A: I think there were two reasons. One, he trusted their opinions as not being biased, that he would get good straight answers from them and opinions, and the second was that they were not directly involved in this. Although Mr. Pino, I believe, had been talking to the Mases and was present at the Sofitel meeting.... And the others, Reboso, Pozo, and Cancela, were invited because they were not involved and there were no opinions formed.
Q: And they were, I believe as we discussed at the earlier session of your deposition, you classified them as sometime political advisers to the mayor?
A: Yes. And I think certainly the mayor was sensitive to the politics of settling this situation, that there would be some public opinion as to whether this was the right thing, wrong thing to do from the county's perspective, and that inherent in seeking the opinions from them was also a recognition that that was a factor, a dynamic in all of this.
Q: So you presented the so-called Adorno/May proposal?
A: Yes.
Q: And did you make a recommendation to the assembled group?
A: Absolutely. I recommended that we should pursue settlement.
Q: Along the lines of the Adorno/May proposal?
A: Yes.
Q: And what did each of these individuals say, do you recall?
A: Well, let me clarify how I expressed that to them. I laid out the proposal and put out on the table that there was one issue that was still problematic from my perspective and the mayor's perspective and the manager's perspective, which was continuing work under W-755. But I thought what was put on the table was a fair and reasonable proposal and maybe there were ways that we could work through that issue; in other words, that it wasn't like a final -- this wasn't final and maybe there was some way we could do it. But I also explained that Mr. Adorno was just as adamant that it was this or forget it. Could you restate your question?
Q: What did each of the people who was present say?
A: Mr. Pozo and Mr. Reboso were against settling. They thought that the community at large would not accept the proposal, that they would view it as some inside negotiation that was taking place for the simple fact to appease the Mas Canosas as a powerful political force and not because it was the right thing to do.
...
Q: And what about Cancela?
A: Mr. Cancela, I believe, was under the impression that we should try to pursue settlement. He recognized that the issue of continuing work was a problem, but the fact that getting the money back and trying to put an end to the whole issue and whole matter was something that was worthwhile, and that the mayor should consider doing it for that reason.
Q: What about Pino?
A: Pretty much along the same lines as Cancela.
...
Q: How did the meeting break up?
A: The mayor basically, after hearing everybody, offered his opinion, which was that he felt that continuing work under the contract in light of all that was going on, and he recognized that Church & Tower would be putting forth considerable amounts of money, things that were in dispute and in question, but that continuing work under the contract, even with some of the disputed amounts in hand while an independent investigation was being conducted, would be problematic. And he thought that the public would not accept the fact that we were trying to resolve the issue before the state attorney's investigation had concluded and made its findings, and that, really, he thought, and he thought the public would agree, that that investigation and audit should take place and be concluded before continuing any work or resolving monetary issues with them.
In his own deposition, Sergio Pino recounted that after the meeting, Cancela spoke to Penelas privately and reportedly asked the mayor, "Are you doing this for a political reason or are you doing this because you feel Church & Tower has done something wrong?" Not surprisingly, the mayor denied he was being guided by politics. But the mere fact that a friend and ally of Penelas would have enough doubts about the mayor's motivation to pose such a question is itself revealing.
May, in his deposition, disclosed for the first time that lobbyist Rodney Barreto was brought in by the Mas family in an effort to push the settlement agreement. Barreto, however, is not registered to lobby on behalf of Church & Tower. His involvement will confirm the view, held by many, that Penelas allows lobbyists such as Barreto and Christopher Korge to play a larger role than they should in the behind-the-scenes affairs of county government.
May also discussed a meeting between Cuban American National Foundation president Pepe Hernandez and the mayor shortly before Jorge Mas Canosa's death.
Q: What did [the mayor] tell you about his meeting with Mr. Hernandez?
A: He told me that Mr. Hernandez had come to his house, the mayor's house, and had pleaded with the mayor that Mr. Mas Canosa, Sr., who was very ill at the time, had sent Mr. Hernandez to plead with the mayor to please allow the matter to be resolved. I believe all of that took place subsequent to my meeting with Mr. Adorno.
Q: And did the mayor tell you what he said to Mr. Hernandez?
A: Not specifically. The only thing he mentioned was something to the effect that he had indicated to Mr. Hernandez that he didn't have any intention of changing his position.
