#BecauseMiami: The City of Progress

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Episode: #BecauseMiami: The City of Progress Release Date: June 13, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, hosts Dan Le Batard and Stugotz delve deep into the intricate and often controversial landscape of Miami's sister city, Hialeah. Titled "#BecauseMiami: The City of Progress," the episode offers listeners a riveting exploration of corruption, law enforcement challenges, and the cultural fabric that defines Hialeah. Through in-depth interviews and insightful commentary, the show sheds light on the city's complexities and its impact on the broader Miami-Dade community.

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Unveiling Corruption in Hialeah

The episode opens with a stark revelation of financial misconduct within the Hialeah Police Department. A former top cop, Sergio Velazquez, faces serious allegations:

• Billy Corben introduces the issue: “About five years after that interview, prosecutors now claim the former top cop was a fraud and thief. Prosecutors revealed over $3 million are missing or unaccounted for within the department...” (00:05).

• George Colina emphasizes the gravity of the charges: “Structuring transactions to evade reporting or registration requirements. That's a first-degree felony...” (00:47).

The discussion highlights the extent of the alleged embezzlement, including lavish expenditures on high-end brands and substantial cash deposits made into Velazquez's personal accounts. The hosts question the oversight mechanisms within the department and the municipal administration that allowed such activities to go unchecked for years.

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Interview with Former Mayor Raul Martinez

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to an interview with Raul Martinez, the former mayor of Hialeah, who served nearly two decades in office. Martinez provides an insider's perspective on the systemic issues plaguing the city:

• Billy Corben probes into Martinez's decision regarding Sergio Velazquez: “In 2004... you had an opportunity to fire Sergio Velasquez. You didn't. Do you regret it?” (05:51).

• Raul Martinez reflects on his tenure: “Hialeah is a really unique place... over 85, between 85 and 90% of the population is Cuban American...” (06:18). He discusses the challenges of governing a predominantly Cuban-American community and the socio-political dynamics that influenced his decisions.

Martinez candidly addresses the corruption within the police department, detailing the intricate web of deceit involving former mayors Julio Robina and Carlos Hernandez. He recounts:

• The manipulation of financial systems by Hernandez, including the infamous incident where Hernandez attempted to pay his ethics fine with “$4,000 in pennies” (07:06).

• The complicity of former police chief Sergio Velazquez and the systemic failures that allowed significant funds to go missing (00:05).

Martinez expresses deep regret over not taking decisive action against Velazquez earlier, acknowledging the long-term ramifications of his decision.

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Culture of Fear in Hialeah's Police Department

The conversation transitions to the current state of the Hialeah Police Department, featuring insights from George Colina, the former Miami Police Chief and founder of the George Collina Group:

• Billy Corben introduces Colina and the topic: “...you recently did the subject of our show today, an assessment of the Hialeah Police Department...” (26:41).

• George Colina describes the toxic environment: “It was pretty sad... the vast majority of the people we interviewed appeared to be very dedicated to the city... but felt afraid...” (27:03).

Colina elaborates on the pervasive fear among officers and civilians within the department, attributing it to the authoritarian leadership of former Chief Sergio Velasquez, who was reportedly involved in Santeria rituals and used intimidation tactics to suppress dissent.

Notable Quotes:

• Colina on departmental fear: “People were afraid of being fired. They were afraid of a spell being cast on them...” (29:32).
• Martinez on the impact of corruption: “$3 million are missing. Now you're going to tell me that the auditors didn't pick it up...” (22:26).

The assessment by Colina highlights how such an environment not only hampers effective law enforcement but also erodes trust between the police and the community they serve.

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Recent Developments and Broader Implications

The episode concludes with a discussion on recent incidents reflecting ongoing challenges in Miami-Dade:

• Roy brings up a recent cockfighting ring bust in southwest Miami-Dade, questioning the state of law enforcement and public safety: “...42 people were arrested there. They had, like, 72 birds that they found on site for the cockfighting ring...” (38:36).

• The hosts segue into a segment featuring Vincent Scardina, a Trump supporter and small business owner from Key West, who shares his frustrations with ICE detaining his workers: “...six Nicaraguan men... were detained... they have their paperwork in order with pending asylum cases...” (41:42).

These discussions underscore the ongoing struggles with corruption, ineffective law enforcement, and the human impact of stringent immigration policies within the Miami metropolitan area.

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Concluding Thoughts

Throughout the episode, Dan Le Batard and Stugotz skillfully navigate the murky waters of Hialeah's political and law enforcement landscape. By incorporating firsthand accounts from key figures like Raul Martinez and George Colina, the show paints a vivid picture of a city grappling with systemic corruption and cultural challenges.

The inclusion of current events, such as the crackdown on cockfighting and the plight of immigrant workers, ties the historical issues to present-day concerns, emphasizing that the struggles of Hialeah are reflective of broader national themes. The episode serves as both a historical recount and a call to action, urging listeners to recognize and address the underlying issues that hinder progress in one of Miami-Dade's most influential municipalities.

