The Associated Press
MIAMI, FL — The free use of a luxury SUV for more than a year by Miami Police Chief John Timoney became quite costly Thursday.
The day began with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust fining Timoney $500 – plus $342.50 in administrative costs — for the chief’s failure to disclose his 14-month extended “test drive” of a Lexus hybrid SUV.
Later Thursday, Timoney’s City Hall supervisor, Miami City Manager Pete Hernandez, announced he was docking the chief a week’s pay — $4,348 — for the transgression.
“It’s a serious error in judgment,” Hernandez said. “And it was dumb.”
Hernandez’s action brought Thursday’s total disciplinary tab to $5,190.50. The city manager, however, defended Timoney’s overall job performance and said harsher punishment, such as suspension or termination, was not warranted.
Timoney did not appear before the ethics commission as the panel made its decision, nor was he present at Hernandez’s City Hall press conference.
In a written statement, Timoney stressed that ethics investigators uncovered no evidence that he asked the Lexus of Kendall dealership for a free car or had used his high-profile post to pressure the dealership into giving him the perk. He also noted that Lexus of Kendall is not a city of Miami vendor.
“It is now time to move on and put this episode behind us,” Timoney said in the statement. “We have much great work to do in the Miami Police Department and we must now get on with it.”
In addition to the fine, Timoney also agreed to accept a letter of reprimand from the ethics commission. In sharp language, the letter criticized his conduct.
‘Chief Timoney admitted in a sworn statement that he was contacted by a Lexus of Kendall representative and was offered the use of the SUV as part of a ‘test drive’/’marketing technique,’ ” the letter states.
‘Chief Timoney’s belief that the use of the free car did not constitute a ‘gift’ to him because the title of the vehicle never transferred is not only disingenuous but illogical and without merit.”
The letter points out that the dealership even paid the insurance costs for the SUV while Timoney used it, essentially giving him “a free one year lease of a vehicle.”
Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff’s office has estimated the value of Timoney’s test drive to be somewhere between $8,000 and $12,000.
“The gift disclosure requirement is intended to increase the transparency of government and reduce the public perception that government officials are hiding information from them,” the reprimand letter continues. “Chief Timoney’s shortsightedness brought these problems on himself.”
The controversy began in August when WFOR-CBS 4 reported that Timoney had driven the SUV free of charge for more than a year. The report prompted Timoney to buy the vehicle at sticker price – $54,269.11.
The chief, while emphasizing he did nothing illegal, has acknowledged that accepting the dealership’s generosity was “boneheaded” and “stupid.”
In response to the widespread criticism of his free ride, Timoney contributed $1,500 each to The Boys and Girls Club of Miami, Shake-a-Leg Foundation, and the Liberty City Optimist Club. He also wrote a letter of apology.