The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - #BecauseMiami: A Miami Mafia Update

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

Apparently, the Trump administration's hunt for people to deport has had a negative effect on real estate in South Florida. Michael Smith from Bloomberg News tells Billy Corben why. Plus, Billy has an update on the "Miami Mafia." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door. A well-marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver.

Now's a good time to remember where Tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented Tequila. Cuervo. What are you doing here? Cuervo. Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up. Well, I do know that to be true, but even during ad reads, like... Cuervo.

I think he could lay out, especially for one of our great partners. Sweet, delicious Cuervo. Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion. Cuervo. So, enjoy the tequila that started it all. Cuervo. Cuervo.

The tequila that invented tequila. Proximo. Cuervo.com. Please drink responsibly. Cuervo. From commutes that become learning sessions to dishwashing filled with laughs, podcasts can help you make the most out of your everyday. And when it comes to everyday spending, you can count on the PC Insider's World Elite MasterCard to help you earn the most PC optimum points everywhere you shop.

The PC Insider's World Elite MasterCard, the card for living unlimited. Conditions apply to all benefits. Visit pcfinancial.ca for details. Are you a forward thinker? Then you need an HR and finance platform that thinks like you do. Workday is the AI platform that helps propel your organization, your workforce, and your industry into the future. Workday, moving business forever forward.

Wendy's most important deal of the day has a fresh lineup. Pick any two breakfast items for $5. New four-piece French toast sticks, bacon or sausage wrap, English muffin sandwiches, value iced coffee, and more. Limited time only at Participating Wendy's Taxes Extra. [♪ music playing, beat music playing, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums and drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, beat drops to beat of drums, The headline of Bloomberg News is Trump's migrant crackdown adds to Miami's real estate woes. So in addition to the skyrocketing insurance costs and condo maintenance fees, higher mortgage rates,

soaring property prices, and a post pandemic, we could call it housing boom correction. Also a glut of new inventory on the market. For the Miami metro area, this past March, it's up to over 51,000 homes, which is the second highest level on record for March. You've got listings up nearly 5% from the month before, which is a bigger increase than normal for this time of year.

You've got 17.9% of pending home sales in Miami fell through in March, which is up, actually, basically 18% of home sales is what you have, having fallen through. So you've got this kind of apocalyptic scenario in Miami real estate, which by the way, that's our whole industry in Miami, if not the entire state of Florida. What I mean is that as the real estate industry goes, and particularly the condo market goes,

so too goes our economy. And we'll get into that, and it's gonna be a problem nationwide. But remember, in Florida, in 2007, a year before the Great Recession, Florida's economy started to slip. So we are the canary in the coal mine. We are the bellwether for economic trends.

And this is a major one. And we have with us Michael Smith, co-author of that article. the bellwether for economic trends. And this is a major one. And we have with us Michael Smith, co-author of that article. He's a national reporter for Bloomberg News, headquartered out of their Miami office. Even though you wouldn't know it, it looks like he's in Guantanamo, if you can see him on the video here.

He has a beautiful view of a gray wall with some peculiar electronic devices on the wall. It's all very unpleasant. I hope they're blinked twice if you need help, Michael. We'll send somebody for you. But Michael, tell us to really what you're saying here. The thesis of this article is that there's a compounding effect here when you have a community like Miami, which is 50% foreign born, when you have people from other countries, Canada, South America, Europe, who ordinarily come here both as tourists and with their flight capital to establish either

second residency, temporary residency, full time residency, that ain't happening right now because of Trump's immigration policy. So tell me what impact that appears to be happening on the Miami market. Yeah, it's quite an interesting theme. And I just sort of came across it by talking to a source who works in real estate, like you said, like half the people in Miami, basically. And she started to tell me, you know, it's getting really hard to rent or buy to foreigners in Miami because of Trump.

And I'm like, what do you mean? And she and then later a bunch of other people I talked to basically said that there's sort of a new regime going on in real estate in Miami, where landlords, for example, who want to rent to say somebody who just wants to rent a place, want to come to our house, are demanding to see proof of citizenship, green card, passport, whatever. Used to just be all you needed was sort of a photo ID, but now they want that because they're worried that their tenant might be deported if they don't have that.