Notable Quotes:

• Billy Corben on Hialeah's uniqueness: “Hialeah is like some inception shit...” (00:05).
• Raul Martinez on leadership failures: “Why don't they charge him with RICO and go back 10 years?” (23:40).
• George Colina on police morale: “People are afraid to speak up because you don't know who might be offended...” (38:33).

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Timestamps Overview:

• 00:00 – Opening discussion on police corruption
• 05:51 – Interview with Raul Martinez begins
• 22:26 – Martinez discusses missing funds
• 26:41 – Introduction of George Colina
• 29:32 – Discussion on Santeria and police fears
• 38:36 – Recent cockfighting ring bust
• 41:42 – Vincent Scardina's segment on ICE detentions

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This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the socio-political dynamics of Miami and its sister cities, offering an unflinching look at the challenges that come with progress in a diverse and rapidly changing environment.

Transcript

[Billy Corben]

A police officer is held to a.

[Raul Martinez]

Very high standard and I'm here to enforce that standard.

[Roy]

But about five years after that interview, prosecutors now claim the former top cop was a fraud and thief. Prosecutors revealed over $3 million are missing or unaccounted for within the department, all while Velazquez was chief. Over 900 cash deposits totaling over $2 million were discreetly made into his accounts. The thousands spent on Louis Vuitton, Versace and Cartier were questionable. A lot of the money allegedly stolen from a safe in his own office was seized during drug bust like in a 2021 cocaine operation where Hialeah police seized nearly $300,000 of that total. More than $90,000 are now missing.

[George Colina]

Structuring transactions to evade reporting or registration requirements. That's a first degree felony. Organized fraud a first degree felony and grand theft, a first degree felony.

[Billy Corben]

We'll enter a plea of not guilty to all. Hialeah, the city of progress. If Miami is like a world within a world or a country within a country, Hialeah is like a country within a country within a country. It's like some inception shit. It is the second largest city in Miami Dade county by population. What is it like? The fourth largest or sixth largest in the state of Florida. And it is a really unique place where you have about now predominantly working class Hispanic community. I think about 90% of families use Spanish at home. It is a place where people are have fled communism and tyranny and dictatorships and socialism from around the world. Mostly Cuba. I think over 85, between 85 and 90% of the population is Cuban American. Yet it is also the number one city in America for Obamacare signups and recipients. And it is a really intriguing place where it is famous for a lot of things, the Hialeah race track. But also a Supreme Court case back in the early 90s of the Church of the Lukumi Babalao AI versus the City of Hialeah where this Santeria church that was sacrificing animals. This is an Afro Cuban religion where animal sacrifice is part of the ritual of the religion. And the city of Hialeah said stop doing that. And the church said no, we have a first Amendment freedom of religion. Went to the Supreme Court and in a 9, 0 decision the Supremes affirmed the church's right to sacrifice animals as part of its religion. It's a really wild place, Hialeah and has been kind of notorious in terms of corruption of issues with respect to law and order of mayors running into two troubles. One of My favorite stories involves Carlos Hernandez. Carlos Hernandez is a former cop turned mayor who the Miami Herald reported like the mayor, Julio Robina was a loan shark in Hialeah's shadow banking system who had made some high interest usurious allegedly loans to a convicted Ponzi schemer. This is a real place, by the way. One of the mayors, Julio Romano, was indicted for it for tax fraud. He was eventually acquitted, by the way, but this other mayor, Carlos Hernandez, denied that he was a loan shark. And then when he was forced to testify under oath, admitted that he was a loan shark, but because he shit on the Miami Herald and at a press conference said the Miami Herald is a lying communist rag, I am not a loan shark. And then admitted under oath later that he was a loan shark. He got an ethics fine for lying, but he was fined, Roy, for lying twice. Once in English and once in Spanish. Oh, no. And then he tried to pay his fine by showing up with a U Haul full of Home orange Home depot buckets with $4,000 in pennies. And they turned down the payment and eventually sued him for it. I mean, this is an incredibly fascinating place. And of course, the, as you saw in the cold open there, Roy, it is where the former police chief was just arrested for stealing possibly millions of dollars in cash, only hundreds of thousands of which are accounted for at the moment. I don't know where the hell the rest of it is. Maybe Carlos Hernandez, the mayor, strong mayor who hired him, former cop himself, might know the answer.

[E]

I hope we got those pennies back. By the way.

[Billy Corben]

Hialeah. In the pandemic, real estate boom in Miami was described by realtors as the Brooklyn of Miami. I would describe it more, if we're going to use a New York analogy, as the Staten island of Miami. Former Mayor Raul Martinez is joining us now. He was the mayor for nearly 20 years. A little bit of a hiccup in the middle for his own legal troubles, but for over 20 years, he was the mayor, the first Cuban American mayor of a major American city. And in 2004, Mr. Mayor, towards the end of your tenure, you had an opportunity to fire Sergio Velasquez. I think he was recommended for termination and you didn't. You've called that to the Miami Herald. One of your biggest regrets in politics, of which you were there a long time. Tell me what happened in 2004 with Sergio Velasquez and what was the recommendation and what was your decision and why? And do you regret it?

