The residence of Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo will be auctioned on March 19, with which the official is expected to begin paying the court judgment of more than $63 million against him.
The announcement of the operation appeared in the Miami New Times, where the “public auction notice” was announced indicating that the residence will undergo processing, which could result in its sale that same day.
Federal agents visited the property, located in Coconut Grove, a couple of weeks ago, posting a notice on the front door to begin the property confiscation process.
Charges against Joe Carollo
Carollo’s legal problems began after two businessmen, Bill Fuller and Martín Pinilla, filed a lawsuit against him, accusing him of trying to destroy their businesses as a kind of political retaliation.
According to the plaintiffs, the official allegedly intimidated them by using the police and code enforcement departments to close their businesses in Little Havana. All in consequence for having supported the campaign of his political opponent.
The case went to a civil trial, where the jury found Carollo guilty of abuse of power and violating the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights, and was ordered to pay $63 million in damages..
After this verdict, the court ordered the commissioner’s salary to be garnished, and all his assets confiscated.
Carollo denied the accusations, and promised to appeal the sentence and fight the seizure of his assets. According to her lawyer, the house is marital property and cannot be seized.
“It doesn’t matter if it is with one name or another. It is an equitable right. She has an equal right. This is his house and that of his wife, full tenants. They will be able to come and go whenever they want,” said the jurist.
However, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Jeff Gutchess, debunks this claim, pointing out that the Cuban-born commissioner abandoned the property in 2016, which could invalidate his right to it.
Joe Carollo’s career
Carollo came to the United States with his parents when he was just a child. His political career began in the 1970s, and in 1979, he was first elected as a Miami city commissioner, making history as one of the youngest people to hold that position.
In the 1990s, he became mayor of this town in southern Florida, and although he lived a period away from the political arena, he returned to the ring and was again elected as commissioner of District 3.
Under this position, he has made several advances in the cultural and urban field, organizing the famous “Friday Nights in Little Havana”, and having lived with great artists from the Cuban community in exile, such as Yotuel Romero, Gloria Estefan, and film director Lilo Vilaplana, to whom he gave the key to the city.
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