You know, especially regarding, you know, the Venezuelans, Cubans, et cetera, that have this temporary status that Trump is restricted and even taking away. That's one side of the market, so to speak. The other side of it is wealthier people who live in Latin America, et cetera, have always come to Miami to buy a condo,

to sort of, like you said, to park their money, invest it in real estate. And there's a reluctance that's starting to sort of sign the reluctance in that end as well, where people are reluctant to invest in real estate if they don't have a US passport or green card because they're worried that they'll never be able to come and see their property or enjoy it.

So those are sort of the two fronts what they're seeing in the market where it's actually affecting things already. Okay, so it's only the buyers and the sellers then. It's not. Yeah, only buyers and the sellers. It's only the sellers and the landlords who are concerned about selling or renting to immigrants

and the immigrants themselves who are concerned about renting or buying in the, but otherwise everything's fine is what you're telling me. So you've cited some anecdotal evidence here, but there is some data to back this up because obviously, as we've already said, this is a national trend. Every market, real estate or that market

that relies on tourism or outsiders like Florida does disproportionately. And let me be clear, the real estate industry generates almost a quarter of Florida's economic activity, more so than any other state. And there are a lot of realtors in the state of Florida, and particularly South Florida as well. But by the way, when we say it generates a quarter,

this is right from Bloomberg's story, from Michael's story, almost a quarter of Florida's economic activity, I believe that just refers to real estate specifically. Then you have a obviously a domino effect from there because these people who are buying this property and moving to Miami, what that does for the sales tax base, what that does for local businesses, what that does for, we're bringing people here, growth being sort of our only industry

here. If that stops happening, it's not just the real estate industry that collapses. It's every industry, it's real estate, it's hospitality, entertainment, restaurants, it's construction, and designing and architecture and all of the businesses that revolve around this. So but Michael, get me into the numbers here. What are we seeing decline wise in Miami that seems to bear out that we are uniquely f***ed? I guess the biggest number, so to speak is home sales are down

17% in March. That's the latest data we have from a year earlier in the in greater Miami. And that's six times the national sort of rate of decline. Whoa. And that's that's six times the national sort of rate of decline. And that's what we're talking about in March, so that's enough time now for the Trump effect to sort of be showing up. And it's not getting better, I have to think, right? Anecdotally, at least.

No, it's not. It's gotten worse from, say, February to March, for example. And also, another key indicator is, if you want to sell a home or a condo, it's going to take you a medium, almost 100 days on the market before you can find a buyer. And that's a huge change from before. And what we're hearing from people in the business is that there's just less demand because of so many immigrants, legal and otherwise, are out of the market, are being forced out of the market, so to speak.

There's not that demand that's so important in Miami, like you said. That's probably the key indicator. And then also prices have gone down quite a bit, 16% in the past year. This is data that sort of backs up what we're hearing anecdotally. Still don't have that specific data saying, oh, this much of the decline is caused by, you know, the evaporation of the immigrant market, so to speak. But sure, but we may never, we may never have that kind of granular data ever. Yeah. But

I will say you said 17% it is closer to 18% because it's like 17.8 or 17.9, which again, six times the national decline that is in the Miami metro market. A market that has how many real estate agents, Michael? Yeah. So this is, you know, I've been in Miami eight years and I was always just incredulous at how many people I meet and see who are realtors. You know, it's just such a dominant business. So I'm like, well, how many are there actually? So I dug a lot. It took a while, but I found Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers.

They actually measure that profession in cities around the country. And there are, you know, about 11,000, according to the US government, real estate agents in South Florida. And that's like double the number in LA or New York, which are cities that are way bigger than Miami. And I think that's actually conservative. Like I've seen estimates for 40, 50,000. There's other estimates in the market

of how many people actually work in real estate, but let's just take the conservative one is still a big number Yeah, I remember people Peter's a loose key from condo vultures had told me he's like this is round There was like around the time the Great Recession 2007 2008 there was about 20,000 and change registered real estate agents in the state of Florida and now it's over 60,000 Stainless that is tripled in less than 17, 18 years.

It's remarkable. And so also we're dealing in a state here where despite growth being like our sole industry and whether that's tourism, whether that's real estate, we have a legislature and a governor and Ron DeSantis, who have been, as you guys put it, augmenting federal immigration efforts with one of the toughest state crackdowns in the nation.

