Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo has finally spoken out after a jury found him liable for violating the rights of two businessmen as political payback and ordering him to pay a $63 million judgement.
In Monday night interviews on a conservative Spanish-language television station, Carollo compared his case to those of O.J. Simpson and George Floyd, saying that the guilty parties in those cases had to pay far less in damages even though they committed more heinous crimes.
He called the judgement against him absurd, tried to turn the tables in attempt to make himself look like the victim and said Miami should be lucky to have him. The next morning, former elected officials and business owners called for Carollo’s resignation during a news conference at Miami City Hall.
Jurors agreed that Carollo violated the First Amendment rights of businessmen Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, owners of the popular Ball & Chain nightclub, after he used city code inspectors and fines to target their properties in a vendetta for the two backing a political opponent in 2017.
Participants in the news conference said Carollo for decades has been targeting and harassing residents who speak out against him. The commissioner has also been accused of orchestrating the ousting of former police chief Art Acevedo, who was supported by Miami’s Black police officers.