Last Thursday, we reported on the odd coincidence that a marketing consultant working on Marc Sarnoff's re-election campaign shared the same business address as the private law practice of the Miami city commissioner.
Our post prompted Sarnoff's wife Theresa to submit an amendment to his most recent quarterly finance report changing the consultant's address to a four-bedroom house in Miramar, which left us scratching our peel even more.
For a guy who fancies himself a stickler for detail, Sarnoff leaves a lot to be desired in his campaign reporting In addition to getting addresses mixed up, he has had to return more than a dozen contributions because donors exceeded the maximum.
In an August 12 letter submitted to the city clerk, Sarnoff's spouse claims the campaign's accountant "inadvertently input the campaign address instead of the actual address for the vendor."
She's referring to Rodman Armas, whose firm, Rodman Think Marketing Inc. has been paid $23,409 by Sarnoff's campaign. On the original July 11 report, Armas's firm was listed at 201 S. Biscayne Blvd., suite 915 -- the official address for downtown Miami law firm Solowsky Allen, which subleases space to Sarnoff & Bayer. When we stopped by last week, a security guard told us Rodman was located inside 915, but a Solowsky receptionist had never heard of the firm.
Jay Solowsky -- who, along with his partners and his firm, have contributed the $500 maximum to Sarnoff's campaign -- insisted that Armas has never been located in his suite. "It was an error by the commissioner's campaign," Solowsky said.
Solowsky also gave Banana Republican a phone number to contact Armas, who insisted his business address is a house at 11989 SW 17th Court in Miramar. Incorporation records show he moved to the Miramar spot from a condo on Brickell Bay Drive this past January.
"I do branding and marketing for Marc Sarnoff," Armas explained. "We do everything from letterhead to banners to wristbands." He cut off our conversation before we could ask him more questions about his business and how he linked up with Sarnoff. Armas did not return a subsequent phone call seeking follow-up comment.
Still, there is something weird about the whole office sharing between Solowsky and Sarnoff. For one thing, Sarnoff is a former client of Solowsky. The city commissioner hired him last year to harass the editor of the Coconut Grove Grapevine blog over alleged defamatory statements posted by an anonymous reader.
Secondly, Sarnoff is chairman of the Downtown Development Authority, which uses Solowsky's law firm as an outside counsel. Before the DDA started paying him, Solowsky was also on the agency's board of directors. He resigned prior to the DDA giving him a contract.
Then there is the issue of Sarnoff listing 201 S Biscayne Blvd. Suite 915 as his campaign address. None of his campaign reports list how much he is paying in rent or whether Solowsky is providing the space as an in-kind contribution. When we asked how much rent he charges Sarnoff for his private practice and the campaign, Solowsky declined to answer.
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