Two Miami council members nearly got into a fight, shouting “You’re a liar” and “You’re a little man” over a vote to renew the city attorney’s contract during the first City Commission meeting of 2024.
Commissioner Miguel Gabela, 59, jumped from his chair and charged toward 68-year-old Commissioner Joe Carollo until an aide rushed to stop him, ending Thursday’s meeting abruptly.
Gabela repeatedly said, “You’re a liar,” before standing up and rushing toward Carollo, seemingly ready for a confrontation.
Carollo replied, “You’re a little man. You want to play Tony Soprano, but I’ll play it right back for you.’
The near-brawl on Thursday was sparked by a vote to extend City Attorney Victoria Méndez’s contract for five months following a lawsuit in which she and her husband were accused of real estate fraud.
Two Miami council members nearly got into a fight, shouting “You’re a liar” and “You’re a little man” over a vote to renew the city attorney’s contract during the first City Commission meeting of 2024
Commissioner Miguel Gabela (right), 59, jumped out of his chair and charged toward Commissioner Joe Carollo (left), 68, until a staffer rushed to stop him, bringing Thursday’s meeting to an abrupt end
Carollo said, “You’re a little man. You want to play Tony Soprano, but I’ll play right back for you’
Both Carollo and Gabela returned to their seats, but the altercation continued when Carollo pointed at Gabela and called him “a gangster.”
Former Miami mayor said in interview that Gabella ‘wanted to act like a criminal’ NBC6 outside the town hall.
He said: ‘He wants to act like a Tony Soprano. He blew his cork and came towards me. I am an elderly person. I will not allow a young man to come and hit me while I am sitting in a chair. Of course I’m going to get up.’
Gabella, who was elected city commissioner last November, called Carollo “a bully” after the meeting.
“Sometimes you have to stand up to bullies, but it was never my intention to do anything,” he said.
‘I apologize if it seemed that way, but the man is starting to call me a gangster. I’m not a gangster. “I am a law-abiding citizen and I am a duly elected commissioner like himself and he must respect that so that people can respect him,” he added.
He told me later Miami Herald: ‘I just say: ‘Look man, if you want to have a fight outside, I’ll come outside with you.’
Gabela added that Carollo “doesn’t like to lose, and he has lost control of this committee.”
Carollo replied, “If Mr. Gabela came all the way here and he attacked me like he intended, I bet I would start defending myself.”
The near-brawl on Thursday was sparked by a vote to extend City Attorney Victoria Méndez’s contract for five months following a lawsuit in which she and her husband were accused of real estate fraud.
The decision came after Méndez and her husband, Carlos Morales (pictured), were indicted in March for allegedly plotting to profit from poor people’s property.
Before the dramatic interaction between the two lawmakers, the committee voted 3-2 to extend Méndez’s contract for five months rather than immediately fire her.
The decision came after Méndez and her husband, Carlos Morales, were indicted in March for allegedly plotting to profit from poor people’s property.
Jose Alvarez, 70, claimed the couple convinced him to sell his Havana home below market value because more than $270,000 in fines had been paid for code violations.
But Morales later had all violations wiped away by the Code Enforcement Board using his political connections to City Hall. the lawsuit alleges.
“The city, after a one-minute explanation, waived $271,250.00 in fines for the property now owned by the district attorney’s husband,” the lawsuit reads.
Méndez called the accusations “patently false” and added that it is “really difficult and painful” for her and her family.
“They tried to bully me into submission so I couldn’t continue doing my job as city attorney. I have never seen such a deliberate plan to obstruct justice.” Méndez said this in a statement last year.
Jose Alvarez, 70, claimed the couple convinced him to sell his Havana home (pictured) below market value because it was owed more than $270,000 for code violations.
On Thursday, Carollo voted yes on the extended contract, saying, “I don’t think the city attorney did anything wrong by not extending her contract further.”
An investigation by WLRN Morales’ company has been doing business with Miami-Dade County’s Guardianship Program for 12 years.
The Guardianship Program oversees and sells the assets of vulnerable and disabled people to help cover living costs.
But the investigation found that Morales’ real estate company made a profit from 14 sales through the program and had six-figure fines rescinded by the Miami Cod Enforcement Board.
On Thursday, Carollo voted “yes” on the extended contract, saying, “I don’t think the city attorney did anything wrong by not further extending her contract.” \
The newly elected Gabela and Damian Pardo voted against and expressed hope that Mendez would resign immediately.