Just this past week, task forces consisting of federal, local, and state law enforcement have arrested over 1,100 suspected, quote unquote, criminal immigrants. So you have a generally unwelcoming kind of atmosphere in a state where we rely almost solely on that outside income. So how is that contributing to the fear factor here? Yeah, I think that's kind of what we're hearing anecdotally

if you will, you know, from people who are pretty knowledgeable on how this market works. So there is a fear on the part of people who are buying, like you said, if they don't have status, they don't want to put their money into something they may not be able to enjoy. Who knows what would happen if you get deported in your own property here? And then there's also that sort of a repression on the other side from the landlords who are like, I'm not going to rent to anybody. I'm certainly going to sell if you don't have some sort of proof of citizenship. And that's a huge change. So that's creating a factor of how basically what that means is a lot of immigrant families

that don't have green cards, maybe have temporary status, they're renting an apartment or renting a house somewhere. These are people that aren't making a lot of money and their lease runs out. They're having trouble renewing their lease or finding another place to live because of this. So I think it's really, my impression is it is much harder for folks like that to rent, which will turn into all kinds of other sort of impact on people's lives, you know, where you're going to live. One other really important element of this that I discovered also by talking to a mortgage broker here, one thing that Trump has done, which I didn't realize with FHA loans, federal housing administration mortgages, which are a huge thing. You know, they account for 16% of all single family mortgages in America, and they're designed for first time buyers or people have a lot of money for a down payment because you put down 3.5%, you don't have proof of citizenship or permanent residency. That's a huge change that's going to really, really affect just sort of normal people who

used to be able to get a mortgage that way and can't. So you can imagine as that ripples through the economy, it's going to have an even bigger impact on what we're talking about here. We're here in downtown Miami, right near the Brickell neighborhood, and anecdotally, what's happening right outside of our window, according to your article in Bloomberg.com, one Miami real estate agent told you that in recent months, two-thirds of his clients in the high-rise luxury market in the Brickell district have scrapped plans to buy. Two thirds, another said that demand

isn't only down substantially among visa holders, but supply is also growing because some owners who don't have permanent residency are, as you said earlier, looking to sell their homes here and then buy in Europe or Latin America instead. Are we headed for a total, now, by the way, one would argue in this, Miami has always subsisted on these boom and bust cycles,

and it seems that the pandemic boom almost artificially kind of extended this last boom. So you can argue that we're overdue for a correction, as the kids say, but does it seem imminent now that with just the trends, the way they're going and the exacerbation of the immigrant crackdown in a community of immigrants in a city and state that relies on this outside income and tourism? Is this collapse inevitable? And what does it seem to indicate

nationwide? Yeah, I mean, at least from the reporting I was able to do, it's certainly happening and nobody thinks it's gonna reverse itself anytime soon if you have this underlying immigration crackdown. And like, it's just so amplified in Miami because of, like you said, you know, Miami, I didn't realize this, but I think it's 54% of, according to the US Census,

of people here are foreign-born. That's like double New York. You know, incredible when you think about that. Foreigners, people who were not from the United States, are such a critical part of our economy. And if you're basically shutting out people or making them scared, like that, you know, or just wanting to get out because they're not sure where things are going in this country. A lot of people do think that it's going to just exacerbate this decline that was already happening maybe because of the post pandemic, who knows, but it's not you know, in terms of South Florida, it's just sort

of magnifying things. So yeah, it's it's there's a lot of concern about what's, you know, what the future holds, if you will. Michael Smith, read him at Bloomberg.com. This is going to be one to follow because obviously you're gonna well, follow it right down. I follow well, we will spiral with you, Michael and continue to to follow this and check in with you. Thanks so much for joining us. Yeah, let's keep in touch because I'm writing a lot more about this.

How depressing. Although I guess on the other side is that prices are finally coming down. So the locals, I guess I should be happy about this, right? If you're in the market for a house, I think it's gonna get easier to find something you can afford, maybe. Look at that, Magatav.

