The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - #BecauseMiami: Your Yacht Is On Fire

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

Pauley McPaulerson returns to talk with Billy Corben about the craziness that happened in Miami this week. Plus, Michele Borchew and Adam Goodman joins the show to update us on the cases that the office of Miami Dade state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle bungled. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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you can make your investing steps count. And if you're like me and think a TFSA stands for Total Fund Savings Adventure, maybe reach out to TD Direct Investing. Here's what's breaking in South Florida this morning. A Miami strip cl had to close down early t a yacht caught fire. But

that yacht was being rent and producer Metro Roman on a dock area behind the River strip club. More th rescue units responded to this scene. The incident causing a large crowd to take a look at what was happening right outside. Is it blowing up?

Yes. Oh my goodness. That is insane. It's gonna explode and I'm like literally mad that I didn't hear all that. The yacht eventually sank into the Miami River. The yacht eventually sank into the Miami River. Hashtag because Miami. I feel bad for anyone who's just listening to the podcast because that video was sensational.

That was a Because Miami moment, if ever there was one. It was a near tragedy at BTs on the River, aka Booby Trap, last weekend. I mean, just craziness. So Metro Boomin, hip hop producer and artist, rents a 95-foot yacht, cruises up the Miami River to BTs, to a riverside strip club, and the thing lights on fire. And the bouncers in security, they hear alarms, they see smoke, and they go running over, there's like 10 crew members on board, they take them off, and the next thing you know,

the thing just is a fireball. And everybody in the strip club starts running out on the street and what's amazing about it is that like the party just continued, they're just making it rain in the street. The outfits, my God, the outfits coming to the scene were amazing, the stripper clothes, it was the best. Yeah, because they're all just running out

and they're like schlepping their bags. Like, vamo no, vamo no, chica, vamo no. Did you hear the Spanish? Fongs and boots and this is Báula Barros, aka Pauly, stand-up comic extraordinaire and voiceover artist who, you were saying before the show, you speak accurate Spanish, which is, what does that mean? I speak that TV Spanish, which like, if you're from Miami,

you know that none of our countries really speaks like that. Like, if you're from Cuba, if you're from Venezuela, if you're from Chile, if you're from Dominican Republic, nobody speaks in like that, like, Bienvenido al programa, bienvenido a Por que Miami, este es mi amigo Billy Corbyn. Like, where is that country that speaks like that? You know what I mean?

It's like this. I guess in Telemundo, or Visión. Is it a country, imagine? Bienvenido al país de nosotros. Why, so what is, so what is Miami Spanish sound like? You heard it in the video. It's like, let's go girl, let's go, okay, let's go, run. It's awesome, it's like my Uber driver,

today was the best, I mean he was just like, where are you going dressed like this? He was like, where you going dressed so like, cause I'm wearing a very short skirt, none of you can see, but he was very genuinely curious. And that's how Miami is, we're very like, loose, loose in our subjects and loose in our, you know, diction

because we don't really finish words. And it's very like, you know, it's tranquilo y tropical. That's Spanish here. Loose and diction when we're talking about booby trap there is appropriate. And that's the thing, you don't call it booby trap if you don't want shit like that to happen around it.

I'm sorry, it's like a, it's just meant to happen. Absolutely, so it was like 30 fire trucks showed up. Was it a blunt someone left on the boat, or was it electrical? They are investigating. I have no idea. But 30 fire trucks showed up. It was like this huge fire, because apparently,

because the size of the boat and the amount, like the fuel load, it was just like. Or it could be liquor. It was just or it could be. And they were throwing money and cash. Did you see that? In the street. Well, the show must go on. It was just, but like. Or it could be liquor. It was just, or it could be. And they were throwing money and cash, did you see that street? In the street, well the show must go on.

Oh my God. Like just because everybody got forced out, out of the club onto the street for safety, doesn't mean nobody wants to go home. Clearly, and what happens at Pooby Trap, stays on Instagram apparently. Stays on Instagram. Everybody's just like running out,

the customers and the dancers and, but everybody looked like they were having a good time. They looked amazing, and they looked amazing. For's the best fire scene I've ever seen. And nobody got injured, either from the fire or from falling on those heels. Those heels are epic. Meanwhile, we have all this tragedy happen on the other coast with fires,

and we just make fires look way too fun. We should not, it's not good. And the boat ultimately sank. There's footage of the boat just all of a sudden listing. Bottom of the bay. Sinking into the Miami River. There's footage of the boat just all of a sudden listing. Bottom of the bay. Sinking into the Miami River. It's really rather incredible.

And this one girl was like, that was my client. That was my client. And now I'm f***ed. And now I'm f***ed. Because like he wasn't spending money I guess. What's the difference? It was a rental boat. What does he care? He's probably insured. He's still got whatever cash he came into the club with.

I guess she didn't get to work with him or on him. How do you work on a man when you're a stripper? Yeah, you said it. Do you work on him? I don't know. Ask Roy, apparently. Roy, do you go to strip clubs? Yeah. I'm married, no.

A lot of married men go to strip clubs, I feel. BTs is great. And BTs on the river is a spectacle. And the one in South Miami, which is a lot smaller and more intimate, is also pretty cool. I've heard from friends, people have told me about it. River is a spectacle and the one in South Miami, which is a lot smaller and more intimate is also pretty cool. I've heard from friends, people have told me about it. I don't know that I've ever yet. Of course, you know both locations.

