MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – An operations supervisor with the city of Miami Beach used government resources and staff for private purposes, which yielded a home kayak rack and an investigation that got him fired, according to the Miami-Dade’s state attorney and city officials.
An investigation was launched following a tip that Cadel Aldana, operations supervisor in Miami Beach’s facilities and fleet department since 2017, had directed a subordinate to construct a large metal storage bracket and that it was built during work hours on city premises.
Recommended Videos
According to a police report, the bracket ended up in the backyard of Aldana’s home in Hialeah where it was being used as a kayak holder. The report said Aldana instructed another subordinate to create a city work order for “brackets for a saddle mounted toolbox.”
The incident happened in October 2020 and cost city taxpayers $670.20, according to a police report. A few months after the job was finished, the staffer that had done the fabrication of the brackets received a photograph from Aldana showing the brackets in the back of a private home being used as a kayak rack.
A search warrant turned up the metal rack and it was confiscated.
The investigation, conducted jointly by the Miami Beach Inspector General’s Office and the Miami Beach Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, led to the City’s termination of Aldana’s employment last week, according to the attorney’s office.
Aldana turned himself in and is facing a misdemeanor charge of theft and a third-degree felony charge related to official misconduct.