[Raul Martinez]

Yeah. But first of all, I got to clear some of the stuff that you said. And yes, I did have a hiccup. And my hiccup was a Republican attorney in Miami that wanted his wife to become a congresswoman. Ileana Rosselen. That was my hiccup. And I fought it to the end and I went to trial three times and at the end I came back, I was elected, reelected, and I kept on going.

[Billy Corben]

So to be clear, you were running for your plan to run for Congress. Ileana Leighton wanted to run for Congress. Her husband was a US Attorney in.

[Raul Martinez]

In South Florida inter interim. He was never, never confirmed by the Senate because Bush father decided, listen, all the shit that I knew and all the shit about the woman in the fight, in the slapping of Eliana and all of that was going to come out.

[Billy Corben]

So you were convicted of extortion and racketeering and you were reelected after you were convicted, I should mention, reelected mayor of Aialla and that eventually that verdict was overturned on appeal. And what you're saying is that was to get you out of the way to clear a path for Ileana Ross Leighton. And it did, in fact. Right?

[Raul Martinez]

Well, absolutely. I had to fight for my name. I had to fight for my family. I had to fight to make sure that people understood that I didn't do anything that they said that I did. And so I decided not to run, that I'd rather fight the charges. Mistake that I made. Had I run and won that district, which was very Democratic, it was Club Pepper, then the case would have gone away. But I didn't at the time. I decided to fight the charges and I did for seven years, eight years.

[Billy Corben]

And were eventually exonerated and stayed the mayor of Hialeah for what? Yeah. So let me ask you, before I circle back to my first question, I do want to ask you, how do you explain. Because a lot of people listening have no idea what Hialeah is. They might have just heard the word for the first time today. How do you explain to people outside of Hialeah, outside of Florida, what Hialeah is?

[Raul Martinez]

Well, Hialeah is a working town. Hialeah, it's the center of industry when it started many, many years ago, based on certain advantages that people were given to bring businesses as it was a garment center of the United States, if I may say that a lot of the people from New York would bring the stuff here. A lot of the companies started in Hialeah and developed with hard working individuals. But it was one of those cities that wanted to be away from Miami. He has a hell of a history you know, Hialeah lost the charter because of things that were being done by the chief of police at the time, Red Slayton, his name was. And the guy that brought it, or the person that brought the city down at the time was Senator Graham's father, Ernest Graham. He became a senator, passed a bill doing away with Hialeah, they did away with the city, and then they reconvene and brought it back with a new mayor, new chief of police. And that was a story that I told Bob Graham, the son, because he didn't even know about. So. But Hylia was more than just the racetrack. The racetrack was the key point of wealthy people coming, coming to the area. But this has always been a hard working people's town.

[Billy Corben]

I'm a fan of the Richard Dreyfus movie from 1989, Let It Ride, which is where the, you know, it shot at the Hialeah racetracks. Of course, it's more than, than the racetrack, but I think a lot of people outside may be familiar with it because of that. My question now is back to 2004. You are the mayor towards the end of your, of your long tenure. And what happens with Sergio Velasquez? There's a recommendation, there's a decision, there's some remorse. What happened?

[Raul Martinez]

Well, it happened before Sergio Velasquez comes in. He becomes sergeant. I probably met him at the time when he was made sergeant. Then he gets on the lieutenant's list. The chief recommended that I, you know, consider him. And he had a clean record. So I appointed him lieutenant on a probational basis. He did some of the stuff that has been coming out now. And when I went to suspend him, he came back with an offer that lowered the rank, took a suspension. So it's very hard to fire a police officer. It's not the easiest. I've done it, I did it. But it wasn't easy. So then the time comes, his name comes up again for the list of lieutenant. The chief of police at the time came back and said, look, you know, you have the alternative for three individuals. This person, you know, paid his dues, he made a mistake, he's not going to do it again. So once again, I was the type of individual to give others another chance, and I gave him a second chance. It wasn't long before I had to demot him. And he took, I think it was a year suspension, which all the attorneys and everybody would say, listen, this is better than fighting in court, losing it, and then having to keep him as a lieutenant. So I chose Regrettedly chose the route of bring him down back to sergeant. It took a year suspension, which is a lot of money. And that was it. Then story goes, after I retired, Julio Rowena tried to bring him back as a lieutenant and the PBA or the somebody took him to court. I was out of office. And I was right. They could not bring him back as a lieutenant, so he ended up as a sergeant. Now Bolanos is going to retire. And Julio Robiner. I'm telling you this because I've said it on my show in Spanish and I'll tell him to his face. Julio, Julio Robina came to my house as mayor and said, look, I have to name a chief. And I said, well, you know, what do you have? At the time there was a deputy chief, Mark Overton, very good, very decent individual. He wasn't too happy with it, Julio, but he made that decision. But what they did is they brought this thief. And I've always called him his sergeant, never called him a chief. Don't call him a chief. Call him a thief. Brought him as a deputy chief, knowing that Mark Overtone was going to reach his retirement age. And then they brought him as chief. And that was Carlos Hernandez doing. Now how did he get there? I was told by an owner of a pawn shop that he recommended to Julio to make him a deputy chief.

