Looks like Little Havana’s favorite strongman in a suit, Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, just took another legal chancletazo — this time from the U.S. Court of Appeals, which politely (but firmly) told him, “Nananina.”
In a ruling Thursday, the appellate court affirmed the district court’s decision to deny Carollo’s desperate motion for a mistrial on the federal jury award of $63.5 million to Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, the two businessmen behind Ball & Chain and Taquerias El Mexicano and owners of a bunch of other Little Havana properties. The jury found what everyone else in Miami already knew: that Carollo used and abused city resources to wage a personal and political vendetta against the pair just because they supported his opponent in the 2017 election.
Basically, Carollo weaponized city government like it was his own personal revenge machine. And now a federal court agrees.
Then, just por las moscas, tossed out the rest of his appeal for “lack of appellate jurisdiction.”
In other words: Don’t waste our time, bruh.
Read related: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo to lose appeal on $63.5 million judgement
In a joint statement that came with the tone of “told ya so,” Fuller and Pinilla said they were “encouraged but not surprised” by the court’s rejection of Carollo’s “baseless appeal.” And they didn’t hold back:

“The court’s sharp questioning and the overwhelming evidence presented at trial reaffirm what we have maintained from day one: Carollo abused his public office to wage a relentless campaign of political retaliation against us simply because we supported his opponent.
“For years, he weaponized city resources to intimidate, harass, and try to destroy our businesses and reputations. A federal jury saw through that and awarded us a historic verdict. Now, the appellate court has all but confirmed that the ruling will stand.
“This isn’t just a legal victory—it’s a win for every resident and business owner who believes in fairness, democracy, and the First Amendment. We’re grateful to our families, legal team, and the community that stood by us through years of this abuse of power.
“We look forward to putting this chapter behind us and continuing our work to uplift Little Havana.”

Ladra can almost hear the champagne corks popping over at Ball & Chain, a live music staple with food and cocktails in the heart of Little Havana.
Carollo, as usual, did not pick up or return Ladra’s call. But he made his points on his radio show Monday morning on America Radio, calling the ruling unfair and saying to “no proof existed” that he did anything. ¡Pero, por supuesto!
His main argument was that there was jury tampering when one of Fuller’s business partners, Zack Bush, rode in the same elevator with a juror and said he was following her when she asked him what floor he was going to. He didn’t say he was following her like a menace. He just didn’t need to press any buttons because she already did.
The judge in the case was informed. He interviewed the juror, who told him she was not swayed. And the appeals court said that was enough. Carollo said in his radio show that the “simple fact that it happened,” should have been enough for a mistrial. “You have to assume it did affect the jury.”
Read related: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo can keep his house for now, but no new trial
But, in the appeals court ruling, the three-judge panel made it clear that there was no there there.
“The contact between Bush and Juror 3 had no connection to the subject matter of the trial,” they wrote, and the entire 19-page ruling is posted below. “None of the jurors, including Juror 3, felt that the incident affected their ability to be fair and impartial in any way. And the district court emphasized that the jury should disregard the incident and remain fair and impartial to both sides.
“On these facts, the presumption of prejudice has been rebutted. The contact between Bush and Juror 3 was harmless. Carollo’s arguments to the contrary are meritless,” the judges wrote.
Well, Carollo’s middle name is meritless.
The commissioner whined on the radio about the trial being in Broward and the jury not being his peers. “Many of the people who went to live in Broward are there because they don’t want to live with us,” he said, adding that not one was Cuban and that two of them were transplants from California! And we all know what liberal lefties they are, Carollo said.
He was also upset that the court would not hear the other four arguments that his attorneys wanted to make. “They washed their hands of it,” he said.
Lucky them. Miami could be stuck with Carollo for another year if a judge doesn’t stop the cancellation of the November election (more on this week’s court hearing on that later).
But it’s not all over yet. Their attorney, Jeff Gutches, said that now comes the fun part: collection of that $63.5 mil. “We will now proceed to collect that judgment from both the commissioner and the insurers for the City who enabled the conduct,” he said in a statement.
