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[Mike]

2 arrested in probe of condo kickbacks
HALLANDALE BEACH

2 arrested in probe of condo kickbacks

Two arrests have been made and more are expected after a 17-month investigation into financial fraud at a Hallandale Beach condominium.



Article Courtesy of Miami Herald

By DIANA MOSKOVITZ AND ANI MARTINEZ

Published May 24, 2007

A contractor and a former condo manager were arrested Wednesday in a Hallandale Beach fraud case that investigators say could reach into the millions of dollars.

The 17-month investigation of financial doings at Parker Plaza Estates condo is expected to yield two more arrests -- including a former condo president.

Hallandale Beach police announced the arrests in a meeting Wednesday with state lawmakers and condo residents. They outlined a simple plot showing how at least one board member at Parker Plaza Estates allegedly created a kickback scheme with a contractor and two others, skimming money earmarked for renovations and upkeep of the 520-unit building, at 2030 S. Ocean Dr.
''We were friends with some of these people,'' said Ellie Pinkus, wife of the board's current president, Donald Pinkus. ''One of the men ate at my house, and it makes my blood boil that while he had our food in his stomach, he also had his hand in our pockets,'' Pinkus said.

Police said the ongoing investigation shows that the stealing started in 2003. But it is unclear how




When asked how far-reaching the fraud was, Hallandale Beach Detective Eric Williams said, 'I don't know if we can ever answer that question.'


far-reaching the fraud was -- and how much money residents, mostly retirees from the northeast and Canada, may have lost.

''I don't know if we can ever answer that question,'' said detective Eric Williams, of the city's Economic Crimes unit.

Arrested so far are former condo manager Robert Hittner, 59, of Cooper City, and independent contractor Ira Silver, 62, of Fort Lauderdale. Both were charged with organized fraud. They bonded out of jail late Wednesday.

If convicted, each man could face up to 15 years in prison.

Former condo president Joseph Greenberg, 83, is expecting to be arrested and will turn himself in on Friday, said his attorney, Scott Saul.

''We don't anticipate a trial,'' Saul said Wednesday. ``We are not having an adversarial relationship with law enforcement.''

Greenberg already has admitted taking part in the fraud, Williams said.

He already faces charges of violation of banking regulations for allegedly improperly depositing almost $200,000 over a period of a year into several personal bank accounts.

A warrant has been issued for a fourth person, but police would not name him.

LINE OF TRANSACTIONS

Police gave this account of how the scheme worked: A board member would work with two condo association employees to create overestimates for work that needed to be done at the H-shaped condo. Property manager Hittner would make recommendations for the work. Contractor Silver would collect the money, cash the checks and give some back.

Investigators still are adding up how much was lost, but they say Silver kicked back at least $1.4 million over several years to parties that police will not identify.

''There were many kickback transactions that took place, and although not present for all of them, this employee still received a percentage to stay silent,'' a police case summary said of one unidentified employee of a contracting firm who was given immunity in exchange for his testimony.

The board also agreed to a recommendation to take out a line of credit, eventually taking on $11 million in debt. The condo association still is responsible for that debt.
In November 2005, by the time the condo manager suggested a $14.3 million project for hurricane doors and windows, the kickback plan was in full swing, investigators say.

Robert Fisher, who recently stepped down as board president after serving one year, remembers unit owners were in an uproar, but the old nine-member board would not listen.

''We knew the numbers didn't add up,'' Fisher said.

Unit owners tried unsuccessfully to oust the board, the majority of which had been serving since the late 1990s.

They finally elected a board will all new faces in February 2006.

RESIDENTS ORGANIZE

Unit owners were suspicious of all the big-ticket items.

Fisher started a grass-roots campaign for change. He ran into unit owners in the lobby. One said, ''If you hire an attorney, I'm in,'' he recalled.

Eventually, Fisher collected $225 apiece from 150 unit owners -- enough to hire an attorney.

Last year, Fisher helped bring a civil suit against 12 people -- including the nine former board members and the condo association itself.

That case, alleging mismanagement and negligence, will continue.

NAMED IN THE SUIT

Some board members named in the civil suit said they had nothing to do with fraud and expressed shock over the arrests.

''I am not saying that everyone has clean hands, but my hands aren't dirty,'' said Maxine Paris, who served from 2003 to 2005.

``If I saw anything going wrong, it would not have gone on.''

