Manolo Reyes, a steady and decent voice on the Miami City Commission for almost a decade, fought wholeheartedly for government oversight in his historically scandal-plagued city, even as he struggled with cancer during his waning days in office.
And so last year, just eight months before his death at the age of 80, Miami residents granted Reyes his wish, voting overwhelmingly in August 2024 to create the city’s first Office of Inspector General (OIG) in its 129-year history.
Two months later, after some give-and-take — mainly from Commissioner Joe Carollo, who said he was concerned about the likelihood of spurious allegations – Reyes and his fellow commissioners made it official, voting to establish the new watchdog agency at City Hall. The final vote was 4-to-1, with Carollo voting no.
“The commissioner said if it’s the last thing he did, he wanted to make sure there was a mechanism in place to bring clear transparency to the city,” said Reyes’ former Chief of Staff Esteban Ferreiro, who was instrumental in creating the legislation.
“He said we need something in place that the people could reach out to if they have questions. The commissioner wanted to make sure he left some organization that could oversee the city.”
The City of Miami is poised to deliver on that promise this month.
READ MORE: City of Miami moves to create an independent inspector to investigate corruption
The city has chosen someone to lead the office — former Miami Police Major Antonio “Tony” Diaz — and may soon approve a first-year budget of $2.1 million for the inspector general to begin work.
Diaz introduced himself last month at a City Hall workshop sponsored by Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo, saying “our mission is clear.” The audience responded with applause.
“We are laying the foundation for an office that will serve the community for decades,” Diaz said. “We will build more than an office. We will build an institution that Miami can trust.”
Diaz is a retired 33-year Miami police veteran who worked his way up to major, eventually landing in Internal Affairs. He beat out four finalists for the job in May.
He was chosen by a five-member selection committee that consisted of representatives from the Miami-Dade State Attorney and the Public Defender’s offices, an FIU professor from the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust, West Miami’s police chief and a Special Agent in Charge with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Miami commissioners unanimously approved the panel’s recommendation in July.
With Diaz’s salary still up in the air and his proposed $2.1 million office budget not yet final – issues the City Commission is expected to tackle this month — Diaz declined an interview request from the Spotlight.
But he was direct about his aspirations for the OIG at last month’s workshop.
“The office belongs to you,” he told listeners. “Our mission is simple but powerful: prevent and detect fraud, abuse and misconduct, protect taxpayer dollars, so they are spent wisely, and strengthen the trust between government and the people.”
“This office is not just about saving money,” he added. “It’s about eliminating corruption. It’s about creating a culture of accountability where the rules apply to everyone, with no exception.”
After voters endorsed the move in August, the City Commission took the next step in October, voting to establish a watchdog agency much like Miami-Dade County’s Office of the Inspector General, but with several key differences.
One of the main differences: Miami’s OIG will take over the former city auditor’s responsibilities and is required to do specific audits each year.
Unlike the county, the new Miami IG is also required to assist in law enforcement investigations involving public corruption. And, Miami’s inspector general is tasked with reviewing requests for outside employment from the mayor and commissioners.
In other ways, however, the two agencies are almost mirror images.
Both inspectors general are independent. They can self-initiate investigations on city employees, hired contractors and elected commissioners. The office can investigate anonymous tips and Whistleblower complaints.
Both appointed IGs also serve four-year terms. Both can hire and fire staff and both have a dedicated source of income that comes from a small percentage of contracts signed with their respective governments.
Both are tasked with trying to eliminate waste, fraud and mismanagement. And importantly, both offices have subpoena power, or the legal authority to demand specific documents or interview subjects.
At the county level, the OIG has notched a number of recent successes.
The Miami-Dade office initiated the investigation that led to the November public corruption conviction of one of Miami-Dade’s longest serving and most powerful elected leaders — former police lieutenant and two-time Commission Chairman Joe Martinez.
And just last month the office found that a lieutenant at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue subverted hundreds of thousands of dollars for personal gain through an outside company that contracted with the county.
The IG recommended barring the company from current and future county contracts. The lieutenant also agreed to a plea deal with the county’s ethics commission that included a letter of reprimand and $16,500 in fines.
Miami has certainly had its share of scandals to navigate in recent years:
- In July 2023, a jury in federal civil court in Broward County awarded two Little Havana businessmen a staggering $63.5 million after they determined Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo used the weight of his office to try and ruin their business ventures. Carollo lost on appeal.
- The Miami Herald reported in January 2024 that the Miami-Dade State Attorney and the county’s ethics commission were looking into accusations that Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was being secretly paid by a developer for zoning favors.
- Florida’s governor removed former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla from office in September 2024, after he was accused of money laundering and public corruption by the Broward State Attorney. The charges were later dropped and the former commissioner has since filed to run for Miami mayor.
Carollo — the only commissioner to vote against creating the OIG, but who later voted in favor of Diaz as IG — said he has no concerns about it being used as a political weapon.
The commissioner said he’d like to see the IG focus on public corruption and uncover waste – maybe even enough to cover the cost of its own budget.
“It’s an office to bring transparency to the government. It is what it is, an independent IG that will deal in facts,” Carollo said. “We have to look at areas where we are wasting money, we have a lot of fat in the budget, and any actions that are inappropriate.”
Pardo, whose district includes Coconut Grove, said he envisions the IG office acting in a manner similar to the news media, as a go-between and explainer of Miami government actions to the public.
“I think it’s critical for the city of Miami and really important for restoring trust. It needs to oversee the behavior of city elected officials and city staff, almost like Internal Affairs for police,” Pardo said. “It’s completely independent and separate and that’s important.”
This story was originally published in the Coconut Grove Spotlight, a WLRN News partner.
