Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo reacts to U.S. Marshals' visit to his Coconut Grove home
MIAMI — The U.S. Marshals Office arrived at Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo's Coconut Grove home on Friday afternoon after being ordered by a federal court to seize $63,500,000 of his assets last month.
In a writ of execution filed on January 9, the United States District Court ordered marshals to seize Carollo's cash, goods and land. The seized cash and property will be used to satisfy a federal civil judgment.
According to CBS News Miami's Ivan Taylor, who was on the scene, U.S. Marshals arrived at Carollo's home around 1:30 p.m. and placed three documents on his front door, stating that the seizure had begun. One document was a notice of U.S. Marshal Levy, which tells the receiver that they're running out of time before the IRS can begin seizing assets, while the other two were writs of final judgment and execution.
It appeared that no one was home at the time of notice.
Taylor said that he had reached out to Carollo for comment, but he did not respond at the time.
Just over an hour later, Carollo's attorney Marc Sarnoff appeared outside of the home to take pictures of the notices for evidence.
"We're just representing the commissioner and his wife's best interests because this is marital property," he told Taylor and other media outlets who were on scene. "And, the court's not made a determination. And, we just want to make sure their rights are protected and that they're afforded some due process."
Carollo's wife, Marjory — who is on the property's title and mortgage, according to Sarnoff — has no judgment against her, reiterating that the notices are only for Carollo himself. He also said that it is subject to an appeal.
"Commissioner Carollo's personal assets are subject to a potential seizure — it hasn't happened yet," Sarnoff said.
Sarnoff also criticized the U.S. Marshals' actions, saying that it was "inappropriate" of them to touch Carollo's property at this time in the legal process.
"I think it's a product of not being careful," he added.
Sarnoff then told reporters that he hopes that one of the judges would rule over the older judgments:
"That's what we're looking for: due process," he said. "We're looking for the judges to actually not sit on things but to take rulings."
"By the way: legal purgatory is worse than being in heaven and worse than being in hell," Sarnoff added. "And, that's where we are — legal purgatory."
Sarnoff told Taylor and others that despite the notices, the Carollos will still be able to enter and exit their home because they're entitled to their marital property. He then took a phone call in the media gaggle.
After his phone call, Taylor asked more about whether the Marshals could move forward with the seizure because a CBS News Miami investigation into Carollo's properties later confirmed that Marjory was not named by the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser's Office. However, Sarnoff pushed back, saying that because of Florida constitutional homestead laws, Joe and Marjory's home would not be seized.
Then, a frustrated Carollo returned to his home later Friday afternoon to give a statement, reiterating previous points that Sarnoff had made earlier.
"All of you were contacted by the plaintiffs that have gone all over town for months and months, bragging on how they're going to destroy me. But in essence, who they really want to destroy is the honest employees of the City of Miami, the residents of my district and other parts of Miami that have complained against them, other merchants that have complained against them."
He continued, saying how the businessmen have "sued and sued and sued" and failed to get anything done in the courtroom, adding that what had happened so far was nothing short of a "charade" and "circus" and that he had not been given due process since the last lawsuit.
"They're using it to intimidate other city employees to not to ever do anything to them. 'Look at what they're doing to Carollo, we're going to do that to you and worse! If we can do that to him, imagine what we can do to you.' And, that's what they're saying," Carollo told reporters.
"The bottom line is in America, even for Joe Carollo, there is due process. That is what our courts say, that's what our Constitution says. I'm not getting due process. Since this trial was over, by federal law and procedures, we had to file certain motions before I could appeal. My motions have been sitting there and sitting there and sitting there and I haven't been given due process and then in the meantime, I'm being put in harm's way where they're claiming that this is not my homestead, even though it's contrary to what they stated in the past."
Carollo then went on to discuss the injunction attempt in March 2022, saying that he was protected by Florida law and had the intention to live in Coconut Grove for years.
"This is the Florida Constitution but what they're doing is they're just telling the courts 'Take everything from him! Throw him in the streets! Throw his wife in the street!' because the magistrate has not given me due process by giving me a hearing and is letting this go forward," he said.
Carollo added that the case wouldn't have even stood in appellate court if it were to go there. Also, Carollo added that he had made those decisions regarding his homestead to make the process "clearer and easier" for his wife, especially if something were to happen to him.
"So, whether I did that or not, it didn't matter — [the] Florida Constitution protected me. But because I'm not being given due process, this is why I'm here. I'm being held in Limbo like nobody else is."
In response to Taylor's question about whether he'll get to be in his house later Friday evening, he answered sharply: "Well, you tell me: Where am I going to go?"
"I'm certainly not going to the EAST Hotel because I don't have the money to pay for that or any other hotel nor am I going to accept monies from anybody to pay for my stay there," Carollo added.
Carollo continued: "I have been an honest, public servant. I have been living off of what I make, doing everything that I can to give my residents the best. That's why I kept getting elected and reelected, and they failed in the recall against me."
Last November, a federal court ordered the city to garnish the commissioner's wages after he was liable in June for violating the First Amendment rights of two businessmen who accused him of trying to destroy their businesses as political retaliation.
Carollo was accused of orchestrating a vendetta against William Fuller and Martin Pinilla, the operators of a string of businesses along the Little Havana business corridor that includes the iconic Ball & Chain nightclub because they supported a rival candidate for political office.
Jurors in the civil trial ordered Carollo to pay $63.5 million in total to the men as a result of the verdict.
According to a federal order, Carollo is ordered to pay $34.3 million with interest to Fuller and $29.2 million with interest to Pinilla.
In response to the situation, Fuller and Pinilla's attorney Jeff Gutchess released a statement, saying that the U.S. Marshals' appearance serves as a "clear reminder" to public officials that their authority is derived from the public trust and not a tool to advance "corrupt personal ambitions."
"Last summer, a federal jury found Carollo liable for over $63 million in damages for the harm caused by his First Amendment campaign of retaliation against two businessmen—William O. Fuller and Martin Pinilla, II—for having the temerity to speak out against Carollo's political policies, to support Carollo's election opponent, and to challenge Carollo's ethical lapses and corrupt practices," Gutchess stated.
"Today, the United States Marshal's Service posted a notice of levy on Carollo's property at 3230 Morris Lane, representing the first step towards a public auction of the property so that the proceeds may be used to begin satisfying the judgment entered against Carollo. Although Carollo continues to resist the consequences of his misconduct, they should serve as a clear reminder to other public officials that their political authority is derived from the public trust and is not a tool to advance their corrupt personal ambitions."
On Friday evening, the City of Miami issued a statement regarding the recent developments, saying that the city is looking forward to review Fuller and Pinilla's complaints and intends to continue defending against the claims:
"US District Judge Federico Moreno [Friday] dismissed the complaint filed by Plaintiffs Bill Fuller, Martin Pinilla and over a dozen of their businesses against the City of Miami, Commissioner Joe Carollo and a number of City officials and staff. Judge Moreno advised Plaintiffs' attorney Jeffrey Gutchess that he should revise his complaint to be specific as to each of the plaintiffs' claims against each of the defendants and further suggested at the hearing that the plaintiffs stick to the facts instead of making jury arguments in their complaint."
"The judge also turned back efforts to obtain a hearing on Fuller and Pinilla's motion for preliminary injunction against the City of Miami and Commissioner Joe Carollo, noting they had not provided any evidence of threat of imminent harm to them or their businesses. This is their fourth lawsuit in a different court seeking millions of dollars in damages and injunctions for what they claim were violations of their First Amendment rights. The City looks forward to reviewing the Plaintiffs' revised complaint and intends to continue defending against their claims vigorously."