As for the hurricane windows and doors, when the new board finally was in place, they had the same project done for some $9 million less.

[mike]

Condo scam suspect, 83, is a poker pro
BY JENNIFER MOONEY PIEDRA
Joseph Greenberg, the former Hallandale Beach condo board president about to be charged in a million-dollar kickback scheme, spent many weekends at casino poker tournaments with his 46-year-old girlfriend.

Neighbors say the 83-year-old Greenberg's lavish lifestyle could have sparked his involvement in the plot to steal money earmarked for renovations and upkeep of the 520-unit Parker Plaza Estates condominium.

A World War II veteran, Greenberg is expected to be charged today with organized fraud and illegally making deposits to avoid detection, said Hallandale Beach police Detective Eric Williams.

His lawyer, Scott Saul, says his client is ''cooperating fully with police.'' He already has given a sworn statement implicating himself and others in plots to defraud the condo at 2030 S. Ocean Dr.

Authorities say the kickbacks could reach into the millions.

Greenberg often took trips to casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Mississippi to play poker, his attorney said. At times, he was accompanied by Lilyana Traub, 46, his girlfriend of several years. She could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Saul said Thursday his client is a professional poker player -- not a gambling addict. He uses his military pension to stake himself in the games, the lawyer says.

''It would be completely inaccurate to say his involvement with the board and with the money was to fuel gambling,'' he said. ``He's a poker player. That's how he makes a living.''

He has been playing poker professionally for 30 years and travels nationwide to compete in Texas Hold 'Em tournaments, Saul said.

RETIRED IN '70S

Greenberg, a Canadian construction company owner, retired to South Florida in the 1970s.

Neighbors said his life changed dramatically after the death of his wife Bea in July 2002.

He began dating Traub a year later. She divides her time between his Hallandale Beach condo and her Plantation home.

The couple has had a rocky relationship, according to police reports.

Officers were called to Greenberg's condo at least five times in less than three years, after neighbors heard the couple fighting, screaming and breaking things.

In 2004, police broke up an argument between the two after Greenberg accused Traub of stealing his money belt, which contained $12,000 cash, according to records.

On more than one occasion, Traub told police that Greenberg physically abused her.

''He's hitting me! He's hitting me! Help!'' she screamed when when a building security officer walked into his condo in 2005, records say.

When police arrived, Greenberg told them his girlfriend had been ''up all night drinking'' and ``yelling at him.''

Traub often hid telephones and accused him of cheating, the reports say.

In January 2006, while Greenberg was vacationing with a tour group in Atlantic City, Traub repeatedly called the tour director's cellphone, harassing her about how much money Greenberg had lost, according to a police report.

IRATE CALLS

Traub said she ''was going to kill'' the tour director if she had any more contact with her boyfriend, police records show.

When asked about the couple's relationship and the calls to police, Saul said he wasn't involved in his client's personal life.

''I don't know about that,'' he said. ``I'm his lawyer, not his roommate.''

Meanwhile, police made no new arrests Thursday in connection with the fraud case at Parker Plaza. A former condo employee who is out of town is expected to be arrested when he returns, Detective Williams said.

According to police, the scheme was successful because a board member worked with two condo employees to create overestimates for work, including a $14.3 million project to install hurricane windows and doors.

The property manager, Robert Hittner, 59, made recommendations for the work. The contractor, Ira Silver, 62, would collect the money, cash the checks and give some back, according to investigators.

Investigators suspect Silver kicked back at least $1.4 million over several years.

''I feel betrayed,'' said Parker Plaza resident Vito Palma, 68. ``They used us and stole our money.''

Greenberg is the only former board member who has been implicated. The investigation is ongoing, Williams said.

But others on the nine-member board say they had no idea of Greenberg's dealings.

''I knew nothing,'' said former board member Mickie Wohl, 77. ``I did nothing wrong.''

Dave Thomas, 61, who served on the board for a year, also denied any involvement.

''I was shocked by it,'' he said.

News of the arrests also shocked Maxine Paris, who spent four years on the board. Paris, 78, said she and other board members, including Greenberg, spent hours every day volunteering their time.

They'd discuss plans, help residents and interview prospective buyers.

Every proposed project was discussed by the entire board and all members were required to sign off on them, she said. There were no signs of shady deals, Paris said.

''How could this go on right in front of your face and you not know it?'' she said. ``I'm still having trouble figuring out how this could happen.''

Miami Herald staff writer Wanda J. DeMarzo contributed to this report.

