Sep 20, 2007 9:30 pm US/Eastern
Ethics Committee Probes Miami Police Chief
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MIAMI (CBS4) ―
The Miami-Dade Ethics Commission met on Thursday for the first time since
CBS4 reported Miami Police Chief John Timoney's free use of a $54,000 SUV from Lexus of Kendall.
At the time, Timoney insisted he did nothing wrong, however, he did ask the commission for an opinion. The commission said no, that it was too late. It added that the time for someone to request such a motion would have been before anyone engaged in a manner that might be considered unethical.
The commission will press ahead into the probe of whether the police chief violated ethics laws.
Timoney was not at the meeting but his lawyer, Miguel Diaz de la Portilla said, "We're fully cooperating with the inquiry by the commission. It is a good thing for the chief that the truth come to light, and we are convinced that they will conclude the same thing we have, which is that the chief did not violate the law, and in no way acted improperly."
The commission will determine if there is probable cause to believe Miami's top police official broke any laws.
Also
CBS4's Gary Nelson has learned that Timoney's attorney, the former chairman of the Miami-Dade County Commission, is also legal counsel to another high-profile figure in the case of the complimentary car, raising the question if there is a conflict of interest.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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