FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Testimony in the federal civil trial of a Miami commissioner came from two high-ranking staff members on Wednesday. Rachel Dooley, senior assistant city attorney for Miami, was back on the stand as was city manager Art Noriega.
Dooley told jurors that she became familiar with the two Miami businessmen who filed the lawsuit against Carollo, Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, because the two were cited frequently for code violations.
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Carollo’s defense team has been trying to show that Fuller and Pinilla had no respect for city permitting rules, but Fuller and Pinilla’s attorneys say the repeated violations and constant code enforcement inspections are evidence of the commissioner using city resources to target their businesses.
Noriega testified that Carollo, to his knowledge, has never ordered his staff to do anything.
This was the last day of testimony for about two weeks in the case. Jurors won’t be back in court until after Memorial Day.
On Monday, the civil trial entered its sixth week.