Did something improper go on in Hialeah's budget office? Did budget director Alex Vega and senior internal auditor Ana Maria Gomez do more than just crunch numbers on city time? Well, whatever they were up to, it didn't sit well with Vega's wife, Tania.
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This past April 6 around 12:30 p.m., Vega and Gomez were leaving to have lunch together. They walked to the city hall parking lot and got in his car. But before Vega could back out, his wife pulled up.
According to a Hialeah Police report, the city's $116,967-a-year top bean counter "was surprised by Mrs. Vega," who "became enraged due to various marital problems and began screaming at Mr. Vega." She then walked past her husband and leered at Gomez for a second.
Next the unhappy spouse punched her man in the chest with her right fist. In doing so, she shattered the eyeglasses tucked into his shirt pocket and cut her knuckles. She then "grabbed Mr. Vega by his tie using her left hand, pulling him close to wipe the blood on her right hand on his shirt."
The budget director persuaded his wife to go to his office on the fourth floor so they could smooth things over. There she "got extremely upset again and started to throw the articles on his desk to the floor. She then grabbed a diploma from the wall, and as she attempted to throw it to the ground, he grabbed it from her."
The commotion caused employees to call the cops. Two Hialeah detectives interviewed Vega, who informed them his wifey was "mentally unstable and that she had been physical toward him in the past but he never documented it."
When the detectives asked the budget director if anyone had witnessed the altercation in the parking lot, he "clearly stated no," according to the police report.
But wait. What about Gomez? Well, the detectives reviewed surveillance video footage of the parking lot and spotted her. When they mentioned this to the budget director, he acknowledged her presence.
Gomez — who accompanied Vega to three government workshops in Orlando in 2006 and 2007 paid by Hialeah taxpayers — told investigators she had witnessed the argument and "that after a while, she felt uncomfortable, therefore got out of his vehicle and walked to her own vehicle and went to have lunch alone," according to a police report.
Tania was arrested on a simple battery charge, which is still pending. The Vegas divorced in August. This past September 14, Mayor Julio Robaina transferred Gomez out of the budget office. She is now a program specialist in the city's education and community services department. The Vegas and Gomez declined to comment.
