gone shopping in New York and was staying at this Park Avenue condo,” Cody said. “That caused me to start looking at the Mayor’s financial disclosures with a microscope. This is what I found.”
Among the items Levine has failed to disclose, documentation of which is included in the video:
- The $3.9 million condo in New York (he failed to disclose it in 2013 also)
- At least 31 corporations in which he is a principal
- Two loans he made as a mortgage lender for more than $1 million
“Phil Levine wants to keep Miami Beach voters in the dark. Phil broke the law. That’s what Phil’s hiding,” says the video message as the hopefully prophetic “Funeral March of a Marionette” plays in the background.
“What else is Phil hiding?”
That’s a good question. Ethics? A secret agenda? Inside deals? All of the above?
Levine might say ooops, he simply forgot to mention those items in his disclosure forms. His lawyer says they don’t have to. And what’s a little omission here when you’ve already practiced extortion and blackmail there.
Maybe voters should let Phil Levine conduct his business in secret, like he wants. But for that, he needs to stop being an elected official and they should vote him out of office.
Video: Philip Levine fails to disclose properties, LLCs added by Ladra on
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Once again “funny business” in Miami Beach politics n videos as the video of the Mayoral Debate has been removed from You Tube.
The video of their first debate may be gone, but the second one is still available on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s9yysPTw6Q
Look at the mayoral debate held yesterday at the Miami Beach Regional Library between Levine and Wieder. It is rather amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7rr9j_qnnk
PS What you may not be aware of in that video is the busload (busloads?) of senior citizens who came in to cheer and applaud wildly for Mayor Levine.
Amazing.
Mr. Cody has a sense of humor lacking in Philip Levine David Custom Jonah Wolfson n their crew of hired thugs
J.C.:
I take it Phil Levine didn’t like my video, “What’s Phil Hiding?” It’s too bad. It’s all true. But then Phil and the truth don’t appear to be close friends. I don’t think they’re on speaking terms. Then again, I don’t think they ever were.
But since you stopped by, loosen your bow tie and set a spell.
How’d did you and Phil like the newest video? “An Offer Levine and His Slate Can’t Refuse”. Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TIJ_Bb5cm0
And ask Phil why Jonah hasn’t shut down the PAC yet. If he’s having trouble with the math and figuring how much to pay back, I know a couple of 2nd grade teachers at North Beach Elementary who could look over his shoulder while he does the long division.
Or how about the video about how you can’t be a little bit pregnant and you can’t be a little bit corrupt? It’s called “Miami Beach Corruption is Like Pregnancy”. Here’s the link if you haven’t seen that one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNlR8DjVNXY it was fun modeling Perez, Arriola, and Aleman as toddlers.
And here’s the one that started it all: “Phil Levine and Jonah Wolfson Need Money! ” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=momopWCfcKM
You know, after I did these four spots, I didn’t know if I had anything else I wanted to say. I was probably done. I was even contemplating a quote by Mark Twain before your email reached me. “Well, my book is written–let it go. But if it were only to write over again there wouldn’t be so many things left out. They burn in me; and they keep multiplying; but now they can’t ever be said. And besides, they would require a library–and a pen warmed up in hell.”
But thank you, JC. And thank you, Phil Levine. You’ve given me inspiration to warm my keyboard and mouse back up in Hell and get busy.
JC, I’ll respond to your letter when I can get around to it.
Steve Cody
Hey JC….suiting up for another cat fight are you? Hope these are billable hours..yes he is COMPLETELY with the letter of the law but just like the RFP thing, and just like his PAC it seems his definition of legal and transparent is translucent at best… You know those beach voters, not too good on distinguishing the finer points of §112.3144… Your guy’s starting to smell like low tide near one of those pumpout stations he built……anyway good luck with your spinning, SLAPP suits work well too….at at least you have a paying client which is more than we can say for Cody (who BTW is kicked your ass in round one) … See you in the litter box…
I assume J C Plans despite his reported political consulting a reputable lawyer but Scott Robins did threaten to have a landlord evict me in Miami Beach City Hall twice for opposing his trashing historical preservation so I can well believe it when a millionaire I’ve kknown for 20 years says Scott Robins brags he and Philip Levine are above the law n Levine has no respect for disclosure laws or ordinances.
Mr. Cody’s ad is completely false. As such, he was sent the following letter this morning.
Dear Mr. Cody:
I represent Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine. Your Political Committee, Save Miami Beach, has
recently released an advertisement containing false information about the Mayor. Your ad alleges
that Mayor Levine has violated Florida Statutes §112.3144 by failing to comply with a full
disclosure of financial interests. Please be aware that Mayor Levine’s Form 1 financial
disclosure form is correct, complies with the law and, in fact, discloses more
information than is required by law, all in an effort to be as transparent as possible. While your
commercial is generally untrue in all aspects, I want to draw attention to the biggest falsehoods
contained therein.