[Billy Corben]

I'm sorry, a pawn shop?

[Raul Martinez]

Pawn shop owner, yes. That was being investigated by this city at the time when I left. And you know what? That informant that we had in there disappeared because apparently the new mayor had to be told all the things that were going. And the guy left because I guess the punch up owner was told that he was under the eyes of the department.

[Billy Corben]

So I've heard some cheese may that there may be a pawn shop or pawn shops in Hialeah who were sold guns, possibly hundreds of guns out of the evidence locker at Hialeah Police Department.

[Raul Martinez]

That happened. That happened once. And the officer involved and I think his wife where arrest. This. This happened after I left. You know, I'm not keeping up with a lot of the shit that's going on in.

[Billy Corben]

So you regret then?

[Raul Martinez]

Absolutely, I regret it. I said it back then. He should have never. As a matter of fact, I think I saw him a couple of times. And you know, he was all dressed up with a regalia and the stars and all that. And I kept calling him sergeant. I never called him chief. I call it today. To me, his last rank, civil service rank, was that of a sergeant. And you don't bring a sergeant to Be in chief. And then I never knew that the chief had safe in his offices. We had a property room. And in that property room you had to have a big safe where the drugs and the gold and the money was supposed to be kept. Now, how did all that change. You got to ask Carlos Hernandez, his buddy. You got to ask him, right?

[Billy Corben]

That's, that's where Dan has a safe here with all the drugs and the gold and the cash too, right? The metal arc, the meadowlark safe here at the studio. That's a really good question. Carlos Hernandez, I mean, are his hands clean in all of this? The former mayor.

[Raul Martinez]

Listen, Billy, and I'm not going to cast any expression, you know, negative on Carlos. Even though I don't like the guy, he knows I don't like him. I think he's the worst person in the world, stupid as they've made him. They call him a rock. Not because of being strong, because there was not even the water would get into his head.

[Billy Corben]

But you don't cast aspersions.

[Raul Martinez]

No, no, I don't want to do that. I, you know, why do that?

[Billy Corben]

So, but I just.

[Raul Martinez]

Because you know what? Not all police officers in Hailey are bad. And we got to also go back to the time where Erica Carrillo did a story in channel 23 that somebody had found a wallet with $600 in it, right? The guy went to the police department and turned it in. And you know that whenever you turn in some property and if it's, they're supposed to put an ad and they're supposed to find the owners, but after six months, if they haven't found the owner and giving that money back, the person that brought it in is entitled to that property. So the guy went six months later and they said, well, we don't have any records. So he went to Erica Carrillo. Erica Carrillo went through FDLE and they did the investigation. And it just happened that the, the police adviser at the time can't remember her name, never met her. He lost something. She had come from fdle. They had no record of the wallet, no record of the $600. And she reminded me that in order to appease everybody, they gave that gentleman a check from the city for $600. That means that they were stealing money way back in 2014, 2015.

[Billy Corben]

Mr. Mayor, I want to run this video real quick.

[F]

Police running in to control an out of control crowd as the situation on the Palmetto deteriorates. Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez jumping into the fray with the protesters and.

[Raul Martinez]

A police Officer was attacked by someone. And when I approached, trying to calm the situation down, one individual took a swing and hit me in the face. And so, you know, the whole damn.

[F]

Thing started a bad situation taking a turn for the worse. Some of the protesters blocking the Palmetto turning violent, scuffling with police who were just trying to keep the peace before things turned even ug. Some people were injured, including Hialeah Police Chief Rolando Belanos, who was taken to the hospital for a gash on the head.

[Billy Corben]

Six stitches, two aspirants and a bill. Who's gonna pay for that now? I guess the people of Hialeah have to pay for that. They pay for the cost and I pay for the pain. In June of 1999, Mr. Mayor, the U.S. coastal Guard intercepted a very small boat, maybe some have described it as a rowboat of six Cubans who were trying to make it to the freedom of the United States. About 150 yards off the coast of Surfside. They were sprayed with water cannons to try to keep them from getting a dry foot. They were pepper sprayed in some cases. And it led to an uprising as a result of these six Cuban immigrants trying to get into the United States and being taken into custody. And they shut down the causeway by the Coast Guard station here in my there in Miami beach, they shut down the Palmetto Express. Huge demonstrations. And I want to know what you make of it now as there are demonstrations across the country, particularly in Los Angeles, fighting for, you know, again, you had major duty politicians, both Republican and Democrat in Miami dade back in 1999 saying, we need an investigation of the Coast Guard, of the federal government for the abuse of these immigrants. What do you make of sort of the Miami of today is the America of tomorrow? Why aren't people in Miami pissed now? What is happening to Cubans? What is happening to Venezuelans, what is happening to Dominicans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, because they're afraid.

