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North Miami Beach Investigation: Whistleblowers Allege Tamarac City Attorney Aided Former NMB City Manager In Scheme To Delay Public Records Requests; Millions In Taxpayer Dollars Spent Without Proper Oversight

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These Commissioners rehired Hans Ottinot too.

Multiple whistleblowers allege Tamarac city attorney Hans Ottinot aided former North Miami Beach city manager Arthur “Duke” Sorey in a scheme to delay the release of public records while spending millions of taxpayer dollars without proper oversight, an investigation shows. Last week, an investigation into improper activities by North Miami Beach city leaders and officials was released by special counsel Michael Pizzi. His report “cited massive misspending of funds, some as high as personal spending on Amazon to the tune of almost $300,000, and even a child support payment for $300.”

Even though Ottinot worked for North Miami Beach, Tamarac Commissioners Marlon Bolton, Kicia Daniel and Morey Wright made Hans Ottinot the city attorney in December 2002.

THE WHISTLEBLOWERS

Former North Miami Beach Chief Financial Officer Marica Fennel told Michael Pizzi she had been “bullied and pushed aside in order to prevent proper oversight and accounting practices in the area of expenditure of tax payer funds.” Fennell said Ottinot repeatedly exceeded his city attorney’s office budget and submitted bills to the city. In cases with invoices, Fennell and her staff were supposed to review them before issuing any payments.

Instead, “Sorey’s operatives in Finance [department] would override the budget and approve all invoices,“ Fennell said. “Sorey did not adhere to any proscribed process or timeline for payment of city attorney invoices. He demanded that checks be paid immediately.” She said Sorey wanted Ottinot’s bills paid on the same day “without proper review.”

Fennel told investigators Sorey was upset that her office fulfilled public records requests in a timely manner (as governed by State law). Sorey ordered Fennell to forward all future public records requests to his office as well as city attorney Hans Ottinot.

Former North Miami Beach Chief Procurement Officer Donna Rockfeld told investigators she rejected Commissioner Michael Joseph’s attempt to have residents pay for his $1,000 membership in the Haitian Lawyers Association. Rockfeld believed the membership was “not proper.” Hans Ottinot is a past president of the Haitian Lawyers Association.

Rockfeld said she was ordered to pay city attorney invoices without review. “Sorey would make her pay it,” she said.

During a November 16, 2021 commission meeting, Rockfeld told commissioners she disagreed with Sorey on a financial matter. The next day, Sorey pulled her out of her office. Rockfeld stood face to face with Sorey and Ottinot. Sorey said she “could not be trusted.”

Sorey gave Rockfeld two choices: get fired immediately or accept a severance package. Ottinot presented prepared documents for Rockfeld to sign.

Ottinot resigned as North Miami Beach city attorney in March 2023, one week before Duke Sorey was fired by the North Miami Beach Commission.

In May 2023, several North Miami Beach employees were arrested for activities covered in the Pizzi report.

According to The Miami Herald, police arrested a former city public affairs assistant Jennifer Hillmon for stealing Publix gift cards intended for residents during a 2022 giveaway.

“Hillmon was seen on surveillance video using the gift cards between March 23 and May 2 at different Publix and Publix Liquor Stores, according to the police report. Hillmon was fired from her city job and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center for booking, according to a North Miami Beach police news release. The police report says Hillmon lives in Tamarac, not North Miami Beach, and does not detail how she obtained the cards.”

Less than a week later, North Miami Beach human resources director Andrew Bejel was arrested for misusing Publix gift cards.

“Police said an investigation determined that Bejel used two stolen gift cards, totaling $287.89, at the Publix on 601 S. Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. According to his arrest report, he lives in that city’s Las Olas neighborhood.”

Pizzi urged North Miami Beach Commissioners to forward his findings to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Offices, the Ethics Commission and the Miami-Dade Inspector General.

TAMARAC REDUX

Before the Tamarac City Commission fired Hans Ottinot in May 2021, faced similar accusations about public records.

When REDBROWARD and Stephanie Kienzle of VotersOpinion.com made simple public records requests, Ottinot tacked on a $300 hourly legal fee for documents. State officials and legal watchdogs told REDBROWARD this was an improper tactic that violated the spirit if not the letter of Florida’s public records law.

After Ottinot was fired, the fees were removed and the public records requests were fulfilled.

Now, Ottinot is back as Tamarac City Attorney.

Residents are outraged over a deal he negotiated to spend nearly $2 million taxpayer dollars to buy the Shaker Village clubhouse.

Last Thursday, the Broward Inspector General demanded documents related to Ottinot and Marlon Bolton’s role in the deal.

Will the City of Tamarac comply with the OIG demands in a timely manner?

The Pizzi Report
Hans Ottinot, left, with Marlon Bolton

Broward Inspector General Finds North Lauderdale Commissioner Regina Martin Committed Numerous Felonies, Misdemeanors During 2020 Campaign, Refers Case To Broward State Attorney

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The OIG investigation substantiated the original allegation that that the candidate and treasurer used cash for a post-election campaign expenditure. During the investigation, we uncovered that before the election the campaign routinely deposited cash, and before and after the election it withdrew cash from the campaign depository, without correctly reporting the transactions and in violation of Florida law.

Commissioner Martin’s sole treasurer and campaign manager committed misconduct with Commissioner Martin as they handled and reported the campaign’s finances before and after the November 3, 2020, election, when Commissioner Martin was elected to office. These included the third-degree felonies of knowingly and willfully accepting and failing to report an excessive cash contribution and helping to make and accepting contributions made through or in the names of others.

Commissioner Martin and her campaign treasurer also committed additional criminal misconduct when they accepted an excessive cash contribution—a loan from the candidate—of more than $5,000.00; accepted a contribution received less than five days before the election; and willfully certified as true reports they knew were incorrect, incomplete, or both. The false reporting included deliberately failing to report cash contributions and falsely reporting cash contributions; overreporting contributions; underreporting an expenditure or disposition of surplus campaign funds; failing to list a corporate contributor’s name and principal type of business; failing to report the post-election return of a campaign sign bond; failing to report expenditures; and failing to identify the full name, address, or purpose of cash expenditures. Each occurrence of this activity constituted a first-degree misdemeanor.

In accordance with our charter mandate, considering the misconduct detailed above, we are referring or have referred this matter to the Broward State Attorney and the Florida Elections Commission for whatever action those agencies deem appropriate.

Broward OIG Report

An April 2021 REDBROWARD report on North Lauderdale Commissioner Regina Martin’s lavish election night party triggered a Broward Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report which found Martin and her campaign treasurer repeatedly made unlawful deposits and withdrawals of cash from campaign accounts and committed “numerous crimes in their knowing and willful violations of other Florida campaign finance laws.” While he is not named in the report, the Broward OIG investigation documents numerous large payments Martin made to companies tied to Tamarac Commissioner Marlon Bolton. The Broward OIG referred the matter to Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor for prosecution.

On April 21, 2021 REDBROWARD reported how campaign records failed to show who paid for an “election watch party” hosted by North Lauderdale Commissioner Regina Martin in November 2020. Martin held the party at the Grand Palace Ballroom located in a North Lauderdale strip mall. State of Florida corporate records show the Grand Palace Ballroom is owned and operated by Dorothy Borgelin, wife of North Lauderdale Commissioner Samson Borgelin.

Regina Martin’s final campaign treasurer’s report (termination report) was filed in late January. There was no listing of any payment to Grand Palace Ballroom or Dorothy Borgelin. There is no listing for any “in-kind contribution” from Grand Palace Ballroom or Dorothy Borgelin.