Former Miami Mayor Joe Carollo is sentenced to pay 63 million to two businessmen

Former Miami mayor of Cuban origin Joe Carollo, current councilman for District 3 of that Florida city that includes the popular Little Havana neighborhood, was sentenced this Thursday to pay a total of 63.5 million dollars to two businessmen who sued him for a case of abuse of power and political retaliation.

Local media report the jury's sentence against Carollo, 68 years old and born in the Cuban town of Caibarien, which follows the civil lawsuit filed by businessmen Bill Fuller and Martín Pinilla, who alleged that Carollo used his position to harass them and damage your reputation.

The reason for Carollo's reprisals was allegedly that the businessmen electorally supported his political opponent Alfonso “Alfie” Leon, in 2017.

The businessmen denounced that Carollo violated their First Amendment rights, which protects freedom of expression, for which the jury determined that he must respond for damages with that million-dollar amount to the businessmen.

In the trial, which lasted more than 50 days, the lawyers for the businessmen stressed that Fuller and Pinilla, real estate investors, worked to restore historic properties along 8th Street and revitalizing Little Havana, but that all changed when Commissioner Joe Carollo came to power.

Carollo's attorney, Mason Pertnoy, called the allegation a “violation of First Amendment rights” like a fantasy.

Pertnoy further argued to the jury that the businessmen pressured Carollo for doing his duty and that the investors would have started construction work without the necessary permits.

According to the verdict, Carollo must pay $8.6 million in compensatory damages and $25.7 million in punitive damages to employer Bill Fuller.

To that amount must be added another 7.3 million in compensatory payments and 21.9 million in punitive damages to Martin Pinilla, also a businessman, Fuller's partner, who owns the Ball and Chain restaurant.

The plaintiffs had requested an amount of 10 to 20 million dollars as compensatory damages and 20 to 40 million as punitive damages, according to local media.

A federal jury from Fort Lauderdale, a city located about 24 miles (38 kilometers) from Miami, determined that Carollo was responsible for the prosecution in the trial for this civil case.

Throughout the trial, jurors heard testimony from dozens of witnesses as attorneys for Fuller and Pinilla tried to convince them that the councilman was a man who used threats to achieve his goals.

The defense attorneys they did their best to contradict that narrative and ensure that Carollo did not try to hurt business owners and that his goal was always to work to improve his district.