What are you talking about? I've been to both locations in one night. Okay. Who has better food? Better wings over there? Finger-licking. So... Delicking. Delicking, that's right. So, snow. Snow in Florida, man. From fire to snow.

Well, we've done it. I've seen fire, I've seen rain. Historic. Historic snow. I guess if it just snows at all in Florida, that would be historic, but the quantities of snow were wild. Snow began falling yesterday afternoon covering areas like Panama City Beach and Pensacola, some places receiving as much as five inches, an event few Floridians ever expected to

see. Hazardous road conditions on I-10 forced travelers to stop at hotels overnight. We have snowstorms in Dallas, but not like this. This is the first and incredible like a blizzard on the interstate. And I was the only car at five o'clock in the afternoon. Officials have closed roads and are urging residents to stay indoors as freezing temperatures persist. They got five inches. That's what they got. That's what I got. So, is that what you got? No, no, no. So, we went from making it rain to making it snow,

and Tallahassee got about two or three inches. Milton, Florida, this was all, all this action was in the panhandle of Florida. They got between nine and 10 inches of snow in Milton. Pensacola got seven and a half inches. I mean, just record breaking snowfall, which of course proves that global warming is a lie. It's the opposite.

Because it's snowing. It's bullshit. It's bullshit. Yeah, and then you notice they changed it from global warming to climate change just in case, well, it gets too hot, it gets too cold. Yeah, it's too warm.

You know, I would say though, and not a meteorologist folks. I would say Record-breaking snowfall coming off a very busy hurricane season with very powerful storms and very hot waters in the Gulf of America To record-breaking snow in Florida. We're talking about these records were doubled by the way I think the beach pictures like it's insane. It's insane. It's like, it looked like Miami in the 80s. There was so much white powder on the ground. Nobody in Florida is ready, like their wardrobe.

That guy was in a t-shirt. He was like, and we're getting snow and he's still in a t-shirt. It's like Guy Harvey over here. Have you seen Florida people's winter clothes, you guys? Are you kidding me? This is my winter clothes. I'm wearing the only North Face thing that I own right now.

So I'm just like, it's freezing out. It's like 58 degrees. I need a shmata. And you're wearing shorts. No. Are you? I just came from the champagne room at BT's. Of course you did.

No, but that's the Miami dress code. It's always like a sweater that they got at a sports game, right, like a university of something. Yeah, like a dolphin sweater and shorts and chancletas. And bro, they're not equipped. I'm sorry. Can you translate for our audience what's a chancleta? Chancletas?

Chancleta. It's the thing that your mom uses for discipline? No. Yes, it's actually a tool for discipline that your parents wear on your feet, or anyone wears on their feet. It's called a, what is it? Flip flops.

You can actually hire a girl at BTs to spank you with, I mean I heard, I heard from a friend. I heard from a friend, there's a- That sounds hot. You know, a minor league baseball team named themselves the Chancletas for like a Hispanic- Really? That's great. There's a cap and everything.

But I do wanna say again, not a meteorologist, but I do want to say that going from a frightening hurricane season with warm waters and powerful storms, more powerful and plentiful than ever, to a January with doubling the inches in snowfall in the state of Florida. It seems alarming to me. It seems.

We're on our 12th day of weather in our 60s. We're in the 60s, which is crazy for Miami, because we don't have seasons. And this is the first year that I feel like we have a little bit of a season. The first year in a while, but this all just feels like, when people say when hell freezes over, it kind of feels like hell is freezing over.

So, what is it? I know my Miami girls, my Miami girls are all happy about this winter hair. Like, there is like very little humidity. Like, look at this winter hair, y'all. Like, this is Miami girl hair heaven. We went from Bratz summer to what's the winter? To my hair.

Miami girl hair winter? Is that what this is? Yeah, Miami hair winter. I don't know. We'll make the words fit later. I said my Spanish was good, not my English. I'm having a bad hair day. No, you're having a great,

why were you bitching about your hairline earlier? I'm just pining for confidence. Your hair's amazing. I'm just, I'm feeling like Jesse on Full House today, though, about everybody talking about the hair, me included. Really, John Stamos? You're comparing yourself to Stamos? No, I'm not, I'm comparing my hair.

Okay. You're comparing your hair to Stamos? You're goddamn'm not. I'm comparing my hair. Okay. You're comparing your hair to Stemos? You're goddamn right, Meatball. Oh, man. And Uncle Joey is actually just starting chemo. So let's give it out to Uncle Joey, not Jesse. Jesse's the one with the good hair. And Joey is starting chemo.

Guys, it's for you, Dave Coulier. From the Alanis Morissette song. Yes. Which one? Starting chemo? This is one? No. Jesus Christ? No. Oh. Jesus Christ. No.

Okay. No. Even though they have, I hear they have very good healthcare in Canada. But no, you don't know. Are we gonna have to tell, it's the 90s, Paula. How do you not know about this?

I know, but you were either a rapper, what is it called, a baser or a rocker in the 90s, right? You only listen to rock or like Miami bass. Roy, do you wanna tell her? I was a Miami bass girl. Yeah, it's a Buddha bass down here. I don't know about anybody else. Are you want to tell her? I was a Miami bass girl. Yeah, it's a booty bass down here. I don't know about anybody else.

