I-Team: Police Commander Steps Down

 Frank Vecin, the Miami-Dade police commander who has allegedly been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by developers to expedite their request for permits and provide access to top county administrators, has agreed to retire.

The announcement followed a CBS4 News investigation last week into Vecin's role as a consultant for some of the county's biggest developers. His ties to those developers are also the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Miami-Dade State Attorney and the county's Inspector General.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez called Vecin's actions on behalf of developers "troubling and disappointing" and said he agreed with Vecin's decision to step down.

"He realized he had become a distraction for the Miami-Dade Police Department, a place he called home for 20 years, and that it was the right thing to do," Alvarez told CBS4 News. "He wasn't kicked out the door, he made that decision."

Following the CBS4 News reports last week, Vecin met with Police Director Jim Loftus Tuesday morning. Vecin then spoke at length with Alvarez, who has been friends with Vecin for nearly two decades.

"He was again very forthright," Alvarez said of his conversation with Vecin. "He said, `You know I realize it's time to go.' He was relieved that he had made the decision and that he was going to get on with his life."

While it is not uncommon for developers to hire consultants to assist them in navigating the maze of county permitting procedures, it is highly unusual for that person to be a current county employee.

At the same time Vecin was assisting various developers as CEO and President of Oak Tree Development he was also in charge of the police department's Intergovernmental Bureau, which is responsible for investigating illegal contractors and criminal violations of the county's building code.

In other words, he was being paid by the very same developers and builders his police unit might be called upon to investigate. Instead it was the developers who found themselves with a valuable friend in the police department.

Alvarez said he had no idea Vecin was working as a consultant for local developers and lobbying county employees on their behalf.

"He made a mistake then there are consequences to pay," Alvarez said.