Look at that, Roy. We ended on some good news for the locals. I'm staying right as a Broward. What, you're not looking to buy in Miami-Dade? Now's the time, man. Man, I'm trying to travel up north for you. I'm staying next to Stu Gutz. The new pope?

Yes, the new pope. Congratulations, Stu Gutz. On the fourth round of voting, Mazel Tov to the new pope. Congratulations, Stugatz. Stugatz on the fourth round of voting. Mazel Tov to the new pope. Well, you guys have listened to Oral History and you know that the origins of this show were once just a dream for Dan and for Stugatz. And that dream turned into the show and now the business of MetalArk Media and the show that you're listening to today. But starting your own business is a dream that lots of us share. Too many of us let it remain just a dream. So don't hold yourself back thinking, what if I don't have the skills? What if I can't do it alone? Turn those what-ifs into why-nots with Shopify by your side. Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, including 10% of all

U.S. e-commerce. Whether you're Mattel or you're just getting started, Shopify's got your back. Not a web designer? No problem at all. Shopify has beautiful, ready-to-go templates. Need help with the details? Their AI tools can enhance product images, write descriptions, and even generate discount codes. Worried about finding customers? Shopify makes marketing easy with email and social media tools. And if I ever get stuck, Shopify's award-winning 24-7 support is always there. Turn those dreams into stuck, Shopify's award-winning 24-7 support is always there. Turn those dreams into and give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com slash but hard. Go to Shopify.com slash but hard Shopify.com slash but hard.

Okay, so I thought I was good with money. Turns out I was really good at ignoring it. Like how am I spending this much on delivery or Uber or that one shoe store that I buy too many shoes from? Then I started using Monarch Money and dude it's a financial wake up call. Monarch's not just some budgeting app. It's basically your money command center. Puts everything, accounts, credit cards, investments into one place.

So you're not guessing anymore. And listen, I found stuff I didn't even know I was paying for since I started using Monarch. I'm tracking my spending actually saving and yeah, even having money check ins with my wife and we're looking at each other and we're like, yeah, okay, we're all good. It makes the hard stuff way easier. And over a million households use Monarch. It was named the best budgeting app of 2025 by the wall street journal. So it's not just me, high being up. It was named the best budgeting app of 2025 by the Wall Street Journal. So it's not just me hyping up. It's legit. It's real, real deal Holyfield and get control of all

of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code Dan at MonarchMoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at MonarchMoney.com with code Dan. Looking for a new way to get in on the action? NASCAR betting on DraftKings is where speed meets strategy. Whether it's a super speedway, short track, or road course, no one brings chaos quite like NASCAR. Every Sunday brings new ways to win. Bet on winners, top three finishes, stage winners, head-to-head matchups, and more.

Love a long shot? This is your sport. One late restart can change everything. So whether you're rolling with a favorite like Kyle Larson, or chasing a long shot from the back of the pack, NASCAR is always wide open. Fire it up on DraftKings, where NASCAR is full throttle all season long. Only Miami do we hear from the voice and face of corruption to talk to us about corruption. That's Miami Commissioner Joe Corroyo, and he's officially been cleared of several criminal accusations after a public corruption unit in Broward County said, quote, the state cannot I cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Corollo's actions rose to a criminal offense. Investigation or cover-up? That is always the question in this town when they're investigating public corruption. Time for a Because Miami exclusive. They never bothered to

interview at least six key witnesses. Miami-Dade state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, our top cop in the community since 1993, since Janet Reno left for the Clinton administration. Can't get rid of her. Can't. Just unbelievable. Like cockroaches, crocodiles, twinkies and Fidel Castro. They just they they live forever. So Kathy Rundle has to repeatedly recuse herself from local public corruption cases. Okay, why?

Because she's involved in all the corruption when you've been an elected official in this town for over three decades, you are part of the incestuous cesspool that is Miami politics and so she has to keep accusing herself from it. So what has to happen is the governor has to reassign it to Harold Pryor, the state attorney in Broward County. And he has done not a goddamn thing. In fact, after arresting Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz-LaPortia and him being removed from office, a year later, he let him go and said, actually, our bad, he didn't do anything wrong.