[Raul Martinez]

They're afraid to show and say they made a mistake by voting for Donald Trump. They're afraid and they're crying, oh, my son is being deported. Some other jerk who was a journalist in Cuba, I was arrested in Cuba. Now they're going to deport me back to Cuba. They're afraid, Billy. I mean, you need to listen to my program. What I'm telling you in English, I tell the people every day. And you know how they can change the tune now is go from being a Republican and change to being a Democrat. And when they see the numbers of Republicans going down and the Democrats going Up, they're all going to pay attention. Carlos Jimenez with his shaking of the head when. Whenever you see Carlos Minnesota do that, he's lying to you. I already know.

[Billy Corben]

Is that his tell is that.

[Raul Martinez]

Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

You played poker with Carlos Jimenez?

[Raul Martinez]

Yeah. Yeah. And when he starts moving like this, I call him a Carlo Hicotea.

[Billy Corben]

What does that mean in English?

[Raul Martinez]

Turtle. You've seen the total neck.

[Billy Corben]

Mr. Mayor, last question.

[Raul Martinez]

Sports.

[Billy Corben]

Hank Goldberg, what happened with Hank at the Hialeah racetrack?

[Raul Martinez]

Oh, that's another story, man.

[Billy Corben]

All right. Should we do that next time? We'll do that next time.

[Raul Martinez]

No, I'm going to give it to you quickly. Hank Gordon was a fat slob who had a gambling problem. We were all at Highlier Racetrack. He was in the one side, and I was in the director's room. And the electricity went off so that race couldn't go off. He comes bursting into the director's room after having free lunches from the racetrack, after having all the kinds of benefits that the press people used to get at Hialeah Racetrack. He starts screaming. And I said, hank, the electricity went off. And then he said something to me and, you know, I'm short tempered. I followed him through the kitchen and he ran like a chicken that he was. And I'm sorry, I think he's dead. He said, oh, the mayor. And then he brought the press with him, thinking that they were going to make me back off. And I said, you know what? If I had the choice and I had the chance, I would have hit him because he would take food, he would take drinks from the racetrack. He was always looking for tips because he was a sicko. He was a sicko. And again, the media at the time portrayed me as the bad guy. It's all right. Look, I left the city. I left it with $33 million in the bank. No debts. Roads were being built, buildings for the elderly were being built. All of that. When I left, the Republican mayors came in. Julio Rowena. And you talked about the Ponzi scheme. Well, you know, it was a Ponzi scheme. And I was glad that I was at the trial, Julio, when Carlos Hernandez had to testify. And when they asked him, how much money were you getting in interest? 3%. And they said, 3%. Is that a month or a year? No, a month. That's 36%. They were all doing it. But you know what Hialeah has become to the state attorney and others? Chinatown. They don't care what happens. And also the 4,000 pennies or whatever it was that he Brought it in. Harvey Rubin, my dear friend, he didn't want to have any more issues because he was the guy that had to collect the money. And he took it and took it to the bank, and the bank did him a favor and they cashed it into $4,000. That's a true story.

[Billy Corben]

It was 400,000 pennies because it was $4,000 in pennies in buckets.

[Raul Martinez]

Yeah, yeah. But. But Harvey Rubin and this. I was told that Harvey did it because he didn't want to have more shows. And he didn't want to. Because what they were going to do is say, you know, send it back to Carlos and throw it in the floor. City Hall. That's what I would have done. But, you know, they didn't do it because, again, you know, we want to be nice. Well, now they were nice to this guy. And look, $3 million are missing. Now you're going to tell me that the auditors didn't pick it up. You're going to tell me that the secretary didn't know that the sergeant in SIS Special Investigation didn't know that the chief was acting alone. That the mayor didn't know that the accountants did not. The finance didn't know that they were taking checks for 40,000 and cashing it and deposited another account. Come on, man. One question that I have, and since they're not returning my phone call, my question is, why don't they charge him with RICO and go back 10 years? Why only five years? Why not go back to Rico? Because he was using the city police department as a criminal enterprise.

[Billy Corben]

On that note, Raul Martinez, former mayor of Hialeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[Raul Martinez]

Take care.

[H]

You're coming here super defensive, Chief. I'm not defensive, but I don't appreciate coming here as we're going around in circles here when you can just ask a specific question, and I'll give you a specific answer. Listen, you're not going to bully me like you do the other people. Listen, I'm not intimidated here, and I'm intimidated absolutely ridiculous that we have spent what's ridiculous on this all ready. What's ridiculous is, Chief, is your attitude coming here. It's obvious that the people. Bring it back to order with you, please.

[Billy Corben]

So that clip has nothing to do with what we're talking about with former Miami Police Chief George Colina, but it just seems like the best way to introduce him. Don't you think so, Roy?

[E]

Yeah, a fight with Joe Corario is always the best way.

[Billy Corben]

I mean, we all know that he's so George Collino was the police chief in the city of Miami from 2018 to 2021 before his retirement. Prior to that, he was with the department since the year 1990. He's now the president and founder of JCG George Collina Group. You can find them at George Collina Group. And. And what he's really here to talk about is hair care, because always on fleek. What is the regimen? It's the Jimmy Johnson regimen. I always said, when I die, I want to come back as Jimmy Johnson's hair. I might want to come back as George Collina's hair.

