Marc Sarnoff in the courtroom as the judge rules in Carollo's favor

When Sarnoff was the District 2 Commissioner, Solowlsky was the one who provided him with an office in his law firm after my stories about his operating an illegal law firm with his cousin Neil out of a house that he owned in Coconut Grove resulted in multiple code violations. 

Besides serving as the Pro Bono General Counsel for the Downtown Development Authority from 2011 thru 2016, during the time that Sarnoff was Chairman, he was also Sarnoff's representative on the MSEA Board.

His other services on behalf of his dear pal Sarnoff included serving as one of the 3 officers of Teresa Sarnoff's short-lived charity, End Homelessness Now, when she ran to replace her termed-out husband in 2015.

Why is the MSEA Board so important that Sarnoff would want his guy back on that board?

In part, it's about the Flagstone Group and their Island Garden's project, which is currently in court trying to get out from under the decision by the City Commission to find them in default of their contract with the city.

Sarnoff has been accused by some of the being principal schemer during his years on the Commission pulling the strings that allowed the Flagstone Group to get away with all that they did, and therefore, it makes sense for him to have someone back on that board to be his eyes and ears, as well as to run interference if need be as the court case makes its way through the belly of the beast starting later this month.

The MSEA Board will  become a critical player in any decision as to what happens to the Watson Island property if Flagstone loses the lawsuit.

Given that Ken "Selfie Boy" Russell looks like he will have to resign his Commission seat if he really plans to continue his run for Congress, it makes perfect sense for Sarnoff to start lining up his sock puppets and getting them back into positions of influence, because when you've earned the reputation of being a "Pay For Play" guy like Sarnoff has, you need to be able to show that you're still got juice, especially to all the developers and contractors who, after donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Francis Suarez, Manolo Reyes and Carollo have every intention of getting a serious return on their investment during the next 4 years.

I have no doubt that Carollo will bristle at the implication that by taking Sarnoff's money, allowing him to camp out in his office, and now appointing Solowlsky to the MSEA Board  this makes him into a Sarnoff sock puppet, but it's obvious that he's determined to not be out played by Suarez into becoming a repeat of his brother Frank, who made a lot of noise during his 8 years on the Commission but found himself more often than not at the losing end of a 4-1, or 3-2 vote

.

It's evident that Carollo and Manolo Reyes are two votes looking for a third,  and that Sarnoff recognized that early on and figured that by giving both of these guys campaign donations and providing some other favors during the election would ensure their support to get back on the Commission if, as a result of "Selfie Boy" Russell's mistaken assumption that he's destined to become  America's next White Hope is forced to resign and either the Commission appoints his replacement, or that an election were to be held this November for the vacant seat.

At the risk of mixing metaphors, the problem with all of this is that Sarnoff is a scorpion, and as the story of the scorpion and the frog goes, when you see the scorpion on a frog's back, you can bet that if you ask the scorpion what he's doing, he'll say, "I'm a scorpion bitch, what the fuck do you think I'm doing."

Sarnoff repeatedly screwed the taxpayers of Miami during his 8 years as a City Commissioner, and there's every reason to believe that he'll screw them even worse if he gets back on the Commission.

As a scirpion, it's what he does.

WANT TO BET HE'S AVAILABLE TO BE THAT LEADER

I didn't intend when I started putting together this latest version of The Crespogram that I would devote so much space to the antics of Marc Sarnoff, but in a way it makes sense, because the success of original Crespogram owes a lot to Sarnoff, starting with the the revelations that I uncovered about the way he manipulated the process to get the Traffic Circle and Dog Park across the street from his house built, and of course the series of stories that I wrote of how he kept trying to evade being served with Code Violations for operating an illegal law firm in a house that he owned in the Grove.

Sarnoff isn't just your normal devious politician, he's a smart. devious politician who operates on multiple levels, and that's evident now in the fact that he's not  just scheming to get some of his cronies back into positions of power and influence, but that it's obvious from the photos and comments that he's begun posting on his Facebook Page about how bad things have gotten in District 2 since he's been gone are part and parcel of a plan to get himself back in the public's eye, and possibly to getting himself appointed to a high profile position that he can then use as a jumping off point for running for District 2  later this year after Commissioner "Selfie Boy"Russell is forced to resign from the City Commission toi pursue his idiotic run for Congress.

Below is a recent post that he posted on his Facebook Page about the traffic problems and the Brickell Avenue Bridge. I've highlighted a telling portion where he calls for "a leader" to take a plan back to the Coast Guard that was supposedly crafted when he was the District 2 Commissioner and the Chairman of the DDA.

Who is Jay Solowsky?  He's is the long-time confidante and chief sock puppet for former Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who, as everyone is beginning to realize is determined, like a dethroned king in a Shakespearean play, to get his old Commission seat back, by hook or by crook.

