Saint Pizzi

Pizzi also fits the mold of the old American political stereotype of the Republican reformer, immortalized by headstrong, heavy-handed politicians like Theodore Roosevelt and Rudy Giuliani, Moreno adds. "He's made his name by taking on big government and big industry. In a community that has seen one scandal after the other, and where the average citizen is cynical about government, a candidate like Pizzi is appealing to voters." But of course Pizzi's crusading has angered a lot of traditional fundraisers, so his campaign might be difficult to finance.

Pizzi's desire to run for higher office does not sit well with his wife. "I can't stop him, but I certainly won't be a part of his campaign," she reflects. "Especially after what we had to go through during his re-election campaign [for town council] last year." In that race, Pizzi's opponent, Maggie Clavelo, who had never run for public office, turned into a rainmaker in the final two weeks of the campaign. According to her finance report, from September 14 through October 3, Clavelo (who declined comment) collected a total of $27,749 in campaign donations. By contrast, Pizzi only raised roughly $10,000 for his entire campaign. Clavelo collected contributions of $100 to $500 each from construction companies, housewives, and office administrators from Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, Hollywood, West Palm Beach, and as far as Springfield, Virginia, all of whom suddenly took an interest in Miami Lakes politics.

Clavelo also had the support of an anonymous group calling itself Citizens for Responsible Government, which spent big money on a slick ad attacking Pizzi's law practice. The group could have consisted of Pizzi opponents such as rock mining companies Rinker Materials Corp. and White Rock Industries, Lowell Dunn, Raul Gastesi, with a little Tomas Mestre sprinkled in for good measure. Still no one has ever come forward and taken credit on behalf of the group. The flyer, mailed to Miami Lakes residents the week before the October 8, 2001, elections, said things like, "While Pizzi tells you he wants to make the streets of our community safe for our children, he and his partners pride themselves on representing serious narcotics-related cases," and "Why doesn't Pizzi tell you that he and his partners make their money representing corrupt public officials caught on tape and charged with bribery and money laundering." That was a reference to law partner Ed Shohat's defense of former County Commissioner Jimmy Burke, who was convicted on charges of bribery and money laundering in 1999; Shohat took on the case prior to hiring Pizzi. "It was propaganda after propaganda," Maria groans. "I don't want to go through that ordeal again."

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Michael Pizzi, Jr., born November 6, 1962, grew up in the predominantly Italian-American Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, last redoubt of the Mob, and where every other block had a Catholic church, a pizzeria, and a Cosa Nostra social club. But the Pizzis were far from being the prototypical Mob family. In fact his father, Michael Pizzi Sr., made a name for himself as a renowned fugitive hunter (who brought down some of the illest mobsters in the country) during an illustrious 30-year career as a U.S. Marshal.

His prize catch was Alphonse "Junior" Persico, a former underboss of New York's Colombo organized-crime family. Junior, also called "Allie Boy," went on the lam in 1980, making the FBI's and Marshals' most-wanted list. Seven years later, a Pizzi, Sr.-led task force hunted Persico down in Connecticut. In Robert Sabbag's Too Tough to Die: Down and Dangerous with the U.S. Marshals, the author describes Pizzi, Sr. as a man "who should have been a wiseguy but chose to be a cop. At the root of his success was an enthusiasm for his work and for everyday life that was almost childlike. Feeding the undercurrent of his personality was a wellspring of potential mischief, and he seemed unwilling to suppress it." The same could be said of Mike, who idolized and forged a close bond with his father. The bond instilled Pizzi with a dogged determination that stuck with him through college, his law enforcement career, and his life today. The most important life rule he picked up: Don't let anyone intimidate you.

In 1980, Pizzi, Jr. graduated from Bensonhurst's New Utrecht High School. "People used to call it the 'knock, knock school' because if you knocked on the students' heads, no one was home," Pizzi cracks. He was sharing his personal history over a couple of Coronas and conch fritters at a Flanigan's in northwest Hialeah. He attended John Jay College in Manhattan, obtaining both his undergraduate and master's degrees in criminal justice in 1984 through an accelerated program.