May 12, 2008 11:41 pm US/Eastern
Miami PD Chief Could Reach Plea With Ethics Panel
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) ―
Miami's top cop is a confessed lawbreaker, according to a state ethics panel.
City of Miami Police Chief John Timoney made the confession as part of a tentative plea deal he's reached with the state ethics commission. It's the latest twist following
CBS4's exclusive investigation by
Gary Nelson. After more than eight months of denial, Timoney is poised to fess up, to admit breaking state law. It has to do with his use of a Lexus SUV for free, for more than a year—a gift from Lexus of Kendall.
In the proposed settlement agreement with the Florida Commission on Ethics, Timoney aggress to pay a $500 fine, and acknowledges breaking ethics laws. It's something he refused to do when the county's ethics commission considered the case.
"In his settlement with Dade County, he does not accept responsibility," said Attorney General James Peterson. "All he does is say, hey, these are hyper-technical things or something to that extent. And I think that he needs to accept his responsibility and admit to a violation."
The proposed deal with the state ethics commission does not include a reprimand for the police chief—something the county ethics commission did require.
"I want him reprimanded, which is one of the few things we can do to make a point to the public, to show them that we really care about what happens in this community," said Miami Dade Ethics Commission member Seymour Gelber in an interview last year.
Former Miami Police Chief Kenneth Harms brought the complaint against Timoney to the state and he calls the proposed resolution unacceptable.
"A $500 fine is laughable," said Harms. "A failure to reprimand is an embarrassment."
The Florida Commission on Ethics will consider the proposed settlement with Miami's chief of police at a hearing in Tallahassee next month. The commission can accept, or - as the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics did - reject the recommendation of its prosecutor.
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