Are you going to tell her about Alanis Morissette and Dave Coulier? Yeah, apparently Dave Coulier broke her heart. Joey? Yeah. And in the song, You Oughta Know, No. is about her breakup with Dave Coulier.

Are you thinking of me when you fuck her? Thatlier. Are you thinking of me when you f*** her? That lyric? Are you thinking of me? Yeah, are you thinking of me when you f*** her? And the theater episode? You're lying. No. No, we're not making this up.

I'm a shock. My detective test determined that was a lie. That's gonna be a quiz. By the way, why would I make that up? What a weird thing to make up, why would I make that up? What a weird thing to make up though. You are weird. But what a weird thing to make up.

I am a historian and I am spitting facts right now. Atlantis Morissette, okay cool. Atlantis, I just call her Atlantis Morissette. Okay, I need to make that up. That was a Freudian slip because Miami will soon be the lost city of Atlantis. And I really thought that Miami was going to be the case study for the loss, effectively, of a major American city, and billions, if not trillions,

of dollars in real estate as a result of a climate-induced natural disaster. And it turns out LA, of course, is going to be that case study in what's going to happen. It's going to inform what's going to happen here, just with respect to insurance and everything. And I don't think it's going to be. They're just trying to build and build and build to insurance and everything, and I don't think it's gonna be. They're just trying to build and build and build and build and build, and they don't see it.

They're trying to turn my island into Dubai. Have you seen? I live in the cutest little island, guys, on 79th Street, like, off of... You're gonna dox yourself right now on the pod? Oh, my God, come over, guys. I hear you have super fun karaoke nights. She has super fun karaoke nights.

I do have super fun karaoke nights, and everyone super fun karaoke nights I hear. I do have super fun karaoke nights. And everyone on the podcast is invited to just holler. Uh. So, you know, we have run out of time to talk about that and your boy Luigi. So I just came from City Hall in Miami this week, which we will no doubt talk about next week and you will see all about online with me versus,

once again, going another round. Oh, grappling with Joe Carollo and Joe Carollo not taking a hit out on you yet well because he's a bully who likes to punch down in God we trust that's not the one I was looking for that's the one because he only likes to hit women. That's what that was going to be my punch line. Oh. So now you're going to have to come back again so we can talk about your boyfriend Luigi Mangione.

Well, yeah, I mean, I can't claim that. I feel like he's everyone's boyfriend. And we have to talk about, so I have apparently inspired Paula to go to her city hall. Yes, you did. And speak truth to power and try to stop the destruction of some beautiful historic buildings and completely destroy the character and history

and personality of your neighborhood. Yeah. I guess that's, we'll do that. Three times the charm, I'll come back. We'll do that next time. But coming up next, the prosecutorial misconduct scandal that has been engulfing Miami-Dade County is spreading and will be joined by Michelle Vortue and Adam Goodman, criminal defense attorneys who keep getting one defendant after another off.

Come on, man. And also getting them released from prison. That's next. Hey Jeremy. Yes Mike? Have you ever had a fireside conversation during a football Sunday during the winter? Sure. We don't have a lot of fireplaces down here, but I've had the premise of it.

I wish I could, but it's South Florida. When it gets down to the 60s, we're like, we're bundled up, but certainly no fireplaces. Still too warm for that. But we do have our football Sundays. And one thing that always makes football Sundays good, and I know you've had plenty of experience in life with this, Miller time. Oh yeah, Miller Lite makes the winter better.

It makes football Sundays better. It makes even hanging out around you better. Thanks, Mike. That was kind. I appreciate that. You're my friend. When I have a Miller Lite in my hand, pretty much everybody is my friend because we are like-minded. Because we like beer that actually tastes like beer. Oh, and now, the new year, it's

the perfect time to have a Miller time. Miller Lite is brewed for taste. People out there, I want you to listen to me. And Jeremy, you too, because you know it hits you just different than other light beers. The original light beer since 1975 and still the very best one. Miller Light. Great taste. 96 calories. Go to MillerLight.com slash Dan to find delivery options, dear you. Or you can pick up some Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Tastes like Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Hey friends, Jeremy here.

And like a lot of you, I imagine, I'm someone who has multiple jobs, wearing multiple hats, working all sorts of different hours throughout the week. And it can be kind of exhausting. Did you know that sleep is actually one of the most important parts of recovery? Whether you're a pro athlete

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The Sleep Number SmartBed can be adjusted to suit your needs. Firmer one night, softer the next, giving you the ultimate recovery boost. And let's talk about those sweaty sleepless nights. I know they happen a lot here in South Florida. Well, the new Climate Cool Smart Bed adjusts up to 15 degrees cooler on either side with scientifically designed cooling programs to keep you comfortable and undisturbed. Why choose a Sleep Number Smart Bed? So you can choose your ideal comfort on either side. And now save 40% on the new special edition smart beds. Ends Monday. Shop a Sleep Number store near you. Sleep Number, official sleep and wellness partner of the NFL. See store or sleepnumber.com for details. After nearly six years of being behind bars,