That’s right: taxpayers have been footing the legal bills for Carollo’s indefensible acts. Last year, the commission agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle the lawsuit as a partial resolution.
And taxpayers may be on the hook again. There’s a second lawsuit from Fuller and Pinilla — a civil complaint, this time, for $2.4 million in damages.
U.S. Court of Appeals ruling against Joe Carollo by Political Cortadito on Scribd

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Questions raised about intimidating senior voters
Newly-elected Miami Commissioner Ralph “Pinky” Rosado was elected with a lot of help from his friends, mostly two veteran politicians who poured around $1.6 million into his campaign for a special election last month that drew 5,346 people — or 11% of the District 4 registered voters.
According to the most recent campaign finance reports, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez spent almost $1.1 million from his political action committee, including $900,000 that went directly to Rosado’s PAC, Citizens for Ethics in Government, and another $170,000 that went to the mayor’s political consultant, Jesse Manzano.
Commissioner Joe Carollo spent $547,000 from his PAC, Miami First, just since May, including more than $311,000 in TV ads (and it’s a safe bet to say Carollo made a commission on those), $34,976 in radio spots (which he also makes commission on) and at least $34,131 in mailers.
While the last contribution to Suarez’s PAC was $1 million made by Citadel Founder Ken Griffin in 2023 — which was supposed to go to the mayor’s fat chance presidential bid — much of the money donated to Miami First in the second quarter comes from real estate and development interests in the city, like:

$100,000 from affordable housing developer Mabruk USA
$100,000 from the owners of a vacant lot valued at $6 million at 191 SW 12th Street. The address is associated with a larger development project called 1 Southside Park, which includes residential units, office space, a hotel, and retail.
$50,000 from Mastec, which is owned by Jorge Mas, who is developing Miami Freedom Park.
$50,000 from 5 South River LLC, owned by renowned restaurateur Roman Jones, who wants to create a dining destination along the Miami River and has a vacant lot across from Kiki’s on the River, his Mediterranean restaurant that caters to a jet-setting crowd on the outskirts of downtown Miami.
$25,000 from real estate investor and developer Arnaud Karsenti.
$25,000 from Aabad Melwani, the operator of the Rickenbacker Marina, who was allegedly shaken down for a contract extension by former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, according to a civil lawsuit brought by lobbyist and former State Rep. Manny Prieguez.

In total, Team Rosado outspent Regalado by more than 10-1, flooding the airwaves with attack spots and carpet-bombing the district with mailers that will haunt the abuelitas dreams for weeks.
When you add other moneys contributed to Rosado’s campaign and his PAC — including $100,000 of his own money — Rosado raised more than $2 million to beat Jose Francisco Regalado, the son of the former Miami mayor, current Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomás Regalado, and brother to Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado. Rosado got just over 55%, or 2,938 ballots cast in his favor.
That comes out to about $709 per vote.
And for a 532-vote margin!
That’s quite an investment. And certainly not a grassroots campaign. It’s more like artificial turf.
Read related: Ralph Rosado is a fraud, liar, puppet trying to become Miami commissioner
Rosado has kept telling everyone that he will be an independent voice on the commission. But it looks more like he’s a sock puppet with two hands all up in it. In fact, one of his first acts was to abolish the Bayfront Park Management Trust, which Carollo failed to do back in February but Rosado handled it for him last week. Rosado also voted for the change in election year, which effectively cancels the election for mayor and two commission seats, giving Suarez and Carollo an extra year in office. It’s easier for Suarez to raise money for a 2026 campaign for governor as a sitting mayor than a former mayor. And Carollo wants the city to keep paying his legal bills.
But that’s not even the worse part.
In May, Joe Carollo was spotted directing Ralph Rosado recording a TV ad. Rosado lied about it.
Las malas lenguas say that senior residents at the city’s public housing buildings, like Smathers Plaza, were told that their rent assistance, home-delivered meals or other city services would end if they voted for Regalado and not Rosado. They were told that both Suarez and Carollo were supporting Rosado — for different reasons, of course — and would be angry if he didn’t win.