Those charges of bribery, those charges of money laundering, of campaign finance crimes. No, no, it seems like that was totally, totally kosher. So you have somebody who is either incompetent or outright corrupt in covering up for this. And now, Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor has cleared Miami Commissioner He's a white beaver, white beaver, yeah that's Joe Caroneo in a closeout memo published just a couple weeks ago, Assistant State Attorneys Alexandra Weil and Julio Gonzalez, who is chief

of Broward's Public Corruption Unit. I'll give you a guess where he used to work before that. Definitely not Jacksonville. Catherine Fernandez Rundle's office. Oh. OK, so he used to work for the woman who had to recuse herself from this case for a conflict of interest, despite the fact that the very first paragraph of their closeout memo

identifies, quote, Commissioner Corroyo's actions regarding ball and chain owner Bill Fuller, end quote, as the number one impetus for this inquiry. You know that you have been targeting my business. Everybody in this city knows you've been targeting my business. They never interviewed Bill Fuller. They never even contacted him. This closeout memo reads like a cover-up. It flagrantly ignores vital testimony that was given under oath and available in trial

transcripts, in depositions, and even in public media reports. You'll remember, Roy, Bill Fuller and his business partner, Martin Pena, property owners in Little Havana, including they own the historic Ball and Chain nightclub on Calle Ocho. They successfully sued Joe Corollo and won a federal civil judgment. Corollo was ordered to pay $63 million

after losing a civil case. It accused him of weaponizing police and code enforcement officers against the owners of Ball and Chain restaurant. It feels great to finally smush that cucaracha. Guess what? They didn't bother to interview Martin Pena, the partner, either. And they failed to interview their attorney, Jeff Guchas, who has spent over six and a half years gathering evidence and successfully trying that federal civil corruption case

that ended in a $63.5 million verdict. He was never contacted by Broward. For any of the information and evidence that he has compiled through multiple litigations, dozens of witnesses, thousands of pages of evidence and public records. The Broward State Attorney's Office in their so-called corruption investigation against Joe Correio also never contacted former Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez.

Unfortunately, what's happens at City Hall right now has very little bearing on the residents. It's almost like a predator city. And former Miami police chief George Kalina. Listen, you're not going to bully me like you do the other people. I'm not intimidated here and I'm not intimidated by you. This is absolutely ridiculous that we have spent this much time on this already. What's ridiculous is chief, is your attitude coming here. Both of whom testified under oath and provided is your attitude coming here? Both of whom testified under oath and provided email evidence and records, exhibits that appeared at the successful federal civil corruption trial

against Joe Correo, they were never contacted or interviewed by the Broward State Attorney's Office in this corruption case. But they themselves have firsthand knowledge, they witnessed events and have actual physical documentary evidence of this corruption, never contacted. The complaints that attorney Jeff Guchas has drafted, they read like Rico, like racketeering indictments, that could be blueprints for a possible criminal indictment but it doesn't even appear that the Broward State Attorney's

Office ever bothered to read them or even look at them nor did they convene a grand jury or subpoena witnesses when they know that they are dealing with a well-documented environment of threats, intimidation, and abuse of power. So I know of several potential witnesses who would testify, who would cooperate and give interviews, but they're not going to volunteer because they're so scared of retaliation and revenge here in Miami. And the state attorney's office in Broward, who of course has subpoena power and could talk to just about anybody about anything that they want never bothered to do it.

So they've now botched the two major duty public corruption cases in Miami of our time here Alex Diaz LaPortilla and Joe Corolla. It's not because they're not corrupt. It's because the people who are supposed to hold these public officials accountable are either incompetent or corrupt. I mean or it could be and. And or. Oftentimes by the way the incompetence begets corruption when they try to cover up their own incompetence. But Harold Pryor the Broward County State Attorney, his assistant state attorneys, Alexandra Weil and Julio Gonzalez, his chief of the public corruption unit.

They're either incompetent or corrupt or... And or. Both. You know who else they didn't bother to interview? Who's that, Billy? Former Correio chief of staff, Jose Suarez. I was berated for being transparent. I was told that I needed to lawyer up. In mass Miami mafia mierda, just a week or so before the Broward State Attorney's Office

released this bullshit closeout memo, not saying Joe Correio didn't do anything corrupt, but that the corruption apparently doesn't rise to criminality because they can't find sufficient evidence despite the fact they never bothered to find sufficient evidence. Suarez had filed a sworn declaration that he witnessed Joe Corollo allegedly blackmailed city manager Art Noriega during a phone call. I'll sit with Billy Corbin across the table and I'll present everything to him.