Isaiah Dezir and Alex Alexander became free, minutes after their second degree murder and drug charges were wiped out. Prosecutors were counting on the third co-defendant, Latrevia's Roll, to testify against his friends. Roll, who was facing up to life in prison for the same murder, accepted a deal and got three years in exchange for his testimony. But this week, defense attorneys obtained an email sent by a former prosecutor,

which they say proves Rohl was forced to lie and threatened with a longer prison sentence. Because of the email, state attorneys were forced to drop the murder case. Borshu says it was another example of misconduct done by Michael Van Zompf, a former top prosecutor who resigned after he was disqualified from a death penalty case last year. So this is the continuing fallout of a historic misconduct scandal that has been plaguing the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. I would argue for over 30 years, but this has just exploded in the last year. And now, since I believe November, these attorneys can correct me if I'm mistaken, there have been at least three people whose sentences were either drastically reduced or in this case were completely exonerated as a

result of f***ery on the part of Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, the Miami-Dade state attorney, our top cop. Some people know that job in other states as a district attorney or DA. We call it a state attorney here in Florida. And she has been our state attorney since Janet Reno left for the Bill Clinton administration as Attorney General in what, 92, 93. That's how long she has been the prosecutor. And that's how long this injustice department has been churning bodies of innocent people. And in some cases, by the way, perhaps guilty people, but people whose constitutional rights were violated.

Because spoiler alert, Paul, you can't frame a guilty person. If law enforcement is violating constitutional rights, it's not okay, and people gotta walk. And that does not make our community a safe place. When prosecutors are doing the wrong thing, whether it's to innocent people or guilty people, society kind of ceases to function properly.

And- What does Miss Rundle get from, like, pardon my ignorance on this, I'm just like, what does she gain from having them released with her fuckery? I don't think it's a matter of what she gains, because what she has is consistent power for over three decades.

And by the way, when you're a prosecutor, you have the power to deprive people of life, liberty and property. You're more powerful than even the governor, arguably the president in some cases. I mean, you are the king or queen of the community in which your jurisdiction occurs. I think more to the point is that there are no consequences

for this misconduct so far. And that's what's really troubling about it is the total lack of accountability, particularly coming from the person who is supposed to be our top cop, who is supposed to be holding people accountable, who polices the police, who prosecutes the prosecutors in this case.

Just for a little perspective on this, I wanna show these two other cases that I was talking about. In 2010, 15 year old Sabrina O'Neill was gunned down. Taji Pearson was found guilty. Pearson got life in prison, but today that sentence was thrown out.

Prosecutors admitted some evidence was not given to Pearson's attorneys by the former prosecutor on the case, Michael Van Zompf. Cory Smith, the leader of Liberty City's violent drug gang known as the John Doe's in the 1990s. Smith was sentenced to death for the murders of two people. But two decades later, the state will no longer pursue the death penalty.

If I call her and she refuses, then I will find a way to make her unavailable and then I can read her whole testimony. The senior prosecutor of the case, Michael Van Zomt, resigning in March over that damning jailhouse phone call to a convicted killer connected to the gang. A judge issuing a rare order earlier this year removing prosecutors after misconduct, including manipulating witnesses and improperly withholding relevant records from the defense. Criminal defense attorneys, Michelle Borchue and Adam Goodman have been involved in at least two of those three cases that we've talked about so far.

Guys, welcome to Because Miami. I say welcome back to Because Miami. I want to start flashback to the first case that we were talking about at the top of the show, which just happened last week. Can you tell us, give us a little bit of background on that case? How long has it been going on?

And what is this kind of bombshell email that seemed to suddenly pop up that changed the fates of your clients? So what I've been on the case, it's a 2019 case. The defendants had been in custody since 2019. They did go to a bond hearing, which they were denied the right to release pending their trial, even though going through the testimony, it seemed as if they probably should have been released,

but a judge denied them that opportunity. And I've been on the case since I believe 22, maybe 21. Michelle just got on the case at the end of last year. We wanted to put together a good team on this case. We thought that would, you know, two minds are better than one. And so as the case progressed, we were getting ready to proceed to trial.

We thought it was a very weak case to begin with, independent of, I guess, the legal term you used as f**kery. That's the official legal term. Sikes, pardon my Hebrew. Yes, that's the official legal term, I think, that they teach in law school. And we were proceeding to trial as is with a co-defendant. Mr. Rohl had taken a plea, believe in 22,

and as part of that plea, we were able to do our public records request, and sometimes you get exactly what you want, and sometimes you stumble upon something that you didn't intend to get, and we were able to find an email from a prosecutor that basically spoke to Mr. Van Zandt, who I worked against and with when I was at the state attorney's office,

and it was essentially along the lines of, we don't agree with what he's saying, which with this sworn statement said he's provided to us. We know he wants to resolve the case. He needs to basically change his story to fit our theory of the case. Otherwise he's going to be facing more jail time. All of a sudden he changes his story. Oh, how about that? Yeah.

He comes to court. We do an evidentiary hearing, maybe a week or two before trial, and he's now saying all of a sudden it's something totally different that was consistent with his prior sworn statements. And we did get lucky, luck's often involved in some of these cases. Michelle had a request pending,

and the request came in after we picked a jury. It came to us, and we were lucky that we had good prosecutors because there are good prosecutors at the office too. Casey Hughes, Alejandra de la Fuente were on this case. They were not on it very long. And within a day, before we even started court the next day, she had done the right thing and decided that this isn't a case that they could proceed on in good faith, which is very tough to do on any case, but especially when there's next of kin involved and they went

through their proper channels and they, you know, dismissed the case. Michelle, Adam says, luck, I say raw talent. This is not your first rodeo in just the past few months. You know, you've been on the show before. You talked about how the Corey Smith case, here's a man who was on death row who, because of prosecutorial misconduct is no longer on death row. And you, I guess, kind of saw that

as the first domino to fall here. And it was your, I think, as I recall, kind of casual observing of that case just sitting in the gallery there where you're like, oh shit, like a light bulb went off in your head. Like, I gotta start digging around because this is really, really bad here.