Now Ladra’s going to say what candidates and their attorneys usually love to say: “These are baseless allegations.” But they could be legit. And they should be investigated, though Ladra could not independently confirm that it would be. And we know that Carollo, who represents District 3, had a Mother’s Day event at Smathers — which is in District 4. Sure, he says he might run for mayor. But he didn’t have events in other districts. Just where the special election was going to be within a month.
Read related: Is Miami’s Joe Carollo using District 3 public money to campaign in District 4?
To coin a phrase of the moment, this is what democracy looks like — in Miami, anyway: low turnout, no debates, lies, attack content written by political operatives and questions about intimidation of elderly voters. Just another campaign in the Magic City. That’s how we sendup with a commissioner elected by 2,938 people out of nearly 47,000.
That’s not a mandate. That’s a marketing scam. And this wasn’t an election. It was the sale and purchase of a commission seat.
So now, District 4 has a commissioner who says he’s working for the people — while being ushered into office by the same two guys who want to control every inch of power left in Miami government before their scandals catch up to them.
The only thing worse than the low turnout in Miami is the low bar.
The post Francis Suarez, Joe Carollo spend $1.6 million to elect Ralph Rosado in D4 appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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The latest campaign finance reports for the Coral Gables election show that newly-elected Commissioner Richard Lara spent more than three quarters of a million dollars to win the race for Group 3, which went into a runoff in April against activist and attorney Tom Wells. Between his own campaign account and Coral Gables First, which is Mayor Vince Lago‘s political action committee, Lara raised more than $813,000 and spent at least $753,650, according to the reports.
Lara won with 55% of the vote. He had 4,359 of the city’s registered voters cast ballots for him. That means he spent $173 on each vote. At least it’s less than in Miami’s special election last month to replace the late commissioner Manolo Reyes, where Ralph Rosado’s campaign spent about $545 per vote (more on that later).
Meanwhile, in the City Beautiful, Wells spent about $5.50 a vote.
Money doesn’t always win these races. We’ve seen that in the Gables with the 2023 election of commissioners Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez, who were outspent by their opponents, both of whom also got the support of the mayor’s PAC. But this year, the dollars did count.
Lara spent almost $200,000 on advertising through consultant Alex Miranda. He also gave Nicolas Cabrera, son of former Commissioner Ralph Cabrera, $1,500 as a campaign consultant, but he was really a body man, which is a personal assistant who provides close, on-the-ground support, handling logistical and personal needs. Maybe Cabrera posted the pics on Instagram. But he was not the campaign consultant.
That honor goes to Jesse Mazano, Lago’s own political consultant, whose firm Berthier Group got paid $76,747 from the Gables First PAC. More than $35,000 of that was for text messaging. Voters told Ladra they were getting texts daily at one point.
The PAC also spent almost $34,000 on direct mail, which were reportedly also arriving daily toward the end of the runoff.
That’s almost twice as much as Wells spent on his entire campaign, which was $19,421 — all out of his own pocket. Wells spent $5,656 on mail-outs, $3,080 on yard signs and a whole $244.57 on text messaging, according to his report.
But who really paid for Lara’s victory? Well, a quick analysis of the latest contribution show that developers and lobbyists were particularly generous. Between the PAC and the bundles of maximum $1,000 checks to the campaign, the big donors include:

Developer Stuart Miller, executive chairman and co-chief executive officer of Lennar Corporation, gave $50,000
Dagrosa Capital Partners, the real estate developing firm where Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is senior partner, gave $25,000.
Developer Tomas Cabrerizo, who sold his Gables home in March for $14 million, gave at least $25,000 — $20K to the PAC and $5,000 in bundled checks to the Lara campaign.
Benjamin Leon, the medicare mogul recently appointed ambassador to Spain by President Donald Trump, and a serial campaign contributor, gave at least $17,000 through his companies and relatives to both the PAC and the Lara campaign.
Developer Allan Morris, whose firm is building the luxury residential Ponce Park Residences tower, gave $10,000 to the PAC
Jorge Mas, the developer of, among other things, Miami Freedom Park, gave $15,000 from his multiple companies.
Companies linked to developer Armando Codina gave $10,000 between the PAC and the Lara campaign
Lobbyist Manny Kadre gave $10,000 to the PAC between his own money and his firm’s.