[George Colina]

14% of my pension goes to hair products. So I got to. I got to figure out a way of managing that.

[Billy Corben]

I get old 14%, and that's all.

[E]

One case coming in handy.

[Billy Corben]

What do you think, Roy?

[E]

A bunch of key limes, maybe some conch juice?

[Billy Corben]

Yeah, I think. And just. And just. And it's like the secret to any good key lime pie. Just a tiny droplet of key deer blood, of endangered key deer blood, just to get that shine in there. I love the specificity of the 14%, because that's what you do now. Your consultancy does, I guess, assessments of police departments and things like that. And you recently did the subject of our show today, an assessment of the Hialeah Police Department. You did that now a few years ago, back in 2022, in the wake of the tenure of now indicted and arrested police chief Sergio Velasquez. And I want to talk a little bit about what you found there in that department of Hialeah, because it starts right off the bat talking about the culture at the department. And I'm really curious what your assessment found in terms of, I guess, culture and morale following Sergio Velasquez is, I guess, was he terminated by. By the new Mayor Bovo at the time? What was the status?

[George Colina]

You can say he was terminated, certainly because the mayor, he's a strong mayor. He didn't want him anymore. Back then, if you would have asked Velasquez, he probably would have told you that this was, you know, a decision that was made mutually. Right. But the reality is that he was asked to go.

[Billy Corben]

And what did you find there about the culture he left behind at the Hialeah Police Department?

[George Colina]

It was pretty sad, Billy. I've never quite experienced something like this because, you know, first of all, just so everybody understands the way that we do these assessments is in the aggregate. So we never out anybody. You know, we let people know that we're going to speak in general terms. And, of course, we encourage people to tell the truth because it gives them a voice that they might not otherwise have where they can speak freely. And, you know, in going through that process, there was literally people that came in, we asked questions to. Who sobbed while they told us about their experiences. So it was. It was sad because the vast majority of the people we interviewed appeared to be very dedicated to the city. Right. Loved working in Hialeah. Most of them lived in Hialeah, but were, you know, felt like they didn't have a voice and felt afraid. Right. They could lose their job at any. At any minute. You're walking on eggshells. That was kind of like the feeling, man, we're walking on eggshells here because we don' Know what might cause our dismissal.

[Billy Corben]

Culture of fear is the way you describe culture of fear implemented by the previous administration, meaning. Chief Sergio Velasquez, what you've seen a lot of police departments. You ran, I think, the largest municipal police department in Dade county, probably one of the largest municipal departments in the state of Florida at city of Miami. But was this unique. I often refer to Hialeah politely, diplomatically, as being a unique place. Did you find. Was there anything that stood out that was unusual about. In your decades of law enforcement experience in the city of Hialeah?

[George Colina]

Pretty unique. I won't lie. I've never quite had an experience like this. I've been to a lot of police departments, did work with the Department of Justice, visiting departments, even outside the state of Florida. This was. Was pretty out there. A lot of people were afraid of even having a. I don't know what the right term would be, you know, a spell cast on them. You know, apparently the chief was big into Santeria, and. And even people who don't believe in that, of course, think, hey. But just to be on the safe side, you know, I don't want to be on the other side of some spell or so, you know, that alone.

[Raul Martinez]

Right.

[George Colina]

Of the fact that he was so involved in that, apparently, and made it obvious to people. People were afraid of that kind of stuff.

[Billy Corben]

I'm sorry. Just for. You know, most people who listen to this show don't live in South Florida. So for clarity, what you just said is that you spoke with people within the police department, I imagine officers as well as civilians in the department, not a small organization either, for a municipal department. You just said some of them expressed fear. They were scared that a spell might be cast on them. That's what you just said.

[George Colina]

Yes, that's what I said, and listen, and I'm laughing now, and I don't mean to only because, you know, like I said, a lot of these people were very scared, very worried. And so I don't mean to make a joke out of it, but you asked the question, right, and it was like one of the bizarrest things I've ever heard in my life.

[Billy Corben]

Did you light an orisha candle before you joined the show today? Just in case. Just in case you don't mean to laugh because you don't want to spell cast on you. You don't want to have anybody visit the hill at TR park with some chickens, living or dead. The hill of Tropical park, by the way, always a very popular spot. If you ever go for a hike up there, you'll find a lot of chicken bones. And I don't think people just ate it like Pollo Tropical and KFC or KFC and trashed them there. So. So, Chief, we have heard that the chisme, the rumors from Las Malas language, who, who say that the chief was very involved in either Santeria as a priest himself or had one that he consulted with. I mean, you must have heard a lot of things.

[George Colina]

Yeah, some of the. Some of the rumors were that he had someone, a high priest or priestess or, you know, I don't know how the rank hierarchy there works, but apparently he had somebody above him that he would, you know, get counsel from on decisions that he would make internally at the police department. And, you know, of course, that was another concern because people felt like we don't know how we're going to be led because he receives instructions from, you know, the grand wizard, or, you know, whatever you call them. I don't remember the term. There's a term.