[mike]

Q:How do I know if there is wrongdoing? It seems as if we have had a lot of special assessments and I don't see any work being done.

A: Go to meetings to see what your board is doing. Check minutes of past board meetings. Ask for copies of bids for work. Check with other companies to see what their prices are. It's a red flag if they would charge much less. Obtain copies of canceled checks -- both sides. It's another red flag if a property manager or board member co-endorses checks to vendors.

If your board or property managers don't want to provide copies of these records, that is also a sign that something could be wrong.

Q:How do I read my community association's financial records?

A: Check to see that your community is getting what it pays for. Do you pay the property management company for employees to work 40 hours but they're there for only 32? Does your community pay for grass cutting twice a month but workers mow it only once? Did your association pay for thousands of plants but only hundreds arrived? If there are any discrepancies, you should document them and alert your board and neighbors -- and police if you think there is criminal wrongdoing.

Q:My community association seems to waste a lot of money. Where can I turn it in?

A: Boards can't be prosecuted for mismanagement, only for stealing or for fraud. Boards members may intend to do well but not understand the complex legal and financial issues. You should encourage -- and vote for -- qualified people to run for the board. Volunteer to help.

[mike]

A group of condo retirees used their years of work experience to unravel an alleged kickback scheme at the Parker Plaza Estates condominium in Hallandale Beach.
BY TRENTON DANIEL, JENNIFER LEBOVICH AND JENNIFER MOONEY PIEDRA
tdaniel@MiamiHerald.com

Call them Fisher & Pinkus.

Robert Fisher, 56, had expertise in architecture and construction; his wife Julie was skilled in bookkeeping. Don Pinkus, 68, a retired U.S. Customs officer, knew how to investigate wrongdoing.

The trio, along with a handful of others at Hallandale Beach's Parker Plaza Estates, feared something was crooked at their 20-story waterfront condo.

A raucous November 2005 meeting confirmed suspicions that had arisen in 2003:

The $14.3 million the condo board wanted to spend on hurricane windows and doors -- announced at a hastily called meeting -- sounded outrageous.

''There were gasps among the gallery,'' Lisa Hermann, an attorney Fisher hired to file a lawsuit, said of the day the bid was announced. ``A lot of people spoke at the meeting, and it was very heated.''

About 200 residents poured into the lobby to protest.

Three months later, angry residents unseated the nine-member condo board. That's when Fisher & Pinkus' unofficial investigation truly began.

Fisher, who once owned an architecture firm, had started thinking distrustful thoughts about the board two years earlier, when members said they wanted to borrow $11 million for improvements.

''They told everyone we didn't need to pay it back,'' Fisher said.

The board told residents it would take out a 30-year loan for $11 million, rather than hit them with an assessment. The monthly repayment, they said, would come out of maintenance fees.

Fisher offered again and again to help the board seek bids. The members, again and again, were not interested.

''They were not open to anyone else helping them out,'' he said.

The board borrowed the money. Soon, work was under way: a renovated gym with new equipment; a $200,000 fountain outside the driveway.

Because the board sought virtually no input from residents, nobody knew exactly how the money was spent, Fisher said.

''They had arguments when people wanted to discuss things,'' he said. ``We weren't allowed to comment.''

Residents' concerns grew when the board hired Jill Rosenhaus, a Miami interior designer, and paid her more than $350,000 to spruce up the place. Rosenhaus, whose son Drew is a top agent for pro football players, is the sister-in-law of Robert Hittner, one of three facing charges.

Meanwhile, the Parker Plaza team of unofficial investigators -- Pinkus, the Fishers and attorney Hermann had been joined by an accountant and two residents with maintenance backgrounds -- were moving forward. They relied on each other's expertise.

''It was a real collective endeavor,'' Pinkus said.

Julie Fisher, 50, took on the job of poring through invoices and bank statements -- some piled more than a foot high in the condo office.

''The old board wasn't savvy enough to shred all that material,'' said Virgil Rizzo, the state former condo ombudsman whose office oversaw a new board election.

The paper trail kept Fisher busy nearly eight hours a day, five days a week, for about three months.

''We were happy to be making forward progress and finding things we knew weren't right,'' she said. She had kept the books at her husband's architecture and construction firm in Miami before they retired.

Pinkus, who retired from Customs three years ago after investigating money laundering and narcotics cases, pitched in.

