Broward Sheriff Tony, His Wealthy Friends and Leaders Donate Big to Miami-Dade Sheriff Candidate Reyes

By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, re-elected in November, is extremely confident. So confident that he donated a whopping $50,000 from his political committee to the political committee of Miami-Dade sheriff candidate James Reyes.

Tony's contribution through Broward First is the largest received by Reyes' Miami-Dade Safe & Secure PAC, although it is tied to another $50,000 donation to Safe & Secure from Reyes' Our Democracy PAC. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava.

Tony's wealthy donors – convicted felon and Broward Sheriff's Advisory Board member Lewis Stahl ($25,000), former Boston Red Sox slugger Maurice “Mo” Vaughn ($24,000), BSO salesman and Saferwatch owner Geno Roefaro ($10,000) and New Jersey-based mattress mogul Michael Fux ($10,000) — pumped another $69,000 into Reyes' PAC.

Contributions of more than $11,000 to Reyes' PAC from BSO leaders pushed Tony's associates' total to more than $129,000 – more than 25 percent of the PAC's total reported haul to date , or $504,000.

The biggest donors in this BSO group: Colonel Oscar Llerena ($2,000) and Major Angelo Cedeno ($5,000).

This is a serious game of influence south of the border in Broward.

TONY, REYES AND “BLEEDING CONTROL KITS”

This comes as Tony, still struggling, awaits a final decision from the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission on whether to revoke his police license for lying and another hearing before an administrative law judge in Tallahassee – now set for August 7 – regarding a pending ethics commission complaint against the sheriff.

Sheriff Tony's enthusiasm for James Reyes, also known as Jem Reyes, is rooted in Reyes' four years of work as the executive director in charge of Broward's sprawling prison system. Two months after Tony took office in January 2019, Reyes was among more than 100 sworn and civilian employees he promoted, making them indebted to him. Reyes' boost was aimed at the colonel.

A few months later, when Colonel Reyes was head of the BSO Administration Department, he did something that undoubtedly made Tony happy. This involved BSO's 2019 purchase of “Stop the Bleed” stations and bleeding control kits from North American Rescue, a company Tony previously worked at and which later sold its products from his own company, Blue Spear Solutions. After becoming sheriff, Tony aggressively promoted North American hemorrhage control products.

North American, based in South Carolina, was the lowest bidder at $599.98 per unit, or $392,386. The offers were reviewed by the BSO Purchasing Division, where, as Florida Bulldog First reported in May 2020, things have taken an interesting turn.

The amount initially requested for approval was $500,000. Then, on July 11, 2019, a purchasing agent sent a note regarding the transaction to Reyes requesting his approval “in the amount of $750,000 to cover the one-time purchase and any additional purchases during the period of two years under the same terms and conditions of the contract. »

Reyes approved the deal the next day, apparently no questions asked about how a $392,386 purchase had ballooned so much.

The FBI has been wondering about possible bid-rigging — for a while. But then Tony's friend, Special Agent in Charge George Piro, moved the case to South Carolina where it stalled. Piro then retired — sources told Florida Bulldog he was forced out following a complaint about what happened — and the matter returned to Miami. Later it became known that the investigation was terminated again, for unknown reasons.

IN THE RANKINGS

Reyes has risen through the ranks since starting as a deputy sheriff in 2000. Six years later, he was promoted to sergeant, quickly rising to lieutenant and then captain in 2013. A year later, under Sheriff Scott Israel, he became deputy director of the Sheriff's Department of Corrections, then director in 2017.

His work was noticed. Miami-Dade Mayor Levine-Cava recruited him to lead Miami-Dade Corrections in 2022, and he began working there as director in January 2023.

The NAACP noticed this too. In January of this year, he asked the Department of Justice to investigate BSO following the deaths of 21 inmates in Broward County Jail since 2021. Calling the rate of deaths in county jails “alarming” , NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson called for an investigation. of their “conditions and their management, in particular their psychiatric treatment practices”.

No investigation has been announced.

Reyes' shares rose rapidly again. Six months after moving to Miami-Dade, on July 23, Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez, favored to become the county's first elected sheriff since the 1960s, and his wife attended a police conference. Florida Sheriff's Association in Tampa. Police were called to their hotel following a complaint of an armed man and a loud fight. Ramirez, briefly handcuffed by Tampa police, then shot himself in the head. He survived but later withdrew from the race for sheriff. Today, he remains with the department as an advisor helping prepare for the transition to an elected sheriff.

In November, Reyes was promoted to chief of public safety, where he oversees the county police, fire and jails. In January, he announced his candidacy for sheriff as a Democrat. His three opponents in the Aug. 20 primary: Miami-Dade Maj. John Barrow, Susan Khoury, whose campaign website vaguely says she once worked as a “federal agent,” and a retired Miami officer -Dade and owner of a funeral home. Rickey Mitchell.

Eleven Republicans also qualified to run. Miami-Dade Police Deputy Director of Investigative Services Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz has notable support from former President Donald Trump and Miami Congressman Carlos Gimenez.

The general elections will take place on November 5.