[Billy Corben]

Is there a Pope Santeria? Is there?

[George Colina]

There is. Yeah. I don't. I don't know the hierarchy, but there is. There's a rank system. And somebody. Right. There's somebody who would be in charge of him as a San Diego. You know, those people exist. Right. And so apparently that was the case here.

[Billy Corben]

So Sandra, we mentioned it in the last segment, is an Afro Cuban religion that involves animal sacrifice. That involves. There's, I mean, like a lot, like any religion, there's a lot of superstition, there's a lot of stories. But there is specifically spells that they cast candles that are lit specific gods. Chango, the God of fire, whoever you. You worship to. And then you could put, like, curses on other people. So you'll find little at the courthouse in downtown Miami here during trials, very famously, in the 80s and the 90s, judges and clerks and lawyers would show up in the morning and on the courthouse steps find these little shrines with bones from animals and candles and things. Yeah, spells either for the luck of the defendants or to curse the prosecutors and judges. And this is a very common thing in South Florida. I'd never quite heard of a police department that was run necessarily by buy a consultancy of Sentero's. They don't work for free, these folks either.

[George Colina]

Well, apparently, yeah, apparently it's very expensive. Right. So apparently this isn't like out of the kindness of someone's heart, right, where you can maybe walk into a church or something somewhere and say, hey, you know, I'm in a bad place. You know, I'd like to speak to somebody. And maybe they pull you aside and they give you a little bit of their time. No, that. That's not the case here. Here, you know, it's. It's big bucks.

[Billy Corben]

So some of the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars that the Chief had done, allegedly stolen or stashed away in his floor safe. Was there a Sentero on the payroll of the Hialeah Police Department? Did you find anything like that in your assessment?

[George Colina]

You know, we didn't look into that, honestly. And I didn't, you know, we weren't there to investigate this. Right. These are just some of the things that people said when they came in, right, that they were afraid of being fired. They didn't agree with the chief. That was a lot of it as well. Right. Hey, if you're. If you come across like you're not on board with Head or disagree with him, you're in trouble. If he thought you crossed him, you could be in trouble, you know, being disciplined or demoted or fired, or you could be, you know, have a spell cast on you. Right. So the majority of the people were afraid of him taking disciplinary action, but there was definitely people that were afraid of. Of him, you know, using, you know, the dark arts.

[Billy Corben]

Chief, as with any organization of this size, you're going to find that most people are probably just there to do the right thing. They want to come in in the morning, they want to do their jobs, they want to serve people, they want to be safe. They want to go home to their families, they want to eventually retire with their pensions. They're not there for. They're not there for chicanery or for corruption. So, like, how do you, like, what are your recommendations to the city? You're like, there's a lot of good people here that just Want to, you know, be police officers or be civilian employees. I imagine that's what you found here. I read it in your assessment. And how. What do you do for them?

[George Colina]

So the vast majority of the people, really, without a doubt, they came across very dedicated. They. They seemed like they were hurting for the police department as a whole. Right. Not just for themselves, but for the amount of people where morale was, you know, had hit rock bottom. What was really interesting, too, is sometimes you go to these departments and you talk about community policing or, you know, building a relationship with the community that you serve, you're going to hear a lot of people that are like, oh, bullshit. I don't want to hear that crap. I just want to go out and do police work here. That wasn't the case here. They were like, I want to be able to go up to Una Ventanita and have Cuban coffee and chit chat with the people in the area that I patrol. Right? So they were like the other way around. They were like, we want to be in the community. We want to show them we care about them. They are. The community is super supportive of us, and we know that. We want to show that we appreciate them. Because in Hialeah, they are very pro law enforcement. And they felt like, I can't even show them that I appreciate that support, because if I stop and get a shot of Cuban coffee and somebody hands me up or the chief sees me, I'm in trouble.

[Billy Corben]

Crazy. You want your local police to have that kind of relationship with the people that they police. Chief, before I let you go, last question. I'd be remiss. You know, we showed at the top of the. The seg. One of my favorite flashback Fridays of you and Joe Carollo going at it in 2019 at a Miami City commission meeting. You were in the city of Miami for a long time. You referred to your assessment of the Hialeah Police Department. Department as a culture of fear. I feel that that's what fuels the city of Miami, not just the police department. I'm talking about the city of Miami. I refer to it as a city that is effectively a racketeering organization that runs on intimidation and harassment and bullying of city employees, of rank and file police officers, of residents, of business owners, where people live in a constant state of fear of their own government, of losing their jobs, of losing their livelihoods, of losing their businesses or their families. What is your take on the current state of your city of Miami?