And so what I wanna ask though is that all roads seem to lead to Michael Von Zamp. It seems like the tree kind of rotted from him, but it appears to me in this case, I see that it's redacted in the video that we showed, but this email was not from Michael Von Zamp. This was from another prosecutor. So the bad apple spoils the batch here.

So in this case, like it seems like there is a culture of corruption in this state attorney's office, because this isn't like, I don't want to blame everything on Michael von Zamp, because it doesn't seem necessarily that he was the culprit or responsible for the misconduct in this particular case. I would say that he had his hand in it. It goes to show how pervasive it is when you have a bad apple in an office,

especially when that bad apple is put in a position to train incoming state attorneys, to train career state attorneys on what needs to be turned over, how you treat witnesses, how you take statements, and how you interact with the defense team. And here the email was not directly from Michael Von Zomp. However, the prior state attorney that was handling the case

said that she had consulted with him and reviewed the flip co-defendant statement with him. And they collectively decided that it was not satisfactory. So that leads me to believe that he was obviously her supervisor or some type of mentor, and she went to him with a sworn statement that was under oath, and they decided that that statement

doesn't fit their theory of the facts. It would not help them convict the two other co-defendants, and they gave him the opportunity to come in and make a new statement under oath. One of them has to be a lie, right, if both under oath and they're different. And I would beg to say that the second one's probably the lie. And they moved forward with it. After he, After that email was sent out, about six months later, he came in, gave a new sworn statement, and he was given credit time served and released from jail. So, he gave them what they wanted, and it was something that would put the nail in the casket to move forward with a case against the two other defendants. So, it's actually four cases that have been affected by this. Tajee Pearson's co-defendant, Jimmy Washington, was resentenced this week just by virtue of the

issues that happened on Tajee's case. So let me ask you, Adam, you can take this and Michelle, you could certainly contribute here. What does this say about the culture in the office? You know, I often say, because for years I've been trying to figure out why there has not been an organized effort to get some new blood in that office. Again, we've had the same state attorney for over three decades. And I've always find that the criminal defense bar

is usually pretty supportive of Kathy Rundle every four years at election time. I know part of it is just sort of, I guess, force of habit or inertia, or you gotta contribute to whatever campaign you can contribute to. Even though this is a nonpartisan position, no party or nobody has really put forth a kind of substantive challenge to her term after term

and election cycle after election cycle. And I found, I think that people kind of like how incompetent and corrupt the office is because they know how to deal with it. They know how to beat them. And I find that we now have, after over three decades, multiple generations of lawyers in South Florida who have been trained not in the law or the Constitution, but in Cathy's law.

And so it's one thing what you learn in law school, and then it's another thing when you go to practice and are admitted to the bar in criminal defense or criminal justice or in the prosecutor's office here in Dade County, and you discover, well, this isn't, this ain't like them law school textbooks that I learned from. This is a totally different game and a totally different set of rules,

and it's whatever Cathy and her lead prosecutors like Michael von Zampf and the people that he trains to misbehave, apparently, in this way. So what does this say about the culture overall at the office? You've said there's good prosecutors, of course there are. There's a lot of people who work there.

But is there a problem? Is this a pattern or practice? Is this pervasive? It's an interesting thing because it's such a large office. I don't think people realize how big the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office is and how many attorneys there are, because there's not just the criminal aspect,

but there's even the child support division, which when I work there, these are people, you don't even know you work with them. They've been working there just as long as you, they could have been there 20 years. And I think what happens, and this is gonna happen to any large office, probably in New York or any of these big cities Is that the offices are very large?

So you have to delegate to a lot of people and you have a lot of turnover because prosecutors It's the same with the public defenders are not are not paid a lot even Katherine Fernandez Rundle You know doesn't make a lot of money. I think it's like low 200 But is Bobbitt's eat that I left In the car. I'll play later for her. No, but it's a lot of money, but it's not a lot for what someone can make in private practice and with these law school loans and your debt and the price of everything going

up. It's easier because she's a public servant then Adam. She's I mean, I can't say why she's still doing it, but she's she's doing it for as public service. And a lot of people who I want to do the job don't want to take the pay cut. But having said that, when you have a large office, you have a big turnover. And when you have a big turnover, I often say, you know, the cream rises and leaves. So a lot of people who are very good at that job will get an offer from someone else and

they either have kids in private school or they're starting a family or they have to pay off their debts. So they decide to leave. Some people stay and they love it and they deal with the financial hardships, but some people can't. And I think when you start at that job, it's usually your first job. Now there are some people who have worked at other jobs and have life experience, but generally speaking, your prosecutors are starting at around 25, 26, and they have no life experience

and they're getting supervised by attorneys who are one year ahead of them. And then once they are done, there are other supervisors, but there's so many courtrooms, they don't get to see how to train them, because they're just basically managing the day to day. They then get to felonies eventually, and it's kind of the same thing.