Alex Pirez, who owns MOCCA Construction, gave $8,000
Saulo Perez, real estate investor and broker, gave $5,000.
Developer Ignazio Caltagirone, who is building a luxury townhome project on Palermo Avenue, gave $5,000.
Tatiana Pino, the widow of developer Sergio Pino — who committed suicide last year during a police investigation about hiring a hitman to kill his wife — gave $3,000 through the companies she now controls.
Developer Rogelio Tovar gave $3,000 in bundled checks to the Lara campaign.

Everybody knows that there is now way that Lara would have raised more than $813,000 all by himself. He would not have gotten most of those campaign funds if not for L’Ego, who pushed him to run.
Well, so far, Lara has been nothing but an echo for both the mayor and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson. He hasn’t added anything new to the conversation about anything or offered any new and different ideas.
It seems people got what they paid for.
The post Coral Gables: Developers, lobbyists lead, giving $753K to elect Richard Lara appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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After what turned out to be yet another City Hall cage match between Miami commissioners Joe Carollo and Miguel Gabela, the commission voted to abolish the Bayfront Park Management Trust. Not right now. But by January of next year.
This was Commissioner Damian Pardo‘s brilliant idea. Both he and Gabela folded fast like a pair of vinyl strap lawn chairs. And they didn”t have to. It looked early on like they could have killed the whole concept of ending the Trust with a 2-2 vote because Commission Chairwoman Christine King had to leave after the lunch break. Carollo even said he didn’t want to take up the item because he knew it could be killed with a tie. Didn’t they get it? And when Commissioner Ralph Rosado said he wanted to hear the item, they had the opportunity to do just that.
And they blew it. Damn newbies!
Read related: Miami’s Ralph Rosado aims to kill the Bayfront Park Trust for Joe Carollo
In the end, the Trust was finished with a surprising 3-1 vote. Surprising because Carollo voted against it and Pardo and the new Bayfront Trust chair, Gabela — who had been fighting for the Trust’s survival somewhat aggressively — voted for the abolition. Next year, the management of both Bayfront Park and Maurice Ferre Park — and the millions that Bayfront takes in from vendors and events — will be in the control of the city manager’s office.
Or something. They have six months to figure it out. Maybe they can vote to reinstate the Trust, instead.
Rosado, elected last month to replace the late Manolo Reyes, was the one who sponsored this item. But alert readers might recognize it as a stunt Carollo pulled in February. That was one month after he and the city were sued by two whistleblowers who were forced to resign from the Trust after they found financial discrepancies that indicate fraud and abuse by Carollo, who was the chairman for the past seven years. There is no way the two things are not related.
Rosado said it was his own idea. He’s been watching the Bayfront Park Trust for years and it’s an embarrassment, he said. It’s a distraction and a black eye on the city of Miami.
But Carollo first proposed this in February, right after he was accused of using the Trust funds as his own personal political piggy bank. And his accusers have the receipts.
Also, Rosado he had just told the commissioners to give the Miami Downtown Development Authority a chance to address issues that were brought by residents who don’t want to be taxed anymore so that the agency can just give the money away to billionaire brands like the UFC and FC Barcelona, while paying bloated salaries for duplicated position.
So, the DDA, which was established in 1967, deserves another chance. But the Bayfront Trust, created 20 years later in 1987, does not? Check.
Carollo, who was removed as chair earlier this year after the allegations of his abuse of the funds surfaced, claims the park flourished under his management. Millions in revenue! Events galore! The fountain danced! And the grass practically trimmed itself!
Read related: Commissioner Miguel Gabela set to expose more Bayfront Park Trust issues
But Gabela has launched an investigation and financial audit into the Trust’s finances under Carollo’s leadership, which might be why he wants it abolished now, not later. It’s hard to interview witnesses if they are scattered to the winds.
It was hard to watch Gabela cave in to Carollo, especially after he was so vehemently against the abolition. Turning up the volume and getting personal with jabs — he flashed a picture of Joe in his wifebeater shirt and reminded folks about that arrest — it almost seemed at one point that he was going to throw a chair.
