COCONUT GROVE, FLA. (WSVN) - City of Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo is firing back after the owners of the Little Havana hotspot Ball & Chain filed paperwork in an effort to have him removed from his seat.
Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, who own the popular entertainment venue, filed paperwork in court Tuesday requesting Carollo to be removed from his position as the District 3 City Commissioner.
Speaking with 7News on Wednesday afternoon, Carollo said this is just another in a long succession of personal attacks against him.
“[The owners of Ball & Chain] have been wanting to do this since I first ran for office, so what’s new? Tell me something different,” said Carollo.
The paperwork, citing the “Citizens’ Bill of Rights,” states that the commissioner intentionally violated their right to free speech, and because of that, this official has to go.
The simmering brouhaha stems from a federal civil lawsuit filed back in 2018. Last summer, that jury found Carollo liable for harassing the owners of Ball & Chain, ordering the commissioner to pay $63.5 million in damages.
Jeff Gutchess, an attorney representing Fuller and Pinilla, addressed the latest developments with 7News on Wednesday afternoon.
“We have a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale that answered that question precisely. The question was, ‘Do you find that Joe Carollo intentionally interfered with the rights of Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla?’ And the answer was yes in both instances,” he said.
Carollo said it’s unlikely the business owners’ request will go anywhere.
“What judge in America is going to listen to their request of taking out a sitting commissioner that hasn’t had due process?” he said.
Carollo was referring to what he claims court officials are doing to him. He said they’re delaying his ability to fight the civil judgment against him.
“Why are the trial judges keeping me in limbo? I know they’re going to rule against me anyway. I mean, there’s no secret, so why don’t they do it already so I can appeal and get this over with?” he said. “You know, this is not fair. This is America. You can’t keep someone in limbo as some kind of a hostage so you can’t move forward through the legal process, and this is how I’m being kept.”
The other side in this fight said they want to move forward as well, in a different way.
“We are hoping the judge removes Commissioner Carollo from his office ‘forthwith,’ and that is in the statute, forthwith, and it says ‘immediately,'” said Gutchess.
Fuller and Pinilla have asked for a hearing within a month.
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