Article Courtesy of The Miami New
Times
By Gus
Garcia-Roberts
Published July 6, 2010
There
are lots of condo association spats and scams in the tiny, scandal-ridden
hamlet of North Bay Village. Most of them are pretty boring. That's
because most of them don't involve a wrathful warlock.
A
group of condo owners at South Treasure Drive's North Bay Villas want
their property manager, Fernando Laracuente, fired. "He has utilized
[condo] association resources for his personal gain, and he refuses to
give up," resident Andrea Gomez says.
A
group of condo owners at South Treasure Drive's North Bay Villas want
their property manager, Fernando Laracuente, fired. "He has utilized
[condo] association resources for his personal gain, and he refuses to
give up," resident Andrea Gomez says.
Their
accusations: That he collected $7,000 to repair the building's cooling
tower, but it doesn't have a cooling tower. That he illegally charged
tenants $500 to own dogs. That he's been pocketing laundry-room repair
funds, has the building three months in arrears to the pool maintenance
company, and that all of that cash and more went to his October 2009
purchase of a $363,000, three-bedroom Kendall house. In June, cops
investigated and arrested the 36-year-old, who also goes by Ferdinand
Resto, for notary fraud, saying he falsely doctored his own contract.
Laracuente's
lawyer, David Edelstein, says there's "no basis" for any of the
allegations, claiming the arresting officer is friends with Laracuente's
condo nemeses: "This is one of those condo-commando white-hot
disagreements between factions of a condo association, but what's
disturbing is the involvement of public officials."
The
situation got stranger last week when tenants found a flyer posted on
every door and littering the parking lot, declaring Laracuente's enemies
were "annoying bitches" and continued, "All they know how
to do is create chaos. Oh, daughters of Lucifer, that ye have been born...
only for procreation purposes and to favor evil. We damn our luck for
these people joining our community."
Plastered
in the middle of the flyer was clip art of a witch's head. Laracuente is
listed online as a wicca-practicing board director of the Association of
Independent Pagans. And the missive was signed only by the North Bay
Villas Condominium Association, of which he is a member.
"Laracuente
is truly deranged and needs to be committed," says Adriana Caraballo,
a tenant named in the flyer.
Meanwhile,
there has been "no maintenance, no cleaning, [and] no garbage
collection" since the mystic shit hit the fan, says North Bay Village
Vice Mayor Reinaldo Trujillo. "It's a mess. If this situation isn't
irregular, I don't know the definition of the word."
HOW
DO YOU LIKE THIS FLYER?
|