Jun 6, 2008 7:54 pm US/Eastern
Chief Timoney Admits Violating State Ethics Laws
Miami Police Chief Will Pay $500 Fine
Commissioner Tomas Regalado, And Others, Want A Criminal Probe
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Miami Police Chief John Timoney was fined on Friday by the Florida Commisson on Ethics in Tallahassee in a settlement agreement involving his acceptance of a free luxury car from a Kendall dealership. The action comes the morning after a CBS4 story prompted questions about whether the police chief told the truth in earlier sworn statements he had given regarding the free car.
CBS4 Reporter Gary Nelson investigation exposed Timoney's use of a Lexus vehicle last August.
State Ethics Commissioners approved the settlement agreement that includes an admission from the police chief that he broke ethics laws by accepting the free car, and failing to report the gift as required. Timoney had previously refused to admit wrongdoing.
The agreement also calls for the chief to pay a $500 fine. Commission member Larry Handfield of Miami questioned whether the fine was severe enough. In the end the board approved it, noting that the chief had previously been fined and reprimanded by the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission, and that there was no "quid pro quo" in his acceptance of the car. The dealership has said it gave Timoney and other public figures free cars in a marketing ploy aimed at boosting sales of its then new hybrid.
Also today, a high-level source at the Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission told CBS4 Reporter Gary Nelson that criminal investigators may want to look into whether Timoney was truthful in earlier statements he made under oath about the use of the Lexus. The source said, "We are meeting with them today. This is a matter that the State Attorney might want to look into."
Some city commissioners agree.
"This is serious business, this is the chief of police of the City of Miami," said Miami Commissioner Tomas Regalado.
The police officers' union today also called for public corruption prosecutors in State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle's office to investigate whether Timoney lied under oath.
Fraternal Order of Police President Armando Aguilar told CBS4, "He not only has violated the law, violated ethics rules by his own admission, but now it's quite clear he has lied. He has committed perjury. He claimed he had the vehicle for a year, and he had it since 2005."
Aguilar also released a written statement titled "Leading By The Wrong Example." This is an excerpt of his statement:
"A true leader must lead by example. Unfortunately, Chief John F. Timoney is leading by the wrong example. The morale at the Miami Police Department has reached an all-time low. In September 2007, members of the Miami Police Department, including members of Chief Timoney's command staff, expressed by a margin of 80% that they had "no confidence" in his leadership. Chief Timoney has demonstrated time and time again that his Department's rules and the law do not apply to him."
Click here to read the entire letter written by Armando Aguilar.
Timoney gave sworn statements he drove the SUV free of charge "for about a year." But records obtained by CBS4 appeared to contradict the police chief's story.
After CBS4 exposed Timoney's free ride last year, the media asked him how long he drove the car? "Like, over a year, a year, a few months, or so...," Timoney said.
Just one month ago, in a recorded interview, he told investigators for Miami's Civilian Investigative Panel - charged with looking into official police misconduct - that he got the key to the free SUV about June of 2006. But the actual dates of Timoney's acquisition of the car may be months earlier than he claimed.
In a sworn, recorded statement to investigators, Lexus of Kendall General Manager Chris Roberts indicated it was well before June of 2006, sometime in 2005. This exchange took place between the investigator and Roberts:
Investigator: So we're talking November of 2005 or November of 2006?
Roberts: It would be November of 2005.
Investigator: Okay and you're basing that on the mileage and maintenance records and so on and so forth?
Roberts: Correct
Records from the car dealership show it took delivery on the car in July of 2005, and in June of 2006, when Timoney says he got the car, records show it went in for its 5,000-mile service check.
A Lexus executive says all the promotional hybrids it doled out to Timoney and other high-profile figures were new and didn't have 5,000 miles on them.
Roberts, the General Manager, told investigators the car had less than a hundred miles on it when Timoney got it.
City Commissioner Tomas Regaldo wants a criminal investigation into the issue. "I think the authorities – and we're talking the State Attorney – now should investigate. Because if any common citizen lies under oath, he or she will be prosecuted," Regaldo said.
Regaldo pointed out he doesn't know if Chief Timoney committed perjury, but he says someone needs to find out.
Timoney didn't respond to a CBS4 request for comment on this story, nor did his boss, Miami City Manager, Pete Hernandez. Thus far, Timoney has been fined and reprimanded by the county ethics commission for failing to report the free Lexus. He remains under investigation by Miami's Civilian Investigative Panel.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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