You know, a lot of people don't get, you know, some get great training, and some get not so great training. And I think that all comes down at the end of the day with how the office overly operates and people are afraid, sometimes are afraid. And when you say the culture at the office, I've had some attorneys that say there's, that work there that are no problems and completely, I had a prosecutor call me last night who I didn't even really know her that well. And she's a higher up felony prosecutor.

And she's like, I'm concerned working here because I don't like how I'm pressured to do certain things. I don't even really know her that well. I had to double check. Is she still a prosecutor? Like I might've had one case with her. So I thought it was kind of interesting that she called me of all people.

But you know, some people are concerned with it because they work there and they're trying to do the right thing. And so when you say at the beginning of the interview that there could be more powerful than the president of the United States, yes, you're 23 years old, 26 years old, and you control someone's future.

So it's tough to make the right call because you just don't know. And I think that's kind of the problem is people who work there, it is hurting the community because even if it's relegated to a few cases here or there, you're scaring away good prosecutors, you're scaring away good attorneys, and you're building a distrust in the community.

So when you have people come in for jury duty and they see a case, they're gonna be distrustful of prosecutors because they've seen it on the news that this happens and that happens. And so people who the state might have a really good case against are gonna be found not guilty. they're going to be distrustful of prosecutors because they've seen it on the news that this happens and that happens. And so people who the state might have a really good case against are gonna be found not guilty

or they're not going to be able to proceed on a case. I want to touch on this as well and kind of link it up to the case that we're talking about. When I came on the case late in the game and I was trying to figure out why this person changed their statements so drastically, I started asking people about the prosecutor that was on the case before the current prosecutors.

And everyone said she is reasonable, she's a straight shooter, she goes by the law. So I thought, all right, well, there's probably nothing nefarious here. And when I got that email with her name on it and her being directed by Michael Von Zomp to do what was done on this case, that's what made me really realize the pervasiveness of it. And it doesn't matter how many good prosecutors you have in an office. If you have bad ones that are directing them,

that are turning a blind eye, and that are at the top of the office, that are supervising, and that are making the ultimate decisions at the end of the day. So obviously, I have a little more, a different approach to it. I think that the bad apple does spoil the bunch, and I've had a lot of conversations with the quote unquote good prosecutors

at the lefty office, that I can say we're good, that I had a good relationship with, they did the right thing and it is often if it's not I'm overworked and have too large of a caseload. It's I refuse to to play those games anymore. Michelle Bortu, Adam Goodman, criminal defense attorneys. If you get in trouble in Miami, you know who to call. Thank you guys so much. Thank you.

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www.redwoodoutdoors.com, code DAN. In a 24-page federal whistleblower lawsuit, Jose Suarez, the former executive director of the Bayfront Park Management Trust says he was pressured to resign after raising concerns of misused trust funds under the direction of Commissioner Joe Corroyo the chairman of the trust among the allegations Suarez says the commissioner warned him to quote lawyer up after Suarez and Jose Canto the trust's former director of finance agreed to assist in an

internal affairs investigation over alleged controlled substances that were found in a mobile veterinarian truck, bulked with trust funds at Maurice Ferre Park. This followed a $20,000 invoice from a private charter yacht where the men claim Corollo held a personal holiday party. In the immortal words of Miami poet laureate DJ Khaled, another one, another one. amendment retaliation lawsuit against Joe Corolla. And this time it's his former chief of staff, Jose Suarez, who he made the executive director of this Bayfront Park Management Trust, and Jose Canto, who was the trust's former finance director are suing Joe for targeting them and retaliating against them when they became whistleblowers

and tried to expose, if you can believe it, corruption and waste and mismanagement and misappropriation of funds at Bayfront Park, which is directly across the street from where we are right now. And the story is loco. Loco. It's loco.

Like, Loquissimo. Like, I should mention this too. Jeff Guchis is the attorney. He is the 63 and a half million dollar man. He won that corruption lawsuit against Joe a year and a half ago. That they were awarded 63 and a half million dollars.

Because that's how f***ing corrupt he is. What I have is very small. And about less than five inches I'm thinking. And so let's start here. Can we start with the cash rooms? Can we start with the money rooms? It's like something out of casino. Total.

Money rooms right? From the parking? Yeah it's like you can hear Joe Pesci like talking about the skim, you know, like when you're watching this, but- Right next to Don Rickles. So what's been happening is that they were taking cash for parking, and there was just employees running around with tens of thousands of dollars, like a month.

I got a chance to go to a press conference because they couldn't be here on the show. So you'll hear now from Jose Suarez, the plaintiff, and Jeff Guchis, the attorney. Let's go. The parking operation, that used to be a cash business. And apparently the money was stored in what was called the money room.

