Miami Commissioner Carollo a no-show at his own trial, despite being on witness list
Tuesday in Miami federal courtroom 13-4 was remarkable for who wasn’t there: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, being sued for millions over allegations that he used his office to try to destroy the businesses of two local property owners, was a no-show.
It happened on the same day Carollo was on the witness list and his legal team also sought a mistrial, raising the second claim of witness or juror intimidation associated with a three-week trial.
His attorney offered an excuse for the absence. Carollo, who up until Tuesday had appeared each day with his wife at his side, had an asthma attack and “went to see his doctor,” attorney Marc Sarnoff told District Court Judge Rodney Smith.
The judge, noting his own daughter suffered from the same illness, at first said it was treatable and repeated his desire for Carollo to appear. But after several private sidebar discussions, the judge sent jurors home late in the afternoon and said court would resume Wednesday morning.
Carollo is being sued for $2.5 million and potential punitive damages by two of Little Havana’s largest commercial property owners, William Fuller and Martin Pinilla. The men claim the commissioner used code enforcement to harm businesses run by them after they came out in support of Carollo political opponent Alfonso “Alfie” Leon, who the commissioner defeated in a runoff in 2017.
Carollo’s mistrial motion claimed that one juror had been confronted by a business partner of Fuller’s in a parking garage across the street from the Wilkie D. Ferguson Federal Courthouse in downtown Miami.
The motion claims attorneys for the two parties were told by the judge privately before court on Monday that one of the jurors had been followed and had been confronted by one of Fuller’s business partners. The juror, the filing claimed, recognized the man but didn’t know his name. The juror also spoke to several other jurors about the incident before deciding to inform the judge, according to the complaint.
In the motion, Carollo’s attorneys identified the man as a co-owner of Fuller’s largest property, the Ball & Chain nightclub in Little Havana. Carollo’s attorneys say a mistrial is warranted because the man is on the witness list and because in a deposition for a separate trial, he claimed to be “vested” in the outcome of Fuller partner Martin Pinilla’s lawsuit against the commissioner.
According to the motion, the juror told the court that the man in the garage said to take a look at social media, “on the Internet and see that people have been followed and you need to see what this defendant is capable of.”
The judge did not issue a ruling on the motion and attorneys on both sides declined to discuss the allegation after being ordered not to talk about it publicly.
The civil trial involving Miami’s most controversial, outspoken and conspiracy-minded commissioner has already taken a number of unexpected twists. First, it was moved from Fort Lauderdale to Miami after just two days because of historic rain and flooding in Broward County. Jurors are offered bus rides each day to Miami.
The change of scenery brought more drama. Last Tuesday after testifying against Carollo as a key witness, Carollo foe and former Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo was followed from a restaurant in Coral Gables by two private detectives. Acevedo, who was with his attorney Marcos Jimenez, contacted Coral Gables Police, who spoke with the men before letting them go. A week later it’s still not clear who, if anyone, hired the private detectives or if they did anything wrong. But Acevedo issued a statement that it amounted to witness intimidation.
Jurors may be unaware of that episode. They were warned by Judge Smith each day not to read or watch the news or discuss anything with friends or family. The trial will continue in Miami on Wednesday. Jurors were given Thursday and Friday off and are expected to return next week.
This story was originally published April 25, 2023 at 7:47 PM.