The aim: ''Ferreting out things that looked suspicious,'' said Pinkus, the current condo board president. ``If it didn't look right, we turned it over to police.''

Among items that piqued their curiousity: a large number of checks that were cashed at local check-cashing stores.

A 50 percent deposit -- $330,000 -- for a new roof was made before work was started. The contractor went out of business before construction began. A new board later installed determined the condo didn't need a new roof.

By the time annual elections rolled around last year, residents petitioned the state for a monitor.

There had been questions in the past about how the votes were counted. Most of the board members had been serving since the late 1990s.

In the February 2006 election, all nine incumbents were ousted, and a new slate was voted in.

''Everyone knew it was time for a change,'' Fisher said. ``We had to stop what was going on.''

The new board proceeded with the hurricane protection work -- for about $9 million less than the original estimate.

So far, three people have been arrested and one more person is expected to be charged in what authorities say is a kickback scheme to defraud residents out of millions.

Joseph Greenberg, 83, the former condo president, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he illegally deposited $200,000 into personal bank accounts to avoid detection. He was released on bond.

Greenberg is the only former board member who has been implicated. Police say the investigation is ongoing.

[Guest]

ok let me see if i got this down correct
1st you remove the Board
then you look at the books they wouldn't show to anyone
then you find the proof of wrong doing, if any
then you get the wrong doers arrested
and then you sue them to get your money back
is that it?

[Guest]

[Guest]

[Guest]

not exactly. first you hire a lawyer for $30,000. then the attorney goes to the police. then people know it's serious and they elect a new board.

[Mike]

Accused condo worker lived lavishly
BY NATALIE P. McNEAL
Angel Ramos' lifestyle as a longtime Hallandale Beach condo maintenance supervisor seemed curious to some, even a bit lavish: He had an extensive wine collection, took 30-day vacations and drove a shiny E-class Mercedes-Benz.
''He lived like a millionaire, not a man making $70,000 in today's world,'' said Sy Kessler, a longtime owner at the Parker Plaza Estates condos who knew Ramos more than 30 years.

Police think there may be a reason.

Wearing a yellow Ralph Lauren sweater, Ramos, 77, turned himself in at Broward County's main jail on Monday and was charged with felony organized fraud.

He is the fourth person arrested in connection with what police are calling an elaborate condo kickback scheme that allegedly bilked unit owners at Parker Plaza Estates out of at least $1.4 million.

He would have been arrested with the three others, but Ramos was on vacation, Hallandale Beach police said.

Ramos' attorney, David Bogenschutz, said his client is not guilty.

''If there are any improprieties in that condominium, I haven't seen anything yet that shows that he's part of [the alleged scheme],'' Bogenschutz said.

A woman who answered the phone at Ramos' home Monday said the family ``had nothing to say at this point.''

Friendly. Outgoing. Social. That's what other condo owners at Parker Plaza had to say about Ramos after his arrest Monday.

People said Ramos was a friend and neighbor. He had worked at the condo for more than 30 years -- about as long as the building had been standing -- and eventually bought a unit there.

But police describe a different man.

They say Ramos was part of a calculating gang that skimmed money from a fund earmarked for renovations and upkeep of the 520-unit building at 2030 S. Ocean Dr.

The group included former condo president Joseph Greenberg, 83; independent contractor Ira Silver, 62; and former Parker Plaza manager Robert Hittner, 59, authorities said.

This is how the scheme worked, according to police:

A board member would work with two condo association employees to create overestimates for work that needed to be done at Parker Plaza. Condo manager Hittner would make recommendations for the work. Silver, the contractor, would collect the money, cash the checks and give some back.

Ramos, whose job was to oversee the condo's porters and make sure everything worked properly in the building, stopped working as the maintenance chief two years ago after a new board came in and cleaned house.

Friends recalled consoling Ramos when his wife died after an illness, and when his son needed a kidney transplant. They congratulated him when he remarried. Ramos was always helpful and a good worker, said those who knew him.

''He was a good maintenance engineer. No one ever realized what was happening here, '' said Don Pinkus, a retired U.S. Customs officer who lives in the condo and had gone to dinner several times with Ramos.

''He was social, friendly and pleasant,'' Kessler said. ``But he's one of the people who had his hand in my back pocket.''

[Mike]

Hallandale condo residents key in uncovering kickback case


By Ihosvani Rodriguez
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

May 29, 2007



Donald Pinkus is a retiree who made a career out of sniffing out fraud.