Sarnoff donated 11,000 to Carollo's PC, and since the election, has attached himself to Carollo like one of those sucker fish that you see attached to sharks during the shows on Shark Week.

He not only showed up in court during the trial, but more importantly, after a 2 year absence from City Hall, he's begun making regular appearances once again, including showing up on Commission days to hang out in Carollo's office along with other Carollo cronies like Alex de la Portilla, Carlos Gimenez Jr, and his wife JC.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Add up the salary over the 5 year period, and it comes to ,006,229.10, and that's before you add in the personal vehicle, the annual pay raises and whatever other "prerequisites are available to all, "City of Miami Police Executives.

The lying, moron former Chief Rudy Llanes, made the city lease him a Ford 150 pickup for his time as Chief.

Good luck Chief, but just remember, 5 years is a long time to survice in a pit full of snakes like the ones currently hanging out at City Hall, and I'll tell you what I've told others, if I start writing about you, it will only be because you've pissed off the rank and file officers in your department, and everyone in Miami knows, when the time comes, I'm the only one willing to call an asshole an asshole.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS - WHO GETS PAID WHAT IN THE CITY OF MIAMI

This breakdown got lost when the website had a fit a couple weeks ago, but I figured that since folks always like reading up on whose getting paid, what, I should include this info in this first edition of the Confidential.

Do you think that maybe some of Sarnoff's cronies have already started writing those suggested letters nominating him to be that leader, and that one or more of the esteemed City Commissioners will soon bring this all up at a Commission meeting and suggest that his pal Marc Sarnoff would be he perfect guy to take this task on?

THE MILLION DOLLAR POLICE CHIEF

Now that we've gotten past the phony selection charade peddled by new City Manager Emilio Gonzalez on how he made the decision to appoint Jorge Colina the new Chief of Police - see my October 19, 2016 story that not only revealed that the decision to appoint Colina was made 2 1/2 months before Gonzalez himself was appointed, but that also provided details of how that decision was reached - it's time to take a look at Colina's contract, or in this case the deal memo

Support the Crespogram

NUMBER 1 - FEBRUARY 5, 2018

THE POLITICIAN WHOSE VOTE REALLY MADE MARLIN'S STADIUM POSSIBLE

The hue and cry over the news that Jeffrey Luria announced that there will be no profit sharing of money with the taxpayers of Miami-Dade County as a result of the billion dollar sale of the Marlins has once again ignited the passions of many over what could reasonably be called the worst deal ever made by politicians in this county.

A lot of politicians share in the blame, and billionaire Norman Braman used his money to finance the recall of County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, who he accused of being the ringleader behind the deal.

Lost in all of the name calling, finger pointing and recall vote was the fact that of all the politicians, starting with Carlos Alvarez, and the County Commissioners, and Manny Diaz and the Miami City Commissioners who played a part in this deal, the one politician whose vote actually allowed this deal to go forward has largely been ignored or forgotten.

That politician's name is Marc Sarnoff, former Miami City Commissioner, who, on March 9, 2009, covered his ass by initially voting along with Tomas Regalado against the stadium, and an hour later changed his vote to support the waiving of the bid requirements for the contractor, which was the critical vote in allowing the process to go forward.

Why was Sarnoff's vote so critical? The vote for or against the stadium only required a simple majority vote, while the vote to waive the bid requirement required a 4/5th vote, and as the record shows, Sarnoff's vote was the 4th and crucial vote.

What was especially egregious was the rationale that Sarnoff offered as to why he was willing to change his vote. On August 5, 2013, I wrote a detailed explanation of what happened at the City Commission that day, including a copy of the full Commission minutes, that included Sarnoff's explanation for changing his vote. (You can read my story HERE.)

I wrote a lot of stories about Marc Sarnoff and his willingness to screw over the citizens of the City of Miam during his time on the City Commission, and several weeks ago I stood before the City Commission to warn the residents of the West Grove that they should be aware that he was one of the people lining up against their efforts to have the boundaries of the OMNI CRA expanded to include the West Grove.

The way in which Sarnoff cast the deciding vote that allowed the Marlin's Stadium construction to move forward was a classic example of how he operated during his time on the City Commission, and the story below details how Sarnoff has decided to return to the scene of his crimes, and how Joe Carollo has become a willing enabler for Sarnoff's schemes.

SAY IT AIN'T SO, JOE

Now that Joe Carollo has dodged the bullet on the baseless lawsuit filed by Alfie Leon/Xavier Suarez over whether Carollo actually lived in the condo he rented in order to meet the residency requirements to run for the District 3 Commission seat and is safely on the City Commission for the next 4 years, he's now in a position to do what Miami City Commissioners are knowing for doing best: Paying back supporters and BFF's.

One payback involves nominating Jay Solowsky to the District 3 seat on the MSEA Board.