Paul Vogel

You may have seen the Miami Herald article on Paul Vogel and the concern over his non performance on the commission. It paints a picture of a man who just wants to continue serving the city, a picture that may very well be true. It's not Vogel who concerns me, but the people around him.

I've written before that I believe Paul Vogel is the object of bullying and elder abuse from his self appointed supporters and I stand by that.

On the cell phone issue, the article says, "About six years ago, he had a stroke from which he completely recovered, coming back full-time to his commissioner duties, she [Marietta Vogel]said"

I don't know if Paul Vogel knew that his wife had the city cellphone and never claimed that, but she knew. And she used it for seven years. This was not well intentioned assistance during a crisis. It was taking petty advantage of the city's good graces.

The article goes on about the last three absences from the commission meetings. Those were excused. But in 2011, he missed at least four meetings as well with no excuse.

I guess the biggest issue I have with the article is that while it presented a clear picture of the people talking about Vogel, Paul Vogel himself was not heard from. Isn't that the voice we need to hear? Was he kept from being interviewed?

In short, my issue is not with Vogel himself. It is with the people around him who profess their admiration while using his declining health to further their own ends. They take advantage of the incapacity of someone who served the city well and that's just wrong.

And I would remind the Commission on Ethics that it is not their job to judge intentions. It's their job to evaluate actions.

Kevin Vericker
March 23, 2012

Strip Club Back?

First a correction on a previous post. In my last post on the Vogels helping themselve to a city paid for cell phone for seven years as part of the North Bay Village Friends and Family Plan I got one fact wrong. I wrote:

To help Marietta Vogel, a private citizen, former interim city manager Robert Daniels engaged the city attorneys to represent her before the Commission on Ethics at city expense.

I was wrong. The city attorneys were summoned by the Commission on Ethics with their questions on how the city responded to the cell phone complaints. I regret the error.

The Strip Club - Scott Greenwald, the strip club developer, last night requested that the city hold a special commission meeting to vote on his application to build before the end of February. The city did not reply but since the request has been made, it is likely to be honored.

A meeting may be called with three days notice. I urge you to call city manager Dennis Kelly (305) 756-7171 requesting ten days notice before a special commission meeting is held. Or, email the City Manager and commissioners. Their addresses are below and tell them we want adequate notice. This is not an emergency and it should be done right.

Email Dennis Kelly City Manager

Email Connie Kreps Mayor
Email Eddie Lim Vice Mayor
Email Richard Chervony Commissioner At Large
Email Paul Vogel North Bay Island Commissioner.

Kevin Vericker
February 15, 2011

Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Joe Centorino to North Bay Village Taxpayers - Drop Dead

The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics found that:

1.) Marietta Vogel, wife of Paul Vogel, was issued a city cell phone that she kept for seven years, and that was paid for by the city.

2.) This was in addition to the cell phone issued to Commissioner Paul Vogel, which the city also paid for.

3.) Former City Managers Pushkin and Forte each blamed each other for this violation of city code.

4.l Nobody can remember if anyone ever asked for it.

The Commission on Ethics interviewed the Vogels, former city managers Robert Daniels, Bob Pushkin, and Jorge Forte, as well as the city attorneys. Nobody, including Mrs. Vogel, could clearly remember who gave her the phone. But Mrs Vogel. used it for seven years.

Eventually, the Commission on Ethics decided that it was wrong but it was done with the "best of intentions" since Vogel had been sick seven years ago and it was so Mrs. Vogel could summon him to vote as instructed when he was needed. The Commission on Ethics who presumably are paid for their work, did not note that most of the calls were between the two cell phones, which kind of puts the lie to the claim that Dr. Vogel couldn't use his.

I've embedded the letter below. Read it. This was not one week or one month, but seven years. The Vogels stole our money and aren't paying it back. And the Commission on Ethics thinks that's just fine. It's not. It's despicable and the Vogels should pay back the money and leave.

Kevin Vericker
February 9, 2012

Commission on Ethics Regarding Vogel Cell Phones

The Vogel Friends and Family Plan

Commissioner Dr. Paul Vogel and his wife, Marietta Vogel, ran up $1,225 in cell phone bills between March 2007 and August 2010 paid for illegally by the city.

In 2007, without the knowledge or permission of the city manager, and without the knowledge or permission of the Commission, the Vogels decided that the then recent city policy of providing either a cell phone or reimbursement for the same meant that they, Dr. and Mrs. Vogel, were entitled to cell phones (note the plural) on the city's dime.

The cell phones they took, without the city manager's knowledge, and not recorded in the logs carried the phone numbers 786 877 1680 and 786 999 5454. These phones were turned back in shortly after I made the public records request in the spring of this year.

This has been documented, the records subpoenaed and is right now in the hands of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics.

So the Vogels, without permission, decided to take money monthly from the city for over three years.