When he retired three years ago, the former U.S. Custom's investigator didn't know he would be back looking into a scheme, this time in his own condo building.

Pinkus, the president of Parker Plaza Estates condo association in Hallandale Beach, is among the handful of angry residents whose detective work has been credited in leading to four arrests in an alleged kickback scheme at the 520-unit high-rise.

The residents' investigation led to a criminal investigation that involves association representatives requiring contractors to kick back a portion of what the condo paid them for various services, police said.

"This time it was more personal," said Pinkus, 68, of his investigative work.

On Monday morning, the building's former maintenance engineer became the fourth person arrested following a two-year investigation by the Hallandale Beach Police Department. The investigation was prompted after Pinkus and others began digging and found discrepancies in the association's financial books, police said.

Angel Ramos, 77, was being held at the Broward County Jail late Monday after he surrendered while accompanied by an attorney. Ramos was out of town last week when a warrant for his arrest was issued, said Hallandale Police Detective Eric Williams.

Ramos is charged with organized fraud and his bail was set at $25,000, according to court records.

Ramos, who is still a resident of the building, was fired about two years ago when the residents began looking into the possible scheme, said Pinkus.

Up until his firing, Ramos was known as a friendly figure who spent his days roaming the building looking for things to fix.

On several occasions, Pinkus had Ramos over for dinner.

"Not only did he have my food in his stomach, but he also had his hand in my pocket," said Pinkus.

On Monday, Pinkus gave credit to police and fellow residents Robert Fisher and his wife, Julie, who poured over 40 boxes of association documents.

Pinkus said suspicions began after a previous board attempted to assess owners $14.3 million to replace windows with impact glass.

The windows were ultimately replaced for $5.5 million. Police say the scheme may have cost apartment owners up to $4 million in unnecessary assessments.

Others arrested so far in the case include former association president Joseph D. Greenberg, 83; Ira Silver, 62, a Fort Lauderdale plumbing contractor; and Robert M. Hittner, 58, of Cooper City, a former building manager.

Williams said on Monday that more arrests are "very probable."

Pinkus said since the news of the scheme broke last week, he has been receiving three to four calls each day from residents of other condos who suspect wrongdoings in their own associations.

Ihosvani Rodriguez can be reached at ijrodriguez@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7908.

[Frustrated Owner]

[Guest]

Hallandale condo crime fighters gain star status
BY DIANA MOSKOVITZ
dmoskovitz@MiamiHerald.com
Calls have been coming in from condominiums across South Florida to the people behind the Parker Plaza Estates investigation, all asking the same questions:

How did you do it?

And can you help me?

The case led to four arrests and uncovered at least $1.4 million bilked from unit owners at the Hallandale Beach condo, with the money going back to a few select people instead of actual building needs, according to Hallandale Beach police.

The story caught the attention of condo owners across the region, and people from Miami Beach to Palm Beach County have been calling those who cracked the case for advice.

Current condo board president Don Pinkus was one of the residents who suspected wrongdoing. He helped gather evidence and brought it to Hallandale Beach police Detective Eric Williams.

INCOMING CALLS

Pinkus gets two or three calls a day, which he doesn't mind.

''We're more than happy to give anybody guidance who wants to call,'' said Pinkus, 68.

Williams said he explains how residents can get their local police to listen to them, using Parker Plaza as an example.

The key part, he said, is going to police with documents showing wrongdoing, like canceled checks or bizarre contracts. A hunch that something is amiss isn't enough to get a police investigation started.

''There is a lot of burden left on the residents of the condos and incoming boards to develop the evidence,'' Williams said.

Williams said he left his first meeting with Parker Plaza residents with half a box full of documents. Many more boxes followed.

''They did a superb job,'' Williams said.

Another key is patience. The Parker Plaza case took 17 months, and it still continues.

Residents estimate they lost about $4 million based upon contracts showing how much was charged in the contracts versus how much they estimate the work should have cost. This leaves about $2.6 million still unaccounted for.

FOUR CHARGED

The four men charged so far: former condo president Joseph Greenberg, 83; independent contractor Ira Silver, 62; former Parker Plaza manager Robert Hittner, 59; and building maintenance supervisor Angel Ramos, 77.

Now the investigation is focusing on whether other contractors set up similar kickback schemes at Parker Plaza. Williams also has taken statements from people at other Hallandale Beach condos, which he declined to name.

