"They gave us $10, if I'm not talking too much, " said Hobbs, who lives in a rooming house in the shadow of the elevated Metrorail tracks. "I wasn't going for no money. I was just trying to help people. I wanted to vote to try to help straighten this place up."

Hobbs said he did not remember anyone telling him to vote for either Carollo or Suarez. He said the people paying for votes assured him he wasn't doing anything wrong. "I always try to do things right, " he said. "I don't read or write so good."

HOW TO GET A RIDE
Voters had to show they were registered

Once voters arrived, someone asked to see their voter registration card and asked for their Social Security number.

"You had to show your card before you got a ride, " Felder said.

Once they proved they were registered to vote, they were taken to County Hall at 111 NW First St., where the elections department had set up its usual early polling place in the lobby.

All of the voters said rides were provided in an unmarked white van, supplemented by a light blue sedan and other vehicles as the crowd grew in midafternoon.

"It was a party, " Felder said. "Everybody needed money. You don't make that much in an hour, and here you could make $10 in 15, 20 minutes."

"I didn't give a damn who won or lost, " Felder said. "They're not going to do anything for me, either way."

Most of the voters said two men seemed to be running the operation: a stocky, well-dressed white man who carried documents, possibly a voting roll, and talked on a cellular phone, and a black man who checked voter cards and doled out the $10 bills.

Shown his photo, two voters -- Felder and Lola Chapman, 55 -- identified Hoskins -- the Overtown Optimists basketball coach -- as the man who gave them the money. Mary Ludlow, the woman who said she was paid $10 to vote for Mayor Suarez, described a man who fits Hoskins' description: muscular, with two gold front teeth.

Ludlow's sister, Sonya Calderon, said she saw Hoskins handing out money, but said she did not take any -- although Ludlow said in a previous interview that her sister did.

Dunning said Hoskins took down his name, but he was paid by a white man. Hobbs, shown a picture of Hoskins, did not recognize him. He said he was paid by someone else.

THE WORD SPREADS
Witness: 'Homeless men were out there voting'

As word spread, the crowd grew. By midafternoon, it was large enough to attract attention throughout the neighborhood.

Mary Duncan, 55, noticed the milling crowd when she dropped by the Chinese restaurant in front of the church parking lot about 3 p.m.

"Homeless men were out there voting, " she said. "I saw them -- some white man and some colored men -- and they all were in the churchyard. I didn't get $10. But I heard from the men that that's what they were getting. I saw them giving out the $10."

Donald Knowles, manager of the city-owned Gibson Park that adjoins the church property, said the vote-buying operation was obvious. All day, he said, two unmarked white vans came and went, ferrying crowds of people, including homeless men and women with young children.

Shown a picture of Hoskins, he said that was the man who was doling out the money.

"He had a little stack, " Knowles said. "He reached in and gave them whatever came out of his pocket. No checks -- cash. He just took it off the top and just handed it to them."

Knowles said he jokingly called out: " 'Hey, you need any more help?' And he said, 'No, man, you got a job. You don't need any of this.' "

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@