Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago and Actualidad 1040 AM have officially kissed and made up — or at least signed on the dotted line — in that defamation lawsuit Vinnie filed last year over comments made on the Spanish-language “Contacto Directo” morning radio show in 2023 about an investigation of a possible conflict of interest in the aggressive plan to annex Little Gables.
After two years of back and forth — trying to get the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust to disclose the anonymous sources of the complaint, serving subpoenas on union leaders, commissioners and journalists — it’s suddenly all over. This is the same case where yours truly was subpoenaed as a witness, so Ladra is, frankly, a little disappointed that she won’t get to continue to fight. Also, it was a losing case so it would have been nice to see L’Ego eat a little humble pie.
It’s all a little anticlimactic.
Read related: Judge in Vince Lago’s ‘defamation’ lawsuit suddenly recuses himself
The settlement comes two months after the previous judge recused himself and the new judge made it clear he wasn’t going to play games. Circuit Court Judge Javier Enriquez seemed to think this had taken too long already and wanted to get the case resolved. Then, he delivered three strikes to L’Ego’s legal team last month when they were told the mayor had to sit down for at least two hours for another deposition — in a scenario with a mediator where he would be forced to actually answer questions — that the subpoena for McClatchy, publisher of the Miami Herald, was successfully quashed and that the complainants’ identity did not have to be disclosed because they had whistleblower protection.
This last blow is why Lago really decided to give up. It was a hunt for the complainants all along. And it was probably costing him a dandy dime. According to City Attorney Christina Suarez, the city is not paying the mayor’s legal bills on the Actualidad case.
Let’s rewind: Back in February of 2023, veteran journalist and Contacto Directo host Roberto Rodríguez Tejera and then–Coral Gables commission candidate Ariel Fernandez (who was elected two months later) told listeners that Lago was under an ethics investigation for a possible conflict of interest involving a trailer park, an annexation fight and his brother, the lobbyist.
Lago took issue with the word investigation because, well, the investigation was technically called a “matter under initial review.” That’s internal agency jargon that uses three more words than it needs to. Because a preliminary investigation is still an investigation. Sparked by an anonymous complaint, it was treated the same as an investigation. It was assigned an investigator, his official title, who investigated the claims by looking at records and interviewing people, same as in any other investigation. Six months later, the ethics commission decided it wasn’t “legally sufficient” to go forward and closed the case. A case they had open because it was being, you know, investigated.
Lago said the wording “deliberately fabricated the narrative” to smear him. Actualidad’s lawyers countered that, even if the phrasing wasn’t “perfectly or technically accurate,” the “gist” was true enough for talk radio.
The complaint said Lago flat-out lied in a sworn affidavit — dramatically signed at a live public commission meeting — when he claimed neither he nor his immediate family had any business interest in Little Gables. Because everybody knows his brother, Carlos Lago, was registered to lobby for Titan Development — the owner of the Little Gables trailer park, the largest piece of property in the unincorporated Miami-Dade enclave. He was registered in the city of Miami, however. Maybe because Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is Lyin’ Lago’s BFF.
Carlos Lago’s lobbyist registration, first filed in 2014, stayed active all the way until March of 2023, six days after the Actualidad segment aired. Probably because the Actualidad segment aired. So he has spent almost 10 years without doing any work for Titan? Please. Besides, in Miami-Dade, once you’re in, you’re in. Being a “consultant” doesn’t require any registration paperwork. It doesn’t erase ties. It just makes it easier to pretend they aren’t there.
The radio segment was about the very real investigation, prompted by three complainants, into whether Lago violated the truth in government provisions of the ethics code, not just whether or not he had a conflict of interest.
Read related: Vince Lago revenge tour includes witch hunt for critics, confidential sources
According to a report filed with the court Aug. 8, Lago and Actualidad entered into a settlement through JAMS mediator Joseph P. Fariñas, who happens to be a retired chief judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit, having served in the position for 14 years. So, he knows what he’s doing.
The terms of the settlement are confidential. Florida Politics reported sources quoting a six figure payout. But Ladra doubts that. Actualidad had no reason to pay him when Lago was on a losing streak. He had no case and Enriquez saw right through that. No, Ladra bets it has something to do with Lago not wanting to have to pay Actualidad’s legal costs once he lost. So he cut his losses.
Lago did not return calls and texts from Ladra. He never does. He feels free enough to subpoena me for no good reason (read: intimidation) but can’t bother to return a text about his attempt to silence critics and flush down the first amendment. One of his attorneys, Mason Portnoy (left), could not be reached. Two messages were left at Portnoy’s office. Actualidad’s attorney, Antonio “Tony” Castro, did not return calls and messages to his cellphone.
But the Miami Herald reported that both sides sent them a joint statement Wednesday. Talk about settling your differences.
“The parties have amicably resolved their dispute, and Mayor Lago has agreed to dismiss his lawsuit.”
Amicably? Right. So does that mean that the drama is over? Not necessarily.
Read related: Joe Carollo and staff set Ladra up to serve Vince Lago’s newest subpoena
Ladra still plans to file her first ever complaint with the same Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust against Lago and Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, and Carollo’s publicist Karen Caballero, for conspiring to trick me into a fake interview in order to serve me with a subpoena for my testimony in this case (more on that later). There was even someone waiting to record Ladra on video at the District 3 office.
He really didn’t have to go to such dramatic efforts. I’d already been served at home.
And the Miami-Dade Citizens’ Bill of Rights prohibits municipal officials and employees from knowingly furnishing false information or omitting significant facts when providing information to the public.
So now, Lago’s going to get investigated all over again. No matter what he wants to call it.
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