Williams and Pinkus said they were glad to help as many people as they can. But don't expect them to actually investigate your condo.

Most of the condos are outside Detective Williams' jurisdiction -- Hallandale Beach is only 4.5 square miles in Broward's southeast corner -- so he can't look into many of the claims.

As for Pinkus, the retired U.S. Customs officer said he only works for his building.

''I try to help them as much as I can,'' he said. ``But I'm not for hire.''

[Guest]

there's plenty of information so why no action here?


[quote="Anonymous"]Hallandale condo crime fighters gain star status
BY DIANA MOSKOVITZ
dmoskovitz@MiamiHerald.com




Williams said he explains how residents can get their local police to listen to them, using Parker Plaza as an example.

[color=#ff0000]The key part, he said, is going to police with documents showing wrongdoing, like canceled checks or bizarre contracts. A hunch that something is amiss isn't enough to get a police investigation started.

''There is a lot of burden left on the residents of the condos and incoming boards to develop the evidence,'' Williams said.

Williams said he left his first meeting with Parker Plaza residents with half a box full of documents. Many more boxes followed.

''They did a superb job,'' Williams said.

Another key is patience. The Parker Plaza case took 17 months, and it still continues.

Residents estimate they lost about $4 million based upon contracts showing how much was charged in the contracts versus how much they estimate the work should have cost. This leaves about $2.6 million still unaccounted for.[/color]

[Guest]

Police: Payoff in Hallandale fraud case was hush money
BY DIANA MOSKOVITZ
Three of the men accused of bilking $1.4 million from Hallandale Beach condominium owners paid a building employee $86,000 to keep quiet about the fraud, according to police.
One place allegedly used as a payoff site: the parking lot of a Miami-Dade Wal-Mart.

Valerie Davis, 45, worked for several years as an assistant condo manager at Parker Plaza Estates, 2030 S. Ocean Dr.

Then, according to police, she discovered her boss, Robert Hittner, 59, and three other men were scheming to inflate bids for work and keep the overpayments.

So several of the men now charged with organized fraud in the case started paying off Davis, according to police documents.

When she left the condo, the money kept coming to keep her quiet, police said.

Now she is cooperating with investigators.

''She is looking forward to closing this horrific chapter in her life,'' said Davis' attorney, Brian Bieber. ``Unfortunately, she got swept away in the hurricane of cash.''

Hittner's lawyer, Bruce Zimet, said his client would plead not guilty. As part of the defense, Zimet said he would evaluate the accuracy of Davis' statements.

''A lot of people say a lot of things that aren't necessarily correct,'' Zimet said.

Four men are charged in the case: Hittner; former condo president Joseph Greenberg, 83; contractor Ira Silver, 62; and maintenance supervisor Angel Ramos, 77. Hittner made at least some of the payments, and Ramos and Greenberg knew about them, the arrest documents stated. Silver was named in police documents, but not in connection to the alleged bribes.

Investigators say the men created a system where the condo board would approve overestimates for work at the building and have Silver return the extra money -- totaling about $1.4 million -- to the other three.

Davis won't face criminal charges because investigators had no evidence against her before taking her statement, which she gave in return for immunity, said Hallandale Beach police Detective Eric Williams, who led the investigation.

But Davis is named in a civil suit brought against the old management and former board members. As part of that suit, Davis is paying back all the money she got, said Bieber, although he would not say how much.

Arrest documents put the amount at $86,000. While at the building, Davis noticed closed-door meetings with vendors and other suspicious behavior, Bieber said.

CONFRONTATION

Ramos confronted Davis at her Sanibel Island home about the situation.

'He instructed her that she could `keep her mouth closed' about what she knew and that she would receive a portion of the proceeds at her office at the condominium,'' according to arrest reports filed against all four men.

Davis feared consequences if she didn't take the money from her superiors, Bieber said.

A painting contract netted Davis $20,000; a proposal to replace 520 air conditioners in the building got her another $20,000.

QUIT IN 2002

Davis left the condo in 2002, but the men feared that Davis, when no longer under their control, would start talking. So they kept paying her, police said.

She got another $46,000 from Hittner over time, Davis said; he would pay her either at his home or in the parking lot of a Miami-Dade Wal-Mart, Davis told police.

During his investigation, Williams heard that Davis was rec

[Mike]

The arrest affidavit

http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2007/05/30/17/Kickback31.source.prod_affiliate.56.pdf