Coral Gables mayor wants forensic audit to prove city isn’t a ‘cesspool’ of corruption
Coral Gables officials plan to conduct a “full forensic audit” after a partially completed review of city Amazon purchases became a vehicle for airing political grievances Tuesday amid an effort to recall the mayor.
During a discussion about hiring a city manager this year, Commissioner Kirk Menendez made a bombshell claim, saying the city is “adrift in a cesspool of public corruption.” But Mayor Vince Lago said a partial audit presented Tuesday of employee Amazon charges on city-issued purchase cards, or pcards, was vindication for the City Beautiful.
“Well, the cesspool of corruption ends today,” Lago said. “You want to know why? Because the p-cards were found to not have any issues here.”
The audit found “no misuse of City funds has been identified” with p-card spending on Amazon between June 2023 and January 2024. The audit was supposed to look at employee purchases dating back two years, but staff were only able to present eight months of data because the city had switched to a new system. Staff plan to have the complete results in weeks.
Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, an adversary of Lago, had called for the Amazon audit after raising concerns about p-card purchases in January. But Lago took it one step further Tuesday, suggesting a “full forensic audit” of the city, beginning with his office.
“I don’t care what it costs,” Lago said, claiming that dozens of city employees have contacted him “over and over and over to say how demoralized and disrespected they feel” by accusations of corruption.
Lago’s proposal comes at a time when the mayor faces heightened scrutiny for his own financial dealings. On Friday,