And in that room, any given night, there'd be 30 or 40 or 50 or $60,000 of cash sitting there. There would be employees that would take, I don't know, 20, 30, $40,000 in cash to the bank to deposit. And who knows what happened to any of the money along the way or where it went to. One of my first actions was to cease that and turn it to strictly credit card operation,

just because of the liability. Why would you ever put an employee in the position to walk around with tens of thousands of dollars to go deposit in the bank? A lot can happen between the trust and getting to the bank. He was told not to do that, that it would result in lesser revenue and of course it resulted in higher revenue because no more skimming,ning right so once he required credit cards the revenue A lot can happen you like that Miami tax It's a bugging a cash only you know you heard that Miami so much cash only cash only I love it so much

I could just imagine leaving the body By the way apparently there's a story about how you could get VIP is always $20 a car, but VIP 40 but nobody ever saw that other 20, I understand. So it's all sorts of alleged mysteries going on over there. And among the crazy accusations is, they apparently bought, with public money, with trust money, they bought a 2007 Ford trailer van a 2007 Ford trailer van that was worth, Blue Book, about $30,000. Well, they paid $115,000 for it to some shady fly-by-night LLC

that kind of came and went for this transaction, and they did it on what they call an emergency procurement, which means there's no competitive bidding that is mandated by city charter and by the law. They say, oh, this is an emergency. We have to get this. We want to get this mobile vet unit to be in the dog and cat part.

We must have it now to offer veterinary services in our dog park at the Bayfront Park in Maurice Furey Park, but they've never used it. Never used it. It's just been sitting there for like two years, totally unused. The story gets even crazier. It's just been sitting there for like two years totally unused. The story gets even crazier. There was a pet mobile, a veterinarian, mobile veterinarian mobile that was purchased by the trust with the intent of providing veterinarian services at Maurice Faray Park. First of all who puts

a mobile veterinary clinic into a park in the first place? It's a crazy idea. They don't even have a vet to work in front of the truck. And who do they buy it from? Where did this $115,000 go to? This guy's the best. What is a vet mobile without a vet?

It's just a mobile. It's just a guy driving. And a leg, like, money laundering operation? I don't know what the f*** it is. I also want to side note Suarez is adorable. Like that man is so cute. Okay. Just in case he's sad about everything. This show is apparently better than J-Date. You were flirting with David Sampson last week.

I'm in my 40s Billy, what do you want? You're all into D- are you okay? Just kidding, 37. Are you okay? No, that's crazy. No, he's very adorable. He's a very adorable man. I'll give you his number. But the vet thing,

didn't they find drugs or something after? Yes, because Miami, it gets even crazier. So maybe the reason that the price was $115,000 is because this wasn't just a car sale. It may have been a drug deal because this guy, Jose Suarez, discovers all of these controlled substances, these animal drugs that should only be in the possession

of like a pharmacist or a doctor or a real veterinarian, but they were just like stored in some like closet in a city building. Animal drugs. I was taken to one of the storage rooms where there were veterinarian supplies there, medical veterinarian supplies. So I don't know exactly all of them but I think it's all here. Looks like it is, medical stuff. I don't know because I haven't opened any of it. I immediately contacted our assistant city

attorney and the decision was made that the best option was to have the police department take possession of these You're just saying animal drugs like what animal drugs like the last thing Miami needed, you know Yeah, I can see Cary will be like I have a great idea guys Let's let's speak dogs cocaine at the park is what we should do for the rich Oh my gosh, we talked about the angels trumpets. They planted these poisonous flowers in the dog park and nobody knows how it happened. And I actually broke the story.

The same day I broke the story, they ran to the park and started ripping them up. But again, no procurement, no invoices, no legitimate process. He does whatever the hell he wants over there. So angels, I don't know if you're familiar, angels trumpets, if you ingest them, they have like a hallucinogenic effect.

So like there's children on field trips walking around, there's homeless people hanging out, doing like eating angels trumpets for shits and giggles. And then you have dogs, it can kill dogs, but it's a dog park with poisonous fucking plants. So you mean to tell me that they thought that that flower was pretty and they just decided to plant it without any knowledge of what it is?

Nobody knows because they had these like weird meanings in a bunker underneath a Christopher Columbus statue behind Bayside. It's the weirdest, shadiest shit. And needless to say, this is like a 20-page complaint and you're like, okay, this is short, but every page is a f**king movie. And there's a litany of other accusations. There was a unpermitted fence that had to come down because it couldn't meet the city's code.

And then there were two other fences that were not permitted and had to be permitted after the fact. The gym equipment was probably not properly procured. And then there was a trench. And apparently it was to deliver power to one of the food trucks on site. There were no permits, no electrical engineering drugs, nothing like that that had been submitted to the city. So I want to make it clear about this dangerous wannabe tin pot dictator, hypocrite Joe Corollo,

which is that when he was targeting businesses, specifically Ball and Chain, for which they won a $63.5 dollar judgment against him for this unconstitutional targeting and political retribution. Part of what he was going after them for was allegedly unpermitted work. And oh, you can't just get electric from another located, but it turns out that may be exactly what the hell he was doing. So there's this allegation that there's this food truck who is really close with Corollo and his wife, they're big political contributors and supporters of his, and they have this food truck that they apparently they needed power for it. So they dug like a 200 foot trench across a grassy field in Bayfront Park so that they could tap into,

this is the claim in the lawsuit, they can tap into power from the park like from a sign at the park effectively and allegedly stealing Electricity from the public park. Can this be proved that that was proved? This is the lawsuit. They'll have discovered they'll go through this process It's absolutely nuts. And of course you heard some of the other allegations Paul that he was directing like an overpaying Contracts to political allies to companies with a relationship with him and his wife, and they were allegedly getting kickbacks. The one that stood out to me was the $100,000 for a party called Havana Fridays, right?

