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MIAMI (CBS4 News) ― The fire rescue fee debacle is the biggest scandal to hit the city of Miami in the last five years.

Most of the attention and anger has focused on the city's volatile city manager, Joe Arriola, who negotiated a settlement in which 7 people would be paid the ridiculous sum of 7 million dollars.

But what about Miami Mayor Manny Diaz? He was at that now infamous breakfast meeting in which this settlement was reached. Why hasn't he faced more scrutiny?

One reason is that our usually publicity hungry mayor goes hides whenever the rescue fee comes up. He didn't even bother showing up in court to testify as the city now seeks to vacate this 7 million dollar blunder. You would think with so much money on the line the mayor would at least make his presence felt in court.

For months as this case has roiled through the community, we've never seen Diaz explain precisely what he did and why he did it.

Until now.

CBS4 News has obtained a copy of the mayor's video taped deposition in the lawsuit to set aside the 7 million settlement. This videotape shatters the mayor's carefully crafted image of a savvy hands-on professional who guides the city with keen insights of a seasoned businessman and attorney.

Time and again, Diaz professes a level of blissful ignorance that is stunning

Through nearly two hours of testimony, we see a mayor who showed little interest in the details of a case that could potentially bankrupt his city, a mayor who asked no questions, a mayor dangerously disengaged.

Attorney Dianne Feinberg: had you ever been given an idea of the monetary exposure the city faced?

Diaz: no.

Feinberg: did you ever ask anybody what the monetary exposure was?

Diaz: no, no.

Feinberg: did you understand that this fire fee lawsuit, as you heard it referred to, did involve a claim for the refund of money?

Diaz: yes.

Feinberg: and it was never discussed anywhere to your knowledge of how much that refund could be?

Diaz: no.

Feinberg: in your mind did you ever consider that it could be significant?

Diaz: no, no. Didn't think about it.


If the mayor had asked he would have learned that the lawsuit was indeed, significant. A group of city residents were seeking a fire fee refund and depending on the outcome, upwards of 80,000 people might be owed as much as $70 million. It was also complicated case and deserved more attention than the mayor ever gave it.

Feinberg: how much time did you actually spend on this lawsuit over the years?

Diaz: very little.


Because city officials weren't paying attention, the trial date for the lawsuit snuck up on the mayor. The day before the trial was set to begin in may 2004, the mayor said his city manager, Joe Arriola, informed him the city was in trouble.


Attorney Michael Petit: all right, did you inquire of Joe why there would be an exposure of multi-millions of dollars?

Diaz: no.

Petit: did you inquire of anyone in reference to these figures that were being thrown at you this late afternoon why the city would have to pay millions and millions of dollars if deemed liable by the court?

Diaz: no.


Petit: did you make any inquiry on your own to take, once again, the terminology, the bull by the horns and pick up that phone and find out from the city attorney what transpired in this litigation?

Diaz attorney Cole: object to the form.

Diaz: no.

Petit: no? Or any assistant city attorney?

Diaz: no.

Petit: did you ask your city manager or anyone to inquire: what happened in this particular litigation that put me in this type of situation?

Diaz: no.



Petit: you didn't inquire of this on your own?

Diaz: inquire of what?

Petit: in reference to the goings on of this particular litigation, on your own.

Diaz: no.

Petit: you didn't like maybe, as being a lawyer, log on to the circuit-court website and see what the dockets were saying and everything and say: wow, let me find out as mayor and an attorney what is really happening here?

Diaz: no, mm-mm.


Diaz should have had a hundred questions that night. He should have dropped everything to find out exactly what was going on. But he didn't. Instead, the next morning, without understanding the case or even talking about it with the city attorney, Diaz attended a breakfast meeting with hank adorn, the attorney for the seven people who filed the lawsuit against the city. Arriola and Adorno had struck a deal to settle the lawsuit for $7 million.

Diaz thought the 7 million was going to be distributed to the thousands of city residents who were owed money and not just seven people. But he never asked even the most basic questions to find out if those assumptions were correct.


Petit: did you at any time inquire as to how the figures came about at that breakfast meeting?

Diaz: what figures?

Petit: the $7 million, the justification --

Diaz: no.

Petit: --- to pay $7 million of taxpayer money for any purpose whatsoever, especially this one?

Diaz: how that number was arrived at? No.

Petit: but, and you never asked mar. Arriola subsequent to that breakfast meeting how that $7 million figure came about?

Diaz: no.

Diaz claims he thought the $7 million was a great deal since the city might owe tens of millions of dollars to taxpayers in the city. But what Diaz and arriola may or may not have realized is that the $7 million wasn't being paid to all city residents, just the 7 individuals who filed suit.

Diaz and Arriola claim they were duped. The attorney for the 7 claim city officials knew exactly what they were doing.

If Diaz had spent just a little bit of time trying to understand what was happening, then maybe he wouldn't have been fooled.

Diaz: obviously I don't sit around my office all day playing free cell or something.

Diaz and Arriola blame the city attorney's office for dropping the ball on this case. But there is plenty of blame to go around. On Friday, judge peter Lopez will hear closing arguments in the city's efforts to have the 7 million settlement set aside.

It is vital for the city to have this settlement set aside so it can recoup that 7 million and begin paying back the thousands of residents who are entitled to a refund.

Perhaps Mayor Diaz will take a few minutes from his busy schedule of ribbon cutting to actually appear up in court this time to show the judge just how important this case is to him and the city's residents.

I'll be there and I'll let you know Friday if he decides to show up or not.

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