In direct contrast to your advertisement’s assertion, properties that are not located in the State
of Florida are not to be included on a Form 1 Financial Disclosure form. This is axiomatic as out
of state properties can not create the possibility of a conflict of interest with the official
actions of a municipal official. This, however, is not the only untruth you proffer.
As I am certain you are aware, as you yourself have previously advised candidates for office, a
Form 1 financial disclosure form allows for either comparative or dollar value
thresholds when one calculates what items are required to be disclosed. Corporate entities owned
by the official submitting the Form 1 do not have to be disclosed unless the entities are a source
of income over the required threshold. Mayor Levine does not disclose ownership of these
corporations as he does not derive any income from these entities that is above the
reporting threshold. There is not even a section on the form to list these corporations. However,
because Mayor Levine wants to be a forthcoming as possible, properties owned by his corporations
are disclosed in his Form 1 even though some of these properties have values that fell below the
comparative threshold.
In sharp contrast to your defamatory portrayal, Mayor Levine has gone above and beyond the legal
reporting requirement in order to be as transparent as possible with his financial holdings.
Accordingly, we kindly ask that you immediately remove your advertisement as it continues to
promote a slanderous misguided view of Mayor Levine’s Financial Disclosure forms in a clear
violation of the law by your political committee.
Please Govern Yourself Appropriately,
Juan-Carlos Planas
Isn’t failure to disclose a violation of campaign laws? How does shake down Phil get away with all this. Blackmail, extortion. Etc Etc Etc.
Why don’t we find out how much $$$ in Property Insurance he saved with Scott Robins by raising the street levels around his properties??? I bet that was enough to reimburse himself for the $2Million he spent on his first campaign…
You sound seriously nasty mangito vagito,whatever that may mean.
BTW what has bear hunting got to do with it ?
Are you an inept David Custin troll?
What a boomerang of a campaign he is running.
An expensive series of mistakes. One after the other.
Starting with inadvertently naming pac Relentless For Progress .
RFP, really?
That folded in ignominy.
Mailers that were soooooo bad they were the butt of jokes for residents.
“Honor Preservation,”seriously?
Then. that ” You Tube video about what keeps Deede Weithorn awake at night? Unconscionably sloppy !
Digging for dirt on David Wieder and and thats all you got?
It just keeps getting dumber and dumber .
On the other hand that Steve Cody is a clever fellow.
Thanks for another great video Steve Cody.
Lets shine a light on this shady mayor.
To Mangy Vagina – if that’s not the translation for Mangito Vagito it’s close enough. You seem to know much about two blogs that uncover stories no other outlet even bothers to cover. While you are comfortable giving orders to dig, you are a reader, a consumer of news – just a critical spectator blowheart who doesn’t even know where to put punctuation in a comment. Go find undercover “stuff?” Well Mangy, here’s a double dare – you first. I’ll look forward to hearing that you won a Pulizer.
Well stated.
Elaine you need to stick to the facts, and criminal matters at hand all this other Mumbo jumbo stuff no one cares. And if you do it to one guy then do it to all be fair which by the way you write stuff one some candidates it’s clear very clear. No one cares about bear hunting, house addresses, Pac’s, what they own, etc. etc. if anyone did there be no politicians in Miami Dade and this place who be free of criminals and corruption. You paper reminds me of the voice on radio ” carmita leagua de cucho” your a tremenda Bretera. Stick to investigative reports that mean something, DUI’s, theft of Monies (felony amounts 30k), embezzlement, theft of services, etc. take your dog pound noise and go sniff the important stuff not this crap that means nothing. You have this spot in your heart for the golden boy county mayor, what you need to do is did deep, go deep undercover and what you’ll find we truly win you a place in history lady. But it your like that Blogger ” Eye on Nothing Miami”, a scared pathetic blogger who is easily threatened and scared off then I will stick to reading the herald articles.
Trying to follow your bad, mangled attempts to compose in English are migraine-inducing. Not to mention your deluded political views.
You obviously can’t write English and your Spanish sucks… If you meant “Manguito Vaguito” (Lazy Handle) your spelling is sad… And then, WTF does that mean???
What? Your comment makes no sense. Actually, a lot of us care that politicians are hiding information from the public.
Joseph Jorczak: Tell the Mayor to sue me. Bring it on!
Awesome videos. Bet you’re getting under Levine’s skin. Keep up the good work!
Always a lot of strong accusations in this paper either the F.B.I needs to visit our Mayor or this paper for slander