[George Colina]

I think it still exists, unfortunately. I think that there's a lot of people that are afraid to speak up. There's a lot of people that are afraid to, you know, say what they're thinking. Ideally in any organization, police or in the private sector. You want people to give you contrasting points of view, right? You want to have discussions so you arrive at a better place. You make better decisions. It benefits the whole debt. Isn't some kind of altruistic. I wish it were like this. No, that's the way it's supposed to be. And I know that people, because I still speak to a lot of people there. I know that people feel like they can't really speak up because you don't know who might be offended by it. Even though you're not doing anything wrong, it's literally your job to come up with ideas, to try to find better ways to function, to question whatever it is, whatever mechanism you use. Now, you should be questioning how it works to see if there isn't a better way. Right? But that's. People are afraid, and not necessarily afraid because they're going to have a spell cast on them like. Like Hylia, but they're afraid because, you know, maybe it means they don't get a promotion. Maybe it means they don't get to, you know, climb that ladder. Maybe it means that they're shunned, right? So. And nobody wants that. You. You want to go to work and do a good job and hope you're able to, you know, be promoted and have a better salary, etc. Well, there's a lot of people that are still absolutely afraid to. To do what they should be doing and speaking up and challenging systems and protocols to get. To get to a better place.

[Raul Martinez]

Hashtag because Miami.

[Billy Corben]

Former Miami Police chief George collina. George collina group.com thanks so much for being here. Last month, Roy, there was a cockfighting ring that was busted in southwest Miami Dade after cops were called because of a machete fight.

[E]

Machete.

[Billy Corben]

And 42 people were arrested there. They had, like, 72 birds that they found on site for the cockfighting ring. And I realized with 42 people being arrested there, on top of however many additional kind of spectators and folks that were there, that's a bigger turnout than a Miami Marlins game. It seems like these days we're just.

[E]

Gonna bypass the fact that it was a machete fight to make a Mullins attendance joke.

[Billy Corben]

Well, no, what I'm saying is that there's a rule of sorts in local theater where if the number of cast members in a show is greater than the number of audience members who show up for a performance that night, they cancel the show like they should have canceled the Marlins Rockies games.

[E]

More baseball players and fans is what you're saying.

[Billy Corben]

What I'm saying is is that the team already reported that they lost money staffing the park is what I'm saying. We've been joking for years that the only way to sell out Marlins park in Little Havana is to hold cockfights. And it turns out that's not entirely true because you can have Savannah Bananas games, Miami Hurricanes games, Guns N Roses concerts, monster truck rallies. Literally anything except for a Marlins game at Marlins park can sell out. It's just really, really pathetic.

[E]

Yes.

[Billy Corben]

Towards. You know what else is pathetic was that Billy. I mean everything that was a rhetorical. It was a rhetorical question. It was kind of, kind of open ended there really. Everything except for the Florida Panthers.

[E]

That's right.

[Billy Corben]

I would say we don't know what's.

[E]

Going to happen because we are recording this on Wednesday. They played game four I think last night.

[Billy Corben]

I think we know what happened. I think congratulations.

[E]

I most likely right now, by the way.

[Billy Corben]

No, I just jinx it.

[E]

Yes you did.

[Billy Corben]

All right.

[E]

Knock on.

[Billy Corben]

You're going to get deported. You go up there probably.

[E]

Hopefully they let me stay.

[Billy Corben]

So the Florida Keys are under siege right now. Ice. The word on the street is are everywhere. A lot of low hanging fruit down there. And one Trump voter is pretty upset. He has a small, he's a small business owner for 40 years in the, in Key West, Vincent Scardina voted for Donald Trump and had one third of his entire workforce detained by ice. Five of the six of them apparently are in the country legally and they've been torn away from their families and are already in detention centers in Texas and California. Some of them headed for, for I presume Nicaragua, which is where they're from, but possibly Guantanamo, possibly El Salvador, nobody's quite sure. But this man in our Miami moment, he's having what he describes as a little bit of buyer's remorse. Co cats and cocaine's.

[Vincent Scardina]

Vincent, you voted for Donald Trump.

[I]

Yes, I did.

[Vincent Scardina]

Six Nicaraguan men on May 27th were detained along US 1 in Sugarloaf of Key on their way to a job. Vincent Scardina is the owner of the roofing company where they worked. Given his support for the President, we asked what he would tell the commander in chief.

[I]

What happened here? This situation is just, totally, just blatantly not at all what they said it.

[Vincent Scardina]

Was while he agrees with most of the President's policies, he thought the Trump administration was going to focus solely on deporting criminals. It seems immigration officials, he says, are just trying to meet quotas now.

[I]

Buyer's remorse? I don't know. A little bit. I know one landscaper that lost nine or 10 of his. The whole crew he had, and he's just totally out of business all of a sudden. It's pretty obvious, I would say, that.

[Billy Corben]

The reason why they were pulled over.

[I]

Is because they're Latino men.

[Vincent Scardina]

Their immigration attorney says it should not have happened because five of the same six have their paperwork in order with pending asylum cases.

[Roy]

Valid work permit not even close to.

[Billy Corben]

Be expired, and no criminal records.

[Roy]

Not here, not in Nicaragua.

[Vincent Scardina]

Losing these six men is losing a third of his workers.

[I]

We're not able in Key west to just replace people as easily as, say, a big city. It's financially as well as emotionally. It takes a toll. You get to know these guys, you become their friends. Just not an employer, but a friend, and you see what happens to their family. It's quite a shock.