Miami Lakes Holds Meeting Over Pizzi Legal Battle
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MIAMI LAKES (CBSMiami) -- The city of Miami Lakes held a special meeting on Friday, just days after former city Mayor Michael Pizzi filed a second lawsuit to get his job back.
Pizzi, who was elected to the position in 2012, was suspended from his position after he was charged with accepting bribes but was acquitted last year. Before his acquittal, Wayne Slaton was chosen as new Mayor in a special election.
Slaton said that he's staying on the job.
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At Friday's meeting, about 75 people were in attendance for to decide if taxpayers should foot the bill for Slaton's legal fees to fight off Pizzi's legal challenge to retake the title of mayor of Miami Lakes.
Several people signed up to voice their opinion. The majority of those who spoke say they are against using any taxpayer dollars to pay for this legal battle.
The issue has divided the community.
" It would be a great disservice to the people of Miami Lakes to spend a single penny of taxpayers dollars on defending a lawsuit that is totally indefensible because the state constitution clearly states that upon acquittal this suspension has been lifted," said Miami Lakes taxpayer Eladio Jose Armesto.
"We have to do is what is legally right in this town. We have a charter and we had an election and we elected a permanent mayor to replace Pizzi until 2016," said Miami Lakes Mayor Paula Mark Hagen.
Slaton said they do not have the authority to allow Pizzi back into office.
In a statement released this week, he said the two orders they recieved from the " Supreme Court and Governor [Rick] Scott explicitly state my election to Mayor on 10/8/13 was a permanent replacement Mayor until November 2016."
But in Pizzi's second lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, Pizzi wants a court to command the town officials to restore him to office.
Pizzi had also asked Miami Lakes to arrange for the payment of his legal fees as well as back pay.
In December 2014, the Florida Supreme court ordered that the suspension of Pizzi be revoked. The state's highest court had ordered the revocation and Governor Scott to lift the suspension.
The high court's order does not require that Pizzi be re-instated as Miami Lakes mayor.
In letter to the city, Pizzi's attorney Ben Kuehne said his client is ready to resume office and finish his term which ends in 2016 .
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