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Article Courtesy of Local 10
Published November 22, 2022
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“Today is a good day for the Hammocks, for the Hammocks community, and for all
of the associations out there that are going through this, pay attention, this
could happen to you too,” said Ardisson, who has lived in the Hammocks for
nearly three decades.
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The Hammocks
administrative crisis, which resulted in five arrests for
misappropriation of funds, follows years of residents’
activism after the homeowners’ association increased fees by
400%. Ardisson, also known as “Chicky,” is the leader of
Justice for the Hammocks organization and she was among the
leaders of the board recall.
“There are homeowners out there that really can’t afford
it,” Ardisson said outside of the courtroom. “There were
homeowners when we were knocking on doors making them aware
of this increase who literally looked at me with tears.”
Butchko promised the residents that the civil court was
“going to sort it out.” She also requested a list of all of
the law firms that represented the association. Butchko also
praised the Hammocks residents for fighting for the recall
amid threats.
“You guys are brave; it’s all over,” Butchko said.
Butchko asked the attorneys present who were representing
the association if the association was paying for the
criminal defense fees of the association leaders who were
arrested. The attorneys said they didn’t know.
“How could we not know that? Guys, the association is not a
private piggy bank,” Butchko said.
The criminal cases were still ongoing. |
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Hammocks residents attend a Miami-Dade court hearing
on Thursday in downtown Miami. Idalmen Ardisson is among the more
than 18,000 Hammocks residents who live in 40 subcommunities that
include more than 6,500 single-family homes, townhouses, and
apartments. The neighborhood’s boundaries are from Southwest 88 to
120 streets and from 147 to 162 avenues in the West End area, just
west of Kendall.
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Marglli Gallego, Monica Ghilardi, Jose
Antonio Gonzalez, Myriam Rodgers, and Yoleidis Lopez are
facing charges in a case that Miami-Dade State Attorney
Katherine Fernandez Rundle described as “a criminal
enterprise intended to benefit certain board members and
their relatives and relatives’ businesses.”
“More arrests are possible,” Fernandez Rundle said after the arrests adding
that the criminal investigation was ongoing.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko put the Hammocks Community
Association in receivership on Thursday allowing a court-appointed receiver
to handle the business of the association with a temporary board of
directors. Judge Butchko listened to some residents of The
Hammocks neighborhood during a civil court hearing at the Dade County
Courthouse in downtown Miami and said they were going to set up a hotline to
help classify the issues residents faced with the association.
“I think that it’s important that things come to light so that anything that
is inappropriate can be seen,” Butchko said.
Butchko also said the receiver works for her and told the attorneys who were
representing the association that she was ordering the current leaders of
the association to leave the association’s office and the property. After
her order, there was a roaring round of applause. Butchko then issued
several orders.
“I need the hard drives today, seized ... I need those computers ... I am
sending a lawyer there right now. I don’t want boxes to leave,” Butchko said
later adding, “I need vehicle registrations for every vehicle owned by The
Hammocks ... Get a locksmith out there.”
Judge to Hammocks residents: ‘You guys are brave!’
WATCH VIDEO
Judge to attorneys: ‘The association is not a private piggy
bank’
WATCH VIDEO
Judge to Hammocks residents: ‘The board works for
you all’
WATCH VIDEO
WATCH THE OWNERS CELEBRATING THE JUDGES RULING
WATCH VIDEO |