It's a shame really. I used to think Paul Vogel was a decent guy, a little too in bed with some of the entrenched interests, but I really didn't think he was doing grand theft and abuse of public office. I guess, once again, I was wrong. I fell for the "I'm just a nice old guy" act.

Between stealing our money for at least $1,225.91 in phone services (and more), four unexcused consecutive absences which means he's off the commission, and the marked up agendas instructing him how to vote, Dr. Vogel needs to resign.

Next up: Who paid Eddie Lim's delinquent property taxes of $13,255 from 2008? Not Eddie Lim. They were sold at auction. Details to follow.

Kevin Vericker
October 28, 2011

Be On the Lookout - North Bay Village Distraction Larceny

BOLO (Be On the Lookout) A group posing as outraged citizens have been distracting North Bay Village residents from ongoing larceny at City Hall. In the latest larceny attempt, the group who go by several aliases, the CFD, Citizens for Full Disclosure, Committee to Recall The Mayor and other names, have been sending out gossip and slanders about private citizens and their personal financial issues. In their boldest attempt, they created a false recall effort to distract the public from the looting of city coffers.

Last Friday, one of their cohorts attempted to have the city write him a check for $5,000 in unearned pay and even signed the authorization himself before he was stopped by a quick thinking North Bay Village employee. The suspect then became verbally aggressive and slipped out of city hall two days before his employment was officially over, leaving a hastily scrawled note authorizing the former North Bay Village police chief Robert Daniels to assume the duties of temporary city manager for the next four days. He has not been heard from since.

To distract from the larceny attempt, the "CFD" sent out a personal attack on a private citizen who stood against the faux recall effort, repeating rumors and gossip and publishing out of date personal financial information about her.

This week, it came to light that Commissioner Paul Vogel has been scamming the city for at least four years by having the city pay for two cellphones, one for him and one for his wife. When this scam was brought to light, the same group began issuing missives about a private citizen's foreclosure problems in the hope of drawing attention away from the theft of city moneys.

Reliable information shows that the two of the conspirators intend to introduce a resolution to the commission at the end of June to rob the city treasury of several thousand dollars more to reward their illegally installed former interim city manager. You may expect to see more distraction attempts during the meeting.

Citizens are advised if approached by these grifters to not engage, check their wallets and steel themselves for personal attacks.

Federal, state and county anticorruption units are working to stop these distractions and citizens are urged to contact the appropriate authorities if you have information on the scams currently being played out.

Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics (305) 579-2594
Miami-Dade Public Corruption Unit (305) 599-3121
FBI Florida Public Corruption Tipline (888)722-1225

Kevin Vericker
June 16, 2011

Bullying: Part 2 The Serious Part

The worst advice your parents and your teachers gave you in the schoolyard was "Ignore the bullies. They just want attention." It is finally dawning on us in the 21st century that what the bullies really want is power. It's the superego asserting itself. Like thievery and lying, it is a lazy and often effective way to take what was not rightfully earned.

On Saturday, I showcased a classic example of how bullying is used in the politics of North Bay Village. Read it here if you don't remember.

Well, today I want to speak about the more grotesque bullying happening on the dais and in plain sight. I refer to the way Dr. Paul Vogel, a man who served the city long and honorably, is being exploited.

Dr. Vogel had two strokes and is often confused. He talks openly about this. If you watch him on the dais, he never comments, never offers his views and his only questions are which item is being voted on. He then consults an already marked up agenda which notes how he is to vote on the item in question. When there is a variance in the order of the votes, he becomes confused.

Simple example, at the last meeting, there was an item by Corina Esquijarosa to open a search for a temporary city manager, followed by an item by Eddie Lim-Kreps to bypass a transparent search and install the former police chief as interim city manager. These were then combined to a single item as they were much the same subject.

This threw the rhythm off. Dr. Vogel's marked up agenda said vote No then Yes. But with the change, a No vote would have blocked Commissioner Lim-Kreps decision. Dr. Vogel followed the script and voted NO. His wife, Marietta, then shouted out from the audience, "Vote Yes" and he quickly changed his vote, clearly not knowing what he was voting on or why.

This happens all the time. When Dr. Vogel votes, he first looks to see how the twins have voted. If he is called on to vote first, he consults his agenda. His wife sits directly in the line of sight and indicates Yes or No.

It's sad. It's sad that age and sickness have struck this fine public servant and a hell of a guy, and it's made even worse to see how those who claim to respect and even to love him, don't hesitate to exploit him, in public, in front of cameras and in front of the city he served so well.

What's happening to Dr. Vogel fits the definition of elder abuse. Those surrounding him are isolating him, keeping him uninformed, directing his behavior for their own personal gain and punishing him with withdrawal if he does not comply. We are all complicit when we allow this to happen. We are all bullies if we do not protect our elderly.

When we are called to account, I firmly believe that the question we will have to answer is "How did I treat people who were weaker than me?" The longer we let this go on, how will any of us be able to answer that question?

Kevin Vericker
June 14, 2011