Carollo accused Gabela of trying to politicize the Trust and stage a personal vendetta. Gabela countered by pointing out the pile of lawsuits, the whispers of mismanagement, and the fact that an actual forensic audit is in motion something that would normally make most public officials go quiet, but not Carollo, whose middle name might as well be “Litigation.”
It’s all gotten so familiar, you could almost set your watch to the shouting.
The post Miami Commission ends Bayfront Park Management Trust in surprise vote appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Remember those lifetime term limits that Miami commissioners are set to put on the ballot? The one that would prevent legacy professional politicians from coming back again and again?
Not so fast, gente. There’s now a loophole for the most professional of all, current Commissioner and former Mayor Joe Carollo, who is threatening to run for mayor, and former Commissioner Xavier Suarez, who then went on to serve as Miami-Dade commissioner in District 7 and is still reportedly mulling a return to the Miami mayoral post.
What started as a bold move to end Miami’s reign of revolving-door political reyes y reinas is now looking more like a cleverly disguised no-bid traffic circle. And another huge bait and switch.
Commissioner Damian Pardo, who swore this change, which would have to be approved by voters in November, would be “transformational” (his word, not ours)—is suddenly looking super bendy after some behind-the-scenes tweaking ahead of a final vote this week. And surprise, surprise: the edits might just open the door for both Carollo and Suarez to run for mayor in 2026.
Because in Miami, “lifetime” apparently means “unless you wait a little while and come back with a different haircut.”
The original version of Pardo’s plan was simple and actually had teeth: two terms, period. Whether as commissioner or mayor, and regardless of whether you served a full term or just a couple of cafecitos’ worth of time in office. Even a single day would count. That would’ve effectively cut off career politicians like Carollo and Suarez from ever returning to the throne.
Pero no, caballero. That was before the city lawyers and political calculators got involved.
Now? The resolution on the actual language for the ballot includes a tidy little clause: “time served as a result of having been elected to fill a vacancy” won’t count toward term limits. Translation? If you got in through a special election, sorta like Commissioner Ralph Rosado did last month, you still get to serve two four-year terms after that. And if you only served part of a term, like Carollo and Xavier Suarez has, that doesn’t count.
¿Y entonces? ¿What was the point? Didn’t Pardo also champion the change in election year, effectively cancelling this November’s election for mayor and two commissioners, precisely to prevent this kind of thing from happening.
Read related: Miami lifetime term limits, election year change intertwined, like bait & switch
Pardo, who does not return Ladra’s calls anymore, has always insisted this isn’t about any one person. The Miami Herald quoted him saying, “I don’t know how it impacts Joe Carollo or anyone.” But, as Charlie Cale from Poker Face would say: BS. Even his advocates, the ones he recruited to support this on social media videos, are absolutely sold to the change in election year, which gives everyone an additional 12 months in office, because the “sacrifice” is worth getting rid of Joe Carollo forever.
Pardo says it’s about fairness. About legality. About making the reform “legally defensible.”
Does he really mean that this is what is needed to get the votes? Carollo should get on board now — even though this could technically prohibit his brother Frank Carollo for running for his seat again. And it also helps defend against a possible veto from Mayor Francis Suarez, if he wants to do his dad a solid.
“Joe Carollo has been mayor twice. Xavier Suarez has been mayor four times,” former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell, who is running for mayor, told Political Cortadito. “If this ‘lifetime’ term limit doesn’t apply to them, then it doesn’t mean anything.”
Read related: Miami Commissioners pass election date change — and steal an extra year
He also raises an interesting question: How did this language change from the first vote, which directed the city attorney to draft language that would exclude everybody, regardless of the length of terms they served? Did he get orders from Pardo to make the change? Who put their finger in the pot?
Did he get consensus from the commissioners? Like, finding out what it would take to get it to pass? Wouldn’t that be a violation of the Sunshine Law?
This change has gone under the radar. The Miami Herald’s Tess Riski wrote about it over the July 4th holiday weekend and most people, Ladra would argue, don’t even know about it.
The city commission meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. at City Hall and can also be viewed online at the city’s website.

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