New allegations against Hialeah politicians are unlikely to shock most South Floridians, who are unfazed by a new story of corruption.
But add a steamy inter-office affair and you might get some attention
Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina is accused of making improper job transfers for a former internal auditor and lover of head of the budget department, Alex Vega. The transfer yielded a $74,000 pay stub and a comfortable $22,913 in medical and retirement benefits paid by the city budget and donations from Children Trust and 21st Century.
The job was not in the budget for 2008-2009 fiscal year.
Carlos Blanco, secretary of the union of Hialeah city employees told the Miami Herald that the job transfers signify proof of special treatment given to people close to Robaina.
"For months now, the mayor has been talking about financial problems in the city of Hialeah, asking employees to make sacrifices," Blanco said. "Meanwhile, a job was invented for someone simply because she is linked to the budget chief."
Gonzalez' link to Vega surfaced after the budget chief's wife interrupted a lunch planned for the two lovers on April 6, 2009. The former Mrs. Vega became enraged over the couple's marital woes, punched the budget chief in the face, and took the violent scene from the parking lot to Mr. Vega's office, Miami New Times reported.
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Five months after a scandal in 2009 that prompted a police investigation, Robaina moved Vega’s lover, Ana María González to help with donations in the city's Education and Community Services Department.
"Her transfer was a decision made by city management," Robaina said. "I am the manager and I choose the person better qualified for that program."
Robaina acknowledged that he was aware of the scandal involving the interoffice lovers but claimed that González was transferred specifically due to her experience in the private sector.
While Vega's signature on the transfer appears to present a conflict of interest, his approval remains in accordance with standard procedure.
"I was not going to forge any documents," Robaina said. "That is the process."
Just another day of South Florida politics at its finest.
