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North Miami Paid $5,000 For Phantom Radio Show

NORTH MIAMI (CBS4)- North Miami taxpayers forked out $5,000 for radio publicity on a program that may never have aired.

The phantom program was run by a company owned by the fiancée of the mayor's nephew — who is awaiting trial on a charge of accepting a bribe.

The money was for the Bel Koze Legal Show which supposedly aired 12 minutes worth of North Miami related content in October, CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald reported. But no one in the city can answer what topics were discussed. Or on what radio station the show aired. Or who hosted it.

Moreover, the price the city paid was as much as 10 times what it normally pays for time on Haitian radio. And state records indicate that the show's producer, Bertrand Consulting incorporated September 14 and filed for a voluntary dissolution on Jan. 27.

Representatives from the three leading radio stations with Haitian programming — WSRF 1580 AM, WLQY 1320 AM and Radio Mega 1700 AM — all said they did not have a program by the name of Bel Koze Legal Show last year.

City spokeswoman Pam Solomon, who normally coordinates the city's outreach to radio stations, said she knew nothing about the program, except that her boss, City Manager Russell Benford, asked her to pay the company through the city's public relations account.

Ricardo Brutus, the nephew and former campaign manager of Mayor Andre Pierre, was arrested in March and charged with taking a bribe from North Miami businessman Shlomo Chelminsky, who was actually cooperating with authorities. While answering questions from state investigators in March, Brutus told police he prepared the radio proposal and submitted it under the name of his fiancée, Sarah Bertrand.

These revelations come from an investigative report prepared by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and released last month by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office in preparation for Brutus' Sept. 28 trial.

The one-page proposal, which was approved by Benford, who was recently hired to become a Miami-Dade County deputy mayor, contained very little information about the radio show.

A description of the show states it will have "Haitian radio advertising and promote spots, live show [sic] and host verbal announcements interview[sic]."

For four three-minute spots in October, Bel Koze Legal billed North Miami for $5,000. The city cut the check on Nov. 10, the Herald reported.

In comparison, another radio show Louvri Je hosted by Pierre Nazom Beauliere on 1700 AM also charges the city for weekly three-minute spots. His bill for an entire month, or about four spots: $500.

According to information provided by the city, North Miami pays between $450 and $1,200 monthly for outreach on predominantly Haitian radio stations.

FDLE has confirmed it is probing possible wrongdoing in the city, but declined to provide further details.

When reached by a Miami Herald reporter, Bertrand declined to discuss the matter and hung up. She did not respond to text messages sent to her cell phone.

Mayor Pierre did not respond to interview requests or text messages sent to his cell phone.

It is not uncommon for cities and government entities to reach out to the Haitian community through radio. Many Haitians, like other immigrant communities, rely on radio programs in their homeland's language as a primary source of information.

North Miami, which is about one-third Haitian, uses Haitian programming to disseminate information like telling resident about city code, governmental affairs, free services, and different issues and activities.

Guylene Berry, radio host of Koze Famn, who also hosts a monthly show for the city charges North Miami $450 a month for a 20 minute spot. Haitian radio industry is not regulated so people can charge "whatever they want," Berry said.

"I would never ask the city for $5,000 for three-minute spots in one month," she said. "But it really depends on what the customer is willing to pay."

 

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)

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