Under fire, Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago sues Cuban radio station for libel

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Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago does not like to be challenged or criticized. He has recently taken to calling his critics — which include award-winning documentary filmmaker Billy Corben, award-winning journalist Roberto Rodriguez Tejera and yours truly — mercenaries paid to smear him.

That’s old news. He’s again copying his idol, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who says the same thing.

But now Lago is suing Actualidad Media Group, which owns the station that Rodriguez Tejera works at, for more than $100,000 in damages, claiming that Robertico’s broadcasts have hurt his reputation.

As if.

Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago is another Francis Suarez in the making

No, Vince. You ruined your reputation all by yourself. Just take a look at your crew:

• Suarez, who is under investigation for taking a side gig where he was paid $10,000 a month for “consulting” by a developer pulling permits from the city for a number of projects and who has visited and promoted the repressive Saudi Arabian government multiple times.
• Former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, a drunk and bad boy Republican who was arrested in September on public corruption charges, including bribery and money laundering.
• William “Bill” Riley, a lobbyist also arrested and charged with money laundering with Diaz de la Portilla after the commissioner gave away a park to Riley’s clients, who hung his real estate license at the same brokerage as Lago.
• Real estate broker Manny Chamizo, Lago’s partner on a Coral Gables deal, who is facing felony stalking charges after sending threatening texts and emails to the buyers.
• Political consultant Jesse Manzano-Plaza, who is always looking for the no-bid, inside deal from the people he helps get elected.

Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres.

It is obvious that this lawsuit is an attempt to silence Rodriguez Tejera and other critics at a time when he is coming under more and more scrutiny for his own transactions with Rishi Kapoor, the developer that paid Suarez at least $170K for “consulting” and that Lago rented space to for more than $12,000 monthly rent as he tried to develop a high-rise on Ponce de Leon Boulevard. Was that in lieu of a “consulting” fee?

“This is a complaint to protect the personal and business reputation of Vince Lago and to stop reckless journalists from making orchestrated and intentionally false statements to push their own narratives and agendas by recklessly publishing known falsehoods about the plaintiff,” starts the lawsuit, filed Dec. 22.

Basically, he’s upset that Rodriguez Tejera said the mayor had been under investigation by the Miami-Dade Commission of Ethics for his theatrical signing of an affidavit where he swore that nobody in his family had any interests in the annexation of Little Gables. The affidavit said the county code defined family as “spouse, domestic partner, parents, stepparents, children, and stepchildren.” He intentionally left out “siblings, half siblings and step-siblings,” because his brother, Carlos Lago, had lobbied for the owner of the trailer park, Titan Development, the largest property in Little Gables and an opportunity for a major project. Carlos Lago has been registered to lobby for Titan with the city of Miami since 2014. 

Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago has business with accused money launderer

Did the mayor inadvertently miss those words? Or did he knowingly and intentionally delete those “sibling” references when he made that big public todo about not having any business interest in Little Gables? What is most likely?

Anyway, the lawsuit says Rodriguez Tejera only discussed the investigation on the Contacto Directo show with Juan Camilo Gomez and guest Ariel Fernandez — who at the time was a candidate for commission — because the journalist has “an axe to grind” with the mayor.

“This statement, and the clearly intended direct implication that the plaintiff was, in fact, engaged in corrupt and illegal practices, when made by the defendant was done intentionally, maliciously and willfully. The falsity of the statements were made knowing they were false or with reckless disregard for the truth,” the complaint states.

“The maliciously made statements at issue subjected the plaintiff to hatred, contempt and charged plaintiff with characteristics incompatible with the proper exercise of his duties and the reputation Lago crafted over many years in the community.”

No, Vince. Again, you did this yourself.

Renting overpriced space to a developer for a “sales office” that never materializes in what looks like a payoff is a characteristic that is entirely incompatible with the proper exercise of your duties. Starting a construction company with Tony Newell is a characteristic that is incompatible with the proper exercise of your duties. Pushing for an annexation that could financially benefit your family members is a characteristic that is incompatible with the proper exercise of your duties.

Read related: New Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago has ‘friends’ in all the wrong places

Nowhere in the complaint do they say the investigation never happened. It just says that Rodriguez Tejera couldn’t have know about it in February because the ethic commission’s “preliminary inquiry, pursuant to Florida Statute, is confidential and exempt from disclosure until, inter alia, a determination as to the sufficiency of such allegations is made.”

Um, that’s called journalism, Vince. It’s reporting. Roberto, like all of us, has sources.

In fact, the attorneys at Actualidad cite Political Cortadito as one of the sources of the information. The complaint calls it “a notoriously questionable ‘news source’ with a history of ‘pay-to-play’ stories.” But he didn’t feel that was a couple years ago when he advertised his mayoral race on this website.

The complaint also says Political Cortadito couldn’t have been a source because Ladra’s story was published a few days after the broadcast. What Lago may not know or didn’t tell his attorney is that Roberto and Ladra are friends who have worked together for at least a decade and could have talked about the story before it was posted. Regardless, he has many of the same sources that Ladra has.

Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago may have conflict of interest in Little Gables

There’s no lawsuit against Ladra, however. Hmmmm. Lago only unsubscribed from the Fresh Colada every morning. That’s because Lago doesn’t have a leg to stand on. And Rodriguez Tejera knows that.

“This has no merit whatsoever. He is posturing,” Rodriguez told Ladra, noting that the broadcast in question happened in February but that Lago is only suing now because he’s come up in the Suarez/Kapoor story. “He wants to scare us into silence,” he said.

“Who is Lago anyway? I don’t know any Lago. I know un charquito,” Rodriguez Tejera said. Translation: “Little puddle.” Lago is Spanish for lake.

Lago’s attorneys on the libel suit are Mason Portnoy and Gonzalo Dorta. Ladra will find out if the city is paying his legal fees and updater this story. Editor’s note: Gables City Attorney Cristina Suarez says the city has nothing to do with this legal action.

  Cuban radio, Roberto Rodriguez-Tejera, Vince Lago