On January 23, 2023, we reported that as of November 30, 2022, Ex-City “Attorney” Hans Ottinot had received checks from the City of North Miami Beach for “legal” services in the total amount of $1,929,540.49, which was $669,540.49 more than his contracted fee at the time.
We finally were able to obtain from the City’s website the check registers for the months of December 2022, January 2023, and February 2023, which added an additional $292,074.63 to the amount North Miami Beach taxpayers paid for his “legal” representation.
This brings the total paid to Hans Ottinot for “legal” fees over the last 23 months to $2,221,612.21!
According to the terms of his contract, Hans was to earn a base salary $55,000.00 per month for the first twelve months, and then $60,000.00 per month for the next year. We calculated that his base pay for above 23 month period should have been $1,380,000.00.
The $2,221,615.21 he actually received averages out to $96,591.97 a month, or an additional $36,591.97 per month!
Even at an alleged “reduced hourly rate of $250.00” for “new matters excluded under general services,” Hans managed to rip off North Miami Beach taxpayers for an additional 62% over his base pay.
We still don’t have the checks paid to the Strip Mall “Lawyer” for the final 17 days that he occupied a desk at City Hall, but we will get those figures to you as soon as the check register for March 2023 is posted online.
Keep in mind that Hans was supposed to be fired on December 20, 2022, but he had instructed his three Criminal Commissioners, Michael Joseph, McKenzie Fleurimond, and Daniela Jean, to boycott meetings so he could keep receiving his undeserved paycheck.
Because he conspired to prevent a quorum for Commission meetings, Hans was able to steal $286,287.72 in “legal” fees long after the intended expiration date of his contract.
Folks, the nonsense that his personal Spokes Mouth, McKenzie Fleurimond, has spewed about “being advised” that it was a “legal liability” for them to attend meetings while the Mayor was still on the dais” . . .
NEVER FORGET THAT IT WAS REALLY ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!
In the meantime, we also made a public records request for “copies of all legal bills/invoices presented to the City of North Miami Beach by Ottinot Law, PA from November 1, 2023 through the present date.” We want to know exactly how much time Hans spent trying to remove Anthony DeFillipo as Mayor so he could keep paychecks coming.
Now that there is a real City Attorney at the helm, it’s time for the City to file a malpractice lawsuit against Hans to recover:
- The additional $286,287.72 he billed after he should have been gone;
- The unauthorized $200,012.76 that Hans had the City Manager pay Sham Lawyer Luis E. Suarez to keep the “Mayor’s Residency” conspiracy going; and
- A few million bucks or so for the pain and suffering he inflicted on the residents of North Miami Beach by his lack of proper grammar usage and his refusal to enunciate his words.
Just saying.
In all seriousness, Hans Ottinot needs to be held accountable for the millions of wasted tax dollars of the hard working residents of North Miami Beach.
And we aim to make sure that happens.
Stephanie
I’m glad you are still after this and I keep bringing it up at our Tamarac meetings now that we have him. “A few million bucks or so for the pain and suffering he inflicted on the residents of North Miami Beach by his lack of proper grammar usage and his refusal to enunciate his words.” Oh my yes! Or pronounce them correctly. We need that too. It’s insufferable!
It’s literally painful listening to him speak. He omits entire vowels and swallows the “g” sound at the end of words. For example, Commissioner becomes “Commisher,” extensively becomes “extensley,” meeting is always “meetin.” He always drops the letter “s” of plural or possessive nouns, and frequently uses the wrong tense verbs. I cringed whenever he spoke.
I have no idea how he passed the Bar exam, or how he lasted so long at Sunny Isles Beach without someone wanting to gag him.
Is it just me or does anyone else think that the 3 absent commissioners got compensated by Ottinot for not showing up? Why else would they listen to him? One of them being a lawyer who should know the law.
My team and I suspect lots and lots of “compensation” to:
1. The ex-“lawyer” in the form of a referral fee from the law firm of Sham Lawyer Luis E. Suarez (which would be perfectly legal, by the way);
2. The ex-manager in the form of his “very special” vendors that he brought in, especially with no-bid contracts; and, of course,
3. The three Criminal Commissioners, two of whom have no real jobs to speak of and live way beyond the means provided by their city income (ask McKenzie about his trip to Morocco, which ain’t cheap!). There’s a reason they wanted Duke in the first place.
Of course, this is just conjecture and as yet there is no way to prove any of these suspicions since, with the exception of the lawyer to lawyer referral fee, cash payments can’t be traced. But, would anyone doubt this has been happening?
Just saying.
The worst part of this number is that it is actually the minimum that Hans cost the city. We actually don’t know the full scope of his impact but I expect it to be 2-5x the amount quoted above. He has essentially shut down the city for the past 6 months, which has a real cost to the city.
Was the $200kto outside counsel in addition to his 2.2 mill? And do you have a total up to his last day? I am speaking on this tonight oat our Tamarac commission meeting and want to have my facts straight. Thanks
The $200K paid to Sham Lawyer Luis Suarez was in addition to the $2 million plus the Strip Mall “Lawyer” stole from taxpayers.
I don’t have figures more recent than end of February at the moment.
Thanks