I have no issue with that at all. Blackmail, by the way, would be a crime. But despite the fact that I had actually broken this news online prior to the Broward State Attorney's office closing out this corruption case, they never bothered to call Jose Suarez, who not only witnessed this alleged blackmail attempt, but alleged a litany of malfeasance. Jose Suarez says he was present during a tense telephone conversation between Mr. Corollo and Mr. Noriega. During that call, I witnessed Mr. Corollo threaten that if Mr. Noriega did not do what Mr. Corollo instructed, Corollo would reveal to the public

incriminating information he had about Mr. Corollo instructed, Corollo would reveal to the public incriminating information he had about Mr. Noriega. The incriminating information Corollo held over Noriega's head, like a sword, that's what he wrote, was that Mr. Noriega had previously committed fraud on the court and upon his ex-wife by lying under oath and claiming that he had no ownership in a property in Miami-Dade County when in fact he maintained a secret ownership interest in that party. Effectively an attempt to hide or a successful attempt to hide assets from his wife during the divorce. So this declaration was filed in yet another lawsuit from the ball and chain guys against the so-called

Garroyo Cabal, which consists of not only Joe Carollo, but city manager Art Noriega, disgraced ex or fired city attorney slash mob lawyer Tricky Vicky Mendez. You are a vile little man. As well as various other department heads at the City of Miami, who allegedly conspired to weaponize the city government against these private business owners to violate their constitutional rights. And so what's happening is that the city manager, Artur Noriega and Tricky Vicky filed a motion to dismiss, I guess, the case against them because the City of Miami taxpayers, Roy, have had to hire over a dozen defense attorneys

to defend all of the corruption going on in the city just in this one case. So Jose Suarez filed this declaration basically saying, like, I have more evidence of malfeasance here that could conceivably prove the culpability of the city manager and the city attorney. And here are some of the highlights from that sworn declaration. These are direct quotes.

Although Mr. Corollo never articulated to me directly a specific directive or plan to punish these individuals and businesses, I was present for countless hours of him ranting about them and often as he looked at documents related to them in their businesses he was so consumed that he even began referring to them as the 8th Street boys history boys Mister Corolla's rants would often occur while I was in the car with him traveling along Southwest 8th Street to observe what might be occurring at the business owned or operated by Mister Fuller and the others

this happened on more occasions than I can count. Carollo also regularly directed other staff members to drive him along the corridor where Fuller's businesses were located so he could monitor what they were doing day and night. It did not matter. Mr. Carollo would regularly allege some of those businesses were a front for Venezuelan money laundering when Mr. Corollo was unable to get the administration to go after Mr. Fuller and his partners, Corollo enlisted city attorney Victoria Mendez to do

his bidding. Mr. Corollo would often meet with Ms. Mendez in our office or at a few fast food restaurants near City Hall or his commission district. I believe that was a Wendy's, but his favorite is Burger King. It became apparent, according to Mr. Suarez, to me that Ms. Mendez went out of her way to appease Mr. Corollo, who had the ability at any time to call for the Commission to vote for her removal.

It was common knowledge that at least one, possibly two other commissioners, as well as Mayor Francis Suarez, were not happy with Ms. Mendez serving as city attorney. My impression was that Mr. Corollo used the possibility of terminating Ms. Mendez as a means of ensuring she carried out his wishes. Although Ms. Mendez was Corollo's primary enabler, Mr. Corollo would also rely on Mary Lugo to get city employees to provide documents or other information he could use

in his vendetta against Mr. Fuller and the others. Mary Lugo, a well-known Coroio ally. Attorneys for Plaintiffs Bill Fuller and Martin Pena have brought up Lugo multiple times during this case, telling jurors she helped as Coroio used city resources to target Fuller and Pena's businesses. I viewed Mr. Coroio's use of Ms. Lugo as a way of circumventing the city charter, which prohibited commissioners from directing city employees to undertake any actions at their request. Ms. Lugo was uniquely qualified to assist Mr. Corollo since she was one of the top officials in the union

