As the police force disintegrated, Gonzalez's troubles mounted. Soon, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office opened a criminal probe into allegations that Gonzalez and his top deputy, Hilda Fernandez, had withheld a $15 million grant to the New World Symphony until the organization agreed to provide loads of free tickets. In October, prosecutors declined to charge the pair. But the county changed its ethics guidelines over the flap.
The past three months have been perhaps the worst yet for the manager. Police woes continue under the new police chief, Ray Martinez. In March, two officers were suspended, one for allegedly drinking in a squad car and another after video emerged of a police cruiser rocketing past shocked tourists in the sand at Lummus Park. (It didn't help that the same cop, Eric Dominguez, had once nearly killed four motorcyclists in another speeding incident.)
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On March 30, Gonzalez's procurement chief, Gus Lopez, abruptly resigned. Police raided his office and home over his ties to Walter Garcia, a developer who was sentenced to four years in federal prison in 1997 after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute marijuana. Lopez, detectives say, tipped Garcia off to inside information on bids to redevelop the Beach's convention center and, according to emails filed in court, worked with the developer to fraudulently procure a luxury car for his wife.
The biggest blow of all, though, landed on April 11, when the FBI announced a mass corruption bust. The city's chief code compliance officer, Jose Alberto, along with four other officers and a firefighter, had allegedly collected more than $25,000 in payouts from a club owner snitching to the feds. Another firefighter helped arrange a cocaine shipment through the club, the FBI says.
It got worse for Gonzalez: The Herald disclosed that the men had a laundry list of earlier brushes with the law, including cocaine possession charges, DUIs, and attacking a police officer with a rock, yet all kept their jobs.
Last Tuesday, the scandals all came to a head when Gonzalez paid a visit to the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club at David's Café II, an informal gathering of city power brokers. He tried to placate a furious crowd of residents by telling them that surveys showed most Beach folks were doing just fine. "People are happy and the government is meeting its expectations," he pleaded.
But Frank Del Vecchio, a retired attorney who has lived on Ocean Drive for decades, was having none of it. "You are not the person who should lead reform," Del Vecchio said. Gonzalez's cool veneer cracked. He grasped at the microphone in Del Vecchio's hand, drawing gasps from the crowd. But before surrendering the mike, Del Vecchio delivered a parting shot: "You are the person who should resign, effective today!"
Two days later, Gonzalez's resignation was official. Commissioners accepted the deal without allowing public discussion. But outside city hall, residents buzzed over the move. Some called for changes to the strong-manager system to prevent a repeat of the abuses of the past 18 months. Some laid all the blame on Gonzalez.
Others, such as legendary Herald crime reporter and mystery writer Edna Buchanan, were more cynical. "For a long time now, money has talked at city hall, not the people who live in this city," Buchanan said. "As long as the millionaires and the European developers are the priority, it doesn't matter who's running this place. It's not paradise for the people who live here."
