Coral Gables Department of Interior Investigates Mayor’s ‘Assault Incident’ at City Hall

Sources: Vince Lago threatened city manager

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY: On the eve of his campaign launch on Wednesday, the mayor of Coral Gables said Vince Lago got into an argument with the city manager Amos Rojas on Tuesday – and the police were called.

According to several sources, Lago and Rojas were in a meeting at City Hall when an exchange of words occurred in which the mayor suddenly took off his jacket, threw it on the ground, rolled up his sleeves and appeared to assume a fighting stance.

Read more: Coral Gables Police and Firefighters Union: Lying Vince Lago is no friend of public safety

Rojas felt threatened enough to call the police. Ed Hudak did not provide any details on Wednesday other than a general statement:

“This week, the Coral Gables Police Department was notified of an incident at City Hall. The Coral Gables Internal Affairs Division has been directed to make a preliminary report of the incident. In accordance with our protocol, our Internal Affairs Division will serve as the point of contact in conjunction with outside agencies who will conduct any further investigation.

“This is an open and active investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs. No further comment will be made pending the completion of the investigation by that office or other investigative agencies.”

— Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak

Sergeant. Alejandro Escobarthe department spokesman said no further information would be released, including the original incident report.

Lago did not respond to calls and text messages. Lago’s lawyer, Ben Kuehneissued the following statement in an email on behalf of Lago:

“The report is completely and maliciously false. Mayor Lago categorically denies all allegations of an altercation at City Hall. A witness can and will corroborate the Mayor’s position. This bad faith reporting is nothing more than political theater by a City Manager appointed in violation of Florida’s Sunshine Law. The City’s official records show that the Manager is unprepared and uninterested in addressing the serious and important issues affecting the beautiful City. As a reminder, the ongoing effort to destabilize the City began a year ago and reflects the priorities of only a portion of the Commission that appointed this Manager. The erroneous reporting should not be heeded by members of the press nor should it be considered credible.

“Mayor Lago assures the City and its citizens and businesses that he will continue his passionate efforts to work in the best interests of all to make the City of Coral Gables the best community in Florida to live and work in.”

— Attorney Ben Kuehne on behalf of Vince Lago

Um, the ship has left.

According to sources, the “witness” Kuehne referred to is the deputy city manager Albert Parjusis said to have also been in the room when the argument occurred. He also did not answer calls.

The Miami Herald reported that Lago mentioned in a text message that Parjus could confirm his account of events.

“I categorically deny all allegations of a confrontation at City Hall,” Lago said in the text message quoted by Tess Riski. “This is nothing more than political theater from a city manager who was appointed in clear violation of the state’s Sunshine Law and who has proven himself unprepared – and uninterested – in tackling the serious problems facing our city.”

So Kuehne provided him with a cliffnote version?

Everyone knows that Rojas was not the mayor’s first choice as successor to the former city manager Peter Iglesiasbut to start a physical confrontation?

Read more: Coral Gables abandons search and immediately hires new city manager Amos Rojas

Rojas, a former U.S. Marshal and special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement who can “clean up” City Hall, came on board in February after being forced to Lago by three commissioners – Melissa Castro, Ariel Fernandez And Kirk Menendez — after Iglesias was forced to resign by the same three and the attempt to oust the Miami-Dade Aviation Director Ralph Cutie fizzled out publicly.

He also did not want to comment directly, but had a statement issued through the city spokeswoman:

“I am proud to serve as City Manager of the City of Coral Gables and work tirelessly with our dedicated team of professionals to address the issues facing our city.

“In my more than four decades of experience leading law enforcement agencies, I have always attempted to work collegially with my colleagues and superiors. Any suggestion that the Sunshine Law has been violated is simply false.”

“Regarding the incident, as the police chief has stated, the matter is currently under investigation and I cannot comment further.”

— Amos Rojas, City Manager of Coral Gables

Ladra requested public records of his calendar to find out what Tuesday’s meeting was about, but nothing was known as of Wednesday evening.

But maybe it’s not about Rojas. This is just the latest in a string of public breakdowns that Lago has been experiencing for months now. The wrong languages say he recently attacked a group of residents. If anyone was there, please message Ladra.

People better pay attention when he’s being talked up tonight at Loews. Or at least get their phones out and ready to record. Please. Thank you.

Further details will be announced later today.