that represents general employees in the city of Miami. Mr. Corollo considered Noriega an ally when he was the executive director of the Miami Parking Authority for decades earlier. He had sponsored a lot of Corollo's kind of private events and so they had an interesting and complicated relationship. And Corollo had at the time publicly called for a nationwide search to find a new city manager,

but he had always intended to vote for Art Noriega and help install him into office because he knew Art Noriega would play ball with his shady, corrupt and possibly illegal schemes. Quote, Mr. Corollo leveraged the change in managers in February 2020 and the COVID lockdowns that began in March 2020 to gain control of city government. During this time period, there was a noticeable increase in how much power Mr. Corollo was wielding both on the dais and within the administration, seemingly fully seizing power as Mayor Suarez became focused on cryptocurrency and the tech industry.

In contrast to the city in position of violations against Fuller, Mr. Corollo operated with impunity and began to disregard the city's own ordinances. Again, despite all of these allegations in a sworn statement, the Broward County State Attorney's Office has never talked to this man or any of the five other key witnesses that I discovered had never been contacted by the office in their so-called corruption investigation. And that is why the Miami Mafia is undefeated.

This month marked the transition into the real ID system for your driver's license. You need that new digitally holographic driver's license. You got one, Roy? Yeah, I made sure I got it because I got to be on planes and not get arrested and stuff like that. That would be helpful, certainly. It also marked, by the way, months of days-long waits at DMVs in South Florida, such that

they're changing all kinds of rules and laws now because there are people who are like selling reservations and places in line and they're now like trying to outlaw that, which is A, making it easier for people to get appointments, but B, not making the waits any shorter. See, when I did it, it was just hours long, and that was just a normal day at the DMV. Now it's classic, it's like old school Ticketmaster. Remember you'd line up the night before with a tailgate tent or some beach chairs or something?

That's what people are doing. People are showing up the night before at the DMV and lining up for 12 hours or more just to get into the DMV in South Florida. Just to see Journey. Well, not everybody is having such an easy time, even if you do get an appointment at the DMV and do make it to a customer service person, I use that term loosely, at the DMV,

not everybody in South Florida is having an easy time of it. And it's because of some classic old school Miami problems. We sometimes talk on this program, people think of Miami as this sort of like, you know, international metropolitan city. In fact, we were very much a part of the Jim Crow South. Miami Beach was a sundown town. We've talked about that on this show many times.

Sundown town means that people of color were not permitted on the barrier island of Miami Beach after sundown, after dark, unless they went to the police department and actually got their picture taken with a special photo ID, had their thumbprint on it. And that was only if they were working at like a nightclub

or a restaurant or a hotel that required them to be on Miami Beach after hours. But they would most certainly get pulled over for traveling or driving or being on a bus while black in Miami Beach after dark. And then they would have to show the police, I've been tagged, I'm allowed to be here. Well, there was a 76 year old retired postal worker who has lived in

Miami without incident for 55 years and she's now having a little problem proving that she was born and that she even exists. Cocaine's. Miami Dade woman says she is stuck in limbo trying to get her real ID driver's license. The reason? She cannot prove that she was born in the United States. I said I'd like to renew my driver's license. Oh no, we need this and we need that. For what?

What reason? I never had it before. Gant Palmer needed her birth certificate or passport to prove her identity. It's part of the new real ID program that takes effect next month. Gant Palmer has neither. She says she's been trying to get her birth certificate her whole life.

Back in those days, we were born at home. There's nobody going to no hospital. The lady came to your house to help your mom have the baby. For 42 years, she worked at the post office. She also drove school buses, Hey friends, it's Jarrah Bear here, and I'm here to tell you all about Boost Mobile, which is now a legit nationwide 5G network. So I must take a break from the jokes here for a second and put on my serious voice, because I would never ever joke about a 5G network that has invested billions building 5G towers across the country. Not even once.

Not even if Mr. Boost Mobile himself asked me to. There is nothing funny about it. Boost Mobile is now a legit nationwide 5G network and also provides coverage across 99% of America. Seriously. Visit BoostMobile.com or your nearest BoostMobile store location to learn more. The Boost Mobile network, together with our roaming partners, covers 99% of the US population. 5G speeds not available in all areas.