This Tuesday, Joe Carollo’s testimony was expected in the case that two Miami businessmen filed against him, but the commissioner did not come to court and what his defense did was ask for the annulment of the trial.
This Monday was the last we saw of Commissioner Joe Carollo around 6 p.m. when he walked out with his wife outside the federal courthouse where the trial is taking place. But for the first time since the start of the trial on the lawsuit against him, he did not appear in court today.
When plaintiffs’ attorneys told the judge they would call him as a witness in their case, Mark Sarnoff, one of the defense attorneys, said he had a medical condition and was was at the doctor.
Federal court judge Rodney Smith asked him why the court hadn’t been told sooner, to which the attorney apologized. The judge asked if Carollo was seriously ill, in the hospital, because if he was not, he should appear this Tuesday as soon as possible.
The lawyer replied that the Commissioner suffered from asthma and that he had difficulty breathing. Plaintiffs’ attorneys hope Carollo can testify tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the defense has filed a motion to have the trial dismissed because, according to a document released by Carollo’s lawyers late Thursday in court, a man identified as Zack Bush, a business partner of plaintiffs Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla-, followed a juror to the garage in front of the courthouse.
The motion from the defense of Joe Carollo who tried to have the trial dismissed states that a man approached jury number 3 and said: “You have to go on social media, on the Internet and see that people were followed and we have to see what this defendant is capable of.
The jury immediately reported it to the court, but the judge denied the motion and ordered the jury to follow the rules.
Meanwhile, the jury heard further testimony from former Miami city administrator Emilio González, who concluded his statement by saying, “It’s horrible when people live in fear of their own government. It happens in other countries and it happened in the city of Miami”.
Carollo should be able to testify this Wednesday when he will be called again to the stand by lawyers for Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla. In the coming days, the commissioner’s defense will begin presenting their witnesses.