Miami Judge Faces Ethics Charge Over Free Hotel Stays Tied to Husband's Corruption Case
The JQC recommended a public reprimand and a $5,000 fine for Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria D. Ortiz.
May 07, 2018 at 12:47 PM
4 minute read
Miami-Dade County Court Judge Maria D. Ortiz stipulated to ethics violations for free hotel stays she shared with her husband, who faces corruption charges.
Ortiz is married to the former director of Miami Beach's building department, Mariano Fernandez, who lost his job amid scandal. Her husband is charged with felony counts alleging he accepted free hotel stays and other valuable gifts to speed up city permits for Spain's RIU Hotel Group.
An investigative panel of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, which examines allegations of misconduct by state jurists, said it found probable cause to launch disciplinary proceedings against the Miami-Dade judge. It claimed Ortiz violated judicial canons by not disclosing valuable gifts, including free stays at luxury hotels in Florida, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
The JQC recommended a public reprimand and a $5,000 fine, but the Florida Supreme Court has the final word on judicial discipline.
“On three occasions when your husband received unlawful free hotel accommodations and benefits, you were actually present with your husband and shared in the free accommodations,” JQC assistant general counsel Alexander J. Williams wrote in the notice of formal charges filed Friday. “Between Aug. 7, 2015, and Aug. 9, 2015, you and your husband stayed free of charge in an expensive 'ocean front' double room at the Riu Miami Beach Hotel.”
During the stay, the hotel provided a complimentary food basket and bottle of wine.
“At the conclusion of the stay, your husband sent a bouquet of flowers to the Riu Miami Beach Hotel's general manager, with the note, 'Mucho Gracias! Maria y Mariano Fernandez,' ” according to the formal charges.
The following month, from Sept. 3-7, 2015, the judge and her husband stayed for free in the Dominican Republic at the RIU Palace Bavaro All-Inclusive Resort in Punta Cana. The five-day vacation was in a Jacuzzi suite, and they went on a special excursion to the VIP area of the Coco Bongo Punta Cana show and disco.
About a year later, the family traveled to Mexico and stayed at the RIU Palace All-Inclusive Resort in Playa del Carmen.
“ While you and several members of your immediate family stayed at the all-inclusive resort free of charge, several acquaintances and family friends, as well as numerous other members of the group, consisting of city employees and their relatives and friends, received huge discounts on their room and board,” according to the JQC, which attached hotel receipts as an exhibit in the case.
Court records show Ortiz testified she presented her personal credit card to pay for discounted stays for her children and their friends, but a hotel receipt show staff gave the judge a “special discount” that wiped out her balance of about $900.
“In response to questioning, you testified to the commission that you failed to check your account statement to see if your account was charged, being that you were generally unfamiliar with your account and its balances over time,” Williams wrote in the notice sent to the judge. “Despite that, you were able to successfully access the bonus miles generated by credit card transactions to your account to 'pay' for trips to Eastern Europe and Vietnam.”
The judge admitted she violated the state Code of Judicial Conduct.
“The respondent states that she relied on her husband to maintain the finances of the household and that he filled out her disclosure forms, which she signed without checking to see if the information was accurate,” according to a stipulation Ortiz signed and filed late Friday. “Judge Ortiz acknowledges that she failed to take any steps to verify that the information on the forms was 'true, accurate and complete' as the oath on the disclosure requires.”
Ortiz rose to the bench in 2004 after serving as a judge of compensation claims since 1997. She had an “exemplary record” and expressed sincere remorse, according to the JQC. She assured the investigative panel she would amend past filings to disclose the gifts and would prepare all future disclosure forms herself or with the help of a certified public accountant.
Ortiz did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. Her attorney, David Rothman, declined comment. Chief Circuit Judge Bertila A. Soto also declined comment, referring inquiries to the JQC.
Ortiz is the second Miami-Dade jurist to come under recent scrutiny for behavior linked to a spouse's alleged misconduct.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel resigned in April amid a JQC investigation. Zabel left office months after Miami-Dade state attorney's public corruption task force charged her husband, former North Miami Beach Mayor Myron Rosner, with four felonies but declined to prosecute her over a land deal that cost an investor $150,000.
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