Eight months after he was dumped by Miami-Dade, he was hired by Hunker.

Sharpstein said Hunker never knew Alvarez was terminated as a Miami-Dade trainee for failure to meet standards.

“It’s not on the record,’’ he said, “and it didn’t come up in a background check.’’

The Herald was able to obtain the information by requesting Alvarez’s personnel files from Miami-Dade.

Sharpstein said Alvarez was “recommended and referred by Izzy Reyes.’’

Reyes is retired Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Israel Reyes, who stepped down from the bench in 2011. Reyes did not return a call for comment.

Alvarez Jr. scored high marks on the 2011 sergeant’s test — the same test in which the anonymous letter alleged cheating, naming Alvarez and two others.

An internal investigation ordered by Hunker deemed the allegation of cheating unfounded.

And despite the DNA tests on every department employee, the letter writer’s identity was never discovered.

Alvarez was promoted to sergeant. He also was part of the elite, money-generating VIN unit, making as much as $45,000 a year in overtime, until it was disbanded.

Severance pay

Hunker is in the last year of his current contract, which pays him a base of $141,959.80 a year, and provides him with an SUV, health insurance and a pension. Under that contract, Hunker is eligible for a severance payout of 20 weeks of salary, or about $54,500, plus accrued vacation and holiday time — an additional $44,000 — and health insurance for six months past his date of termination. He also is in line to receive a deferred 6 percent raise, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2010, which would have bumped his salary by $11,200.

But Hunker gets all of that only if he ends his employment with the village on good terms.

If Hunker resigns or is fired for misconduct, Bal Harbour owes him only the accrued vacation and holiday time, and the deferred raise, or a total of about $55,000.

The negotiations are ongoing.

“No matter what the future brings,’’ Sharpstein said, “he wants to clear his name.”