Fla. Tower developer accused of paying officials: report

Developer of collapsed Miami condo building It was once accused of paying local authorities for a license for the site. This required $15 million in repairs to generate the code. the new report says

Construction competitors claim that the partners behind Surfside Champlain Towers South received special treatment when going through a permit system since the site was built in 1981, the Washington Post said.

Surfside’s developers have contributed to the campaign by at least two city council members. It then demanded a refund of the donation when the allegations surfaced.

FLORIDA GOVERNMENT DESANTIS: MIAMI SISTER A collapsed condo building may need to be evacuated.

Meanwhile, the 1

2-story tower is undergoing a $15 million renovation to provide the necessary 40 years of certification when it collapses. Killed at least nine people and left more than 150 missing on Thursday. The report added

All executives believed to be involved in the design and construction of the building have died, the store said.

The developers behind the project include Polish-born Canadian Nathan Reeber. who was once charged with tax evasion and accused of legal misconduct in Canada, the report said.

Reiber, who died in 2014, was charged with tax evasion by Canadian authorities in the 1970s when he and his partner were accused of stealing cash from an apartment building they owned.

They were accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the building’s coin-operated laundromat and about $120,000 in purses from a fake construction investigation, the Washington Post said.

Authorities later issued an arrest warrant for Reiber when he fled to Florida.

In 1984, Riber, a lawyer, was accused of professional misconduct by the Upper Canada Law Society. Tax evasion case

He eventually settled the case by returning to Canada and paying a $60,000 fine.

In Florida, Riber and his partners were unable to begin construction on the condo building initially due to the 1979 moratorium on sewers.

The developer agreed to pay half of the $400,000 tab for the repair of the sewer on the land. and received the green light This caused outrage from competing developers whose projects Still interrupted from the moratorium.

Competitors complained Reiber and his team received special treatment.

The following year, developer Champlain asked two local council members to refund their campaign contributions. amid allegations that the company paid officials to obtain licenses.

However, Reiber was given the keys to the city when the project was completed, according to his obituary following his death from cancer.

Riber’s widow and his two children did not return calls to the Washington Post.

Two other companies — Consulting Engineer Brieterman Jurado & Associates and architect William M. Friedman & Associates — were involved in the construction of the site.

Manuel Jurado told the Washington Post that his division at the company oversees electrical and mechanical work, while Brieterman oversees infrastructure.

Sertio Brieterman, the company’s chief executive died in 1990

The former vice president at the architecture firm said the Champlain tower’s design was handled by William Friedman, who died in 2018, the report said.

“It’s his project. Not mine,” said former Vice President Manuel Tapia-Ruano.

“When I joined the company The building is already built,” he said. “I don’t know anything about it.”

In 2018, the condo was referred to “Major structural damage” by a consulting firm hired by the building’s association to carry out repairs.

Engineer Frank Morabito said the “main problem” was the poor drainage of the pool deck sitting on the garage at the site.

“Failure to replace the waterproofing system in the near future will exponentially expand the extent of concrete deterioration,” the report said.

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According to the Washington Post, Morabito told the Condo Association that the work would cost $15 million, and the association had not responded for 18 months.

The first phase of work, which included roof repairs, had begun when most of the building collapsed at around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

To read more from the New York Post. click here.