A Miami judge got free luxury hotel stays. It’ll cost her 90 days of work
A Miami judge will be suspended without pay for 90 days for failing to report free luxury hotel stays — gifts that landed her husband in jail charged with public corruption.
The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to the punishment for Miami-Dade County Judge Maria Ortiz, who must pay a $5,000 fine and accept a public reprimand. “She has apologized for her misconduct and deeply regrets that her negligence may have damaged the public’s perception of the judiciary or impugned the integrity of her colleagues,” the high court ruled.
Ortiz is married to Mariano Fernandez, the former Miami Beach building official who was arrested in February 2018 on allegations he accepted free hotel stays and gifts from the RIU hotel chain in exchange for favors to help speed up renovations at the company’s South Beach resort.
Fernandez is free from jail on bond and is awaiting trial. His defense lawyer has long insisted that the free hotel stays had nothing to do with his job overseeing Miami Beach’s building department. Fernandez had significant power over inspections and permitting for construction and renovation projects in the resort city.
Ortiz, who accompanied her husband on free stays for 10 nights at resorts in Miami, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, is not charged with criminal wrongdoing. She told investigators she had no idea the rooms had been given to her husband for free.
Judges are required to report all gifts that might give the public reason to doubt their impartiality. Ortiz, a county court judge since 2004, admitted she allowed her husband to handle their finances — and fill out her disclosure forms.
The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission’s investigative panel originally recommended only the fine and the reprimand as discipline. The Florida Supreme Court, however, rejected the discipline in June. Ortiz and the commission agreed to the stiffened penalty in December.
This story was originally published January 29, 2019 at 1:31 PM.