Well, what he's been doing is, he's been, in my opinion, misappropriating money. What's Havana Fridays? So this is this event on Cuyocho. Where's it at? Let's go. It's at Domino Park in Cuyocho across from Ball and Chain, but that's nowhere near Bayfront Park. So he's been sending money out of the park

to his own district for other events. It's not a slush fund that he could do whatever the hell he wants with it. For example, he spent $150,000 paying a TV station, another political ally, that gave him a show, by the way. Gave him a show, but he paid them $150,000 to air the New Year's Eve concert at the park. But why would you pay a station to do that?

To air that, right. They would pay you, or you'd get it for free and you'd split ad revenue. He says they got ad revenue, but it was only 130 grand Which means that they're down a hundred and they're down 20 grand, but more importantly People have theorized that all he did was pay a hundred and fifty thousand dollars to this TV station to run an infomercial for him Because he's gonna run for mayor this year by the way, that's not bullshit He is running for mayor this year. And you're running against him, right? You're very good at that.

I don't even, I don't even. Little Billy Corbin. I don't even live in the city as it reminds me. Come on, if you want Billy for mayor, just drop a comment. And here's the problem. By my count, Jose Suarez is the fourth or fifth former Joe Correia staffer who has defected, who has either sued him and or testified against him.

So like the dominoes just keep falling and to understand what it's like, this toxicity and the reason why people flip the way they do. Commissioner Groyo intimidates people. He threatens them, he bullies them and that leaves many members of the board compliant. They don't dare to stand up to him. Same thing with the police. I don't dare to stand up to him. Same thing with employees.

I don't think I've ever witnessed something being rejected that he wanted by the board. Overwhelmingly, that board, I believe, is a rubber stamp. He's a bully, and I attended one of those meetings. It's like a communist politburo. He just filibusters for three hours, and everybody sits around nodding. They'll bang the table, and they'll tell him how smart

and how handsome and how funny he is and then they just vote on whatever the hell it is that he wants. It's- Why does he have so much magnetism? Like what's, does he have charisma? Like what is it? No, he's just a bully.

Bully. That's all and he threatens and intimidates people. But that doesn't work on Miami people that much. Like I feel like Miami people got, they push back. Like why don't they? People are scared because they are the government, because they've watched him crush people's hopes and dreams and businesses and livelihoods,

and they've seen how alternately incompetent and corrupt this government is, and they just don't want the heat. They wanna keep their heads down. Listen, we have a town full of complicit cowards. I mean, it's really the bottom line if you want to call them out. But the truth is that I'm empathetic.

They are scared, because this is a guy that punches down. And he's going to run against them. That's what a bully does. They pick on people who have less power than they have. Oh no, I know. I'm a bully. I know that.

Don't worry. You don't have to explain to me what that is. I've made many people cry. But no, dude, like someone needs to run against him, okay? That's interesting. Well, there's gonna be a button, Alex Diaz-LaPortia, who just got let out of jail. They dropped those corruption, bribery,

and money laundering charges against him. He's probably running for mayor, Manolo Reyes. I know, I hope he's in better health, he's been very sick lately. He's planning on running for mayor. And me, and you? I'm not, I I am you know how they say never say never never I don't live in the city I'm not even eligible to run which isn't a coincidence Yes, well, he's gonna be in the interest of fairness and I am nothing if not fair

Let's get Joe Corolla's response to this lawsuit. Shall we this is hogwash? response to this lawsuit, shall we? This is hogwash. They're lying through their teeth. This will get thrown out in a federal court because there's no whistleblower. If this wasn't so low and dirty, it'd be laughable. I hate to inform Mr. Soros and Mr. Canton, you ain't gonna get any money. This is Miami, so nothing surprises me any longer. What is he hiding inside on his teeth? Why does he refuse to move at the upper part of his mouth?

That's your takeaway. Is that tobacco? You don't want to talk about whatever the hell that is behind him? Yeah, but like he just talks like this the whole time. But you want to talk about it. No, I want to talk about that painting. Hold on. What is that painting?

Yeah. Does it belong to him? I imagine that monstrosity. What is it? It's a cock and the American flag, right? I think it's Cuba and the US melt together. Oh yeah, look at that, yeah, so the top is the American flag, the bottom half is the Cuban flag,

and the middle is a giant cock. Oh! It just sounded like a giant cock. I don't know what the flag code says about this, but I'm pretty sure that's a flagrant. That's gotta be some amendment. Yeah, that's right, like freaking some amendment. Jesus, look at that.

Look at that, two cocks we're looking at right now. Yeah, you got the American flag, the Cuban flag, a cock and a rooster. Oh my. What I have is very small. Unbelievable. Wait, you need one of those, dude is a maze i love by the lady dot protest too much you think she's here is like you know this is going to get thrown out

of federal court joke or a always thinks he's the smartest lawyer in the room the problem is he isn't a lawyer and the only lawyers he has are being paid for by the taxpayers it's remarkable joke or taxpayers. It's remarkable. Joker oil. I love that song. I want to tell my ringtone. That's really good. Cocaine's.

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Tastes like Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Folks, The Day in LeBretard Show with Stu Gotz is sponsored by BetterHelp. Every January feels like a fresh start. 365 blank pages waiting for your story to be written. In 2025, maybe you're ready for a plot twist, ready to revise the parts of your story holding you back. Life isn't about New Year's resolutions

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