portion of SE 10th Avenue in front of his Hialeah warehouse as "Banah Sweet Way." A gaggle of local politicos -- including Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, his Hialeah counterpart Carlos Hernandez, and County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa -- huddled around the owner of Banah International Group, a sugar-making company that boasts it will create 300 jobs in La Ciudad Que Progresa.
officials for recognizing his fledgling company. "We
want Banah to be the Coca-Cola of sugar," Perez boasted in Spanish.
"Our headquarters will always be
in Hialeah. I assure you, Banah's success is guaranteed."
alleges Banah owed $139,000 in unpaid rent plus late fees for
February, March and April of this year. Both companies recently
settled out of court.
But Banah is still dealing with four
pending lawsuits that were filed after the company got its street
renaming and tax breaks, including Gonzalez's complaint.
- All-American Containers, a Miami
company that supplied Banah with plastic containers and tops for its
sugar products, sued Perez and his firm on June 6, alleging the coke
felon owes $183,478 for unpaid merchandise.
- In July, New York-based Sterling
National Bank sued Perez and Banah because the financial institution
claims it provided funding capital for payroll that he hasn't paid
back. The bank's pending lawsuit alleges Perez owes $327,623.
- In August, a company called Pro Label Inc. sued Banah International Group. However, employees at the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts file room could not locate the case file when I requested it on Oct. 10. This lawsuit is also pending.
change anything. "The issue is moot," Trutie says, "since the
incentives were already approved."
- Miami-Dade Nixes $3 Million Grant To Tax Evader After New Times Report