COCONUT GROVE, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo was put on notice after U.S. Marshals showed up at his Coconut Grove home and began the process of repossessing his assets.
7News cameras captured a marshal placing notices of levy on Carollo’s front door, Friday morning.
Hours later, Carollo, wearing a City of Miami baseball cap, stepped out of his home and addressed reporters near the entrance. He described the entire situation as a “circus.”
When asked how this makes him feel, the commissioner replied, “How would it make you feel? I mean, this is very, very unpleasant.”
The notice is one of the first visible moves in this process to essentially start seizing Carollo’s assets.
“The bottom line is, they called you all here today to have this charade, this circus, and they’re used to that,” said Carollo.
Back in January, a federal court order directed the U.S. Marshals to seize all of the city commissioner’s possessions, including his Coconut Grove home and other properties, months after the commissioner lost a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit against Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, the owners of Ball & Chain in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.
The battle between Carollo and the owners of the music and entertainment venue has been going on for years. In June of 2023, a federal jury found the commissioner liable for harassing Fuller and Pinilla, ordered him to pay $63.5 million in damages.
Carollo’s attorney argues his client’s home is protected under constitutional homestead.
“It’s marital property. It’s not subject to any of the forgoing levies, executions, any kind of push judgments, collection efforts,” said the attorney. “Florida is pretty clear on this. The state of Florida constitutionally protects homestead. All of you have that same right. There’s no federal order that trumps constitutional homestead.”
Jeff Gutchess, an attorney representing Ball & Chain’s owners, said this is the first step in this process to start collecting payment. At some point, Gutchess said, there will be a public auction of Carollo’s property and other assets, and the money raised may be used to pay off the judgment for the civil lawsuit.
On Friday, Gutchess released the following statement:
“Although Carollo continues to resist the consequences of his misconduct, they should serve as a clear reminder to other public officials that their political authority is derived from the public trust and is not a tool to advance their corrupt personal ambitions.”
Jeff Gutchess, attorney, AXS Law Group
Fuller and Pinilla said that for them, this isn’t just about making Carollo pay up. They also want him to step down as city commissioner.
Carollo previously told 7News that the courts have delayed his ability to fight this civil lawsuit against him, adding he has no plans to step down.
“I’m not being given due process. This is why I’m here,” he said. “I’m being held in limbo, like nobody else.”
For both sides, this isn’t over.
“I have been an honest public servant. I’ve been living off of what I make, doing everything that I can to give my residents the best,” said Carollo. “That’s why I kept getting elected and reelected.”
The notices of levy have since been removed from Carollo’s front door.
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