Sleazy Politician Joe Martinez gets white-washed by pals

Another scumbag Miami politician uses his power to get special favors. This kind of thing used to be called influence peddling, but here in Miami no politician is ever arrested or convicted for any corruption. The FBI is too busy and local law enforcement is too corrupt.

(excerpt from the Miami Herald story by Naomi Schwartz and Matthew Haggment:) The Miami Herald had calculated that the commission chairman got a $4,000 to $6,000 break on the land's price and in an interview last year, developer Carlos ''Charlie'' Martinez did not dispute those figures. Still, Charlie Martinez, whose family owns Caribe Homes, had said the sale was still a good deal for his company.

Joe Martinez is not related to Charlie Martinez.
The property, which was not marketed to the public, was one of a handful of larger lots in the 431-lot development.
Joe Martinez put $1,000 down on the land, or just over 1 percent of its $85,000 cost, signed no contract and paid the remainder more than 18 months later -- a delay that Charlie Martinez attributed to the time it took to install water and sewer lines on the property.

The Miami Herald compared the commissioner's cost, roughly $8 per square foot, with nine other built-out lots in the subdivision that had average land costs of about $14.55 a square foot by the time the commissioner closed. Those lots were sold by both Caribe and Lennar Homes, another major housing developer.
Though The Miami Herald consulted real estate experts in drawing its comparisons, Mazzella said his office had accepted Charlie Martinez's comparisons without consulting any other experts.

''He basically made the calculations as to the value of that property and asserted that it was a fair price based upon the size of it,'' Mazzella said. In addition to reviewing the land purchase, Mazzella's staff also checked the contractors building Martinez's 5,300 square-foot house. It found that none currently had any county contracts.

However, the report notes that the commissioner is getting some free services from longtime friends. This includes Juan Buade of Buade Construction, a company that is constructing the foundation and shell of the new house for free. Buade has done business with the county in the past and received his last payment in December 2001 for work on a county park, the report said.

The report says that Jorge Guerra Sr., the head of Design Drywall Inc., has acted as the project's general contractor and supplied his services -- lining up subcontractors, obtaining quotes, negotiating agreements and scheduling inspections -- for free.

WORK WAS `A FAVOR'

Guerra told the inspector general that he has known Joe Martinez for 15 years and helped him get elected to the commission. His work on the house is ''a favor for a personal friend'' Guerra told the inspector general.

Guerra's son Jorge Guerra Jr., a current Latin Builders Association board member who helps Design Drywall develop new business according to the association's website, is also providing some of the services. He signed the master permit on the company's behalf as well as another agreement with the commissioner to oversee the project. He is also helping to oversee the construction of the commissioner's home, the report said.