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The Miami Police Department is investigating allegations that former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez gifted Rolex watches to his four sergeants-at-arms before leaving office.
Last month, local activist Thomas Kennedy, who has previously contributed opinion pieces to New Times, filed an internal affairs complaint asking the department to investigate whether the former mayor had given officers high-end luxury watches in the days leading up to Mayor Eileen Higgins’ swearing-in.
“It has come to my attention that multiple sources allege that four City of Miami Police Sergeant-at-Arms, Pierre Cazassus, Yamil Martinez Sanchez, Stanley J. Paul-Noel, and Andrea Preston, each received a Rolex watch from then-elected official, now private resident of Miami, Francis Suarez,” the complaint reads. “If true, this would be a clear violation of Miami Police Departmental orders related to gifts and gratuities.”
Rolex watches can cost anywhere between about $6,000 and upwards of $100,000, depending on the model and whether they were purchased on the secondary market.
Kennedy added to his emailed complaint this week, “Sources tell me that Sgt. at arms Alexander Lamprou was also offered a watch by Francis Suarez and may have declined. His interview would be crucial to your investigation.” A major from the department’s internal affairs section replied, acknowledging receipt. Lamprou did not respond to New Times’ requests for comment via text message or phone.
Suarez had also not returned New Times‘ phone calls or text messages by the time of publication.
In the City of Miami, sworn police officers serve as sergeants-at-arms, providing security to commissioners and the mayor. During his tenure, Suarez faced scrutiny for bringing his sergeants-at-arms along as he traversed the globe. The city also spent more than $20,000 on police officers assigned to Suarez’s security detail during his short-lived presidential campaign.
Former Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina, who retired in January 2021, tells New Times that people within the department are disturbed by the allegations.
“I think it has really more to do with the level of gift here,” he says. “If he had taken these people out to a nice dinner at the Capital Grille. I don’t think that this spreads the way that it has, right? People are saying, ‘Wow, this is not cool. Why would he do that? What does he mean? What does this mean? What is he trying to hide? What loyalty is he trying to buy?'”
The department rules, which bar employees from accepting gifts, ensure that they are not compromised or feel obligated to behave in a certain way, Colina says. Per department order 11.6.49, “Accepting Gifts, Gratuities, or Solicitation,” an employee cannot solicit or accept gratuities, “even where such activity might otherwise be considered an acceptable form of business negotiation, outside the department.” Kennedy cited another department order, 3.4.5, “Integrity,” which prohibits employees from engaging in acts of corruption or bribery.
“The public demands that the integrity of employees be above reproach,” the integrity order reads. “*Employees must, therefore, avoid any conduct that might compromise integrity and thus undercut the public confidence in a law enforcement agency. Employees will refuse to accept any gifts, presents, subscriptions, favors, gratuities, or promises that could be interpreted as seeking to cause the employee to refrain from performing official responsibilities honestly and within the law. Employees must not receive private or special advantage from their official status. Respect from the public cannot be bought; it can only be earned and cultivated.”
A Miami Police Department spokesperson confirmed to New Times that the investigation is ongoing. “We can confirm that the Miami Police Department has received a complaint and has opened an investigation into the allegations,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
Kennedy tells New Times that the complaint has been assigned to a detective.
Colina notes that this has happened in the past, but to a far lesser degree. Still, he says accepting any form of gift is problematic and could cloud officers’ judgment, offering a hypothetical scenario to illustrate his point.
“For example, an officer who works at an off-duty job at a club is allowed to drink there for free, ‘Hey, you come whenever you want and you know, place is yours,’ he adds. “Well, again, if there’s a complaint of loud music, is that officer really now going to go to that management and say, ‘Hey, man, you guys got to cut this out, or you’re not allowed to be serving outside in the back’? It really does make it a lot more difficult if that officer accepts something.”
If the allegations are accurate, Colina says, the mayor would have knowingly violated ethics requirements he is obligated to follow.
“The mayor would know because he has to fill out a quarterly report himself for anything that he receives that’s valued over $100 that has to be documented and turned into the office of ethics because it’s a big no-no,” Colina tells New Times. “So, he’s very, very well aware that this is not acceptable behavior… and for him to do it and be essentially at the highest level of government there is disturbing. One, because he knows you’re not supposed to, and two, you’re saying that this behavior is okay and it’s tolerated at the highest level.”
