Suspicions of bribes emerge in construction of collapsed building in Miami

Days and hours go by, efforts to rescue victims continue slowly, and theories are growing as to what could have happened that 55 apartments at the Champlain Tours complex collapsed on Thursday, at that fatal moment. But there is also other news that points to a possible illicit crime plot: according to a report by The Washington Post, the builders of the collapsed Miami building long ago accused of paying bribes to local officials to obtain building permits in the area.

The Post noted that among the builders and designers of the Surfside complex Nathan Reiber was, a Canadian of Polish origin who died in 2014 of cancer.

The construction company’s rivals claimed that the partners behind the uprising of the Champlain Towers, according to the newspaper of the American capital they received preferential treatment when it came to approving the authorization system when it was built in 1981.

The information, gathered by other American and international media, indicates that the builders who were very strong at the time in Surfside, had contributed to the campaigns. at least two members of the council of that county.

All directors suspected of having participated in the design and construction of the building they are already deceased. The developers behind the project included Reiber, who was indicted in the 1970s for tax evasion in Canada, and even cited with an arrest warrant while in Florida, the Hamilton Spectator in Ontario reported.

Later, in 1981, Reiber, who was a lawyer, was again accused of tax evasion in neighboring country and cited for professional misconduct by the Law Society of Upper Canada, according to the Post. He was finally able to settle the case by returning to Canada and paying a fine of $ 60,000.

Raiber and his partners who are developing buildings in Canada were also tasked with steal tens of thousands of dollars coin-operated washing machine complexes that also issued $ 120,000 in fraudulent construction checks.

In Florida

In Florida, Reiber and his partners were unable to begin construction of the complex due to a 1979 debt with the county for faulty sewers, the Post said. The suspicion of bribery arises because Reiber agreed to pay off half of the $ 400,000 debt for the property’s sewer repairs and was then given the go-ahead from the county. Suspicion is growing because the builders have contributed to the campaigns of at least two members of the city council.

This angered rival manufacturers, whose plans were still hampered by similar debts and who denounced special treatment for Reiber. Accused of having bought favors from the authorities, the owners of Champlain asked the officials to return the builder’s contributions.

Likewise, the Canadian of Polish descent still seems have had county approval. In fact, he was given the key to the city after the completion of the Champlain Towers complex in 1986.

This report comes days after it was revealed that in 2018 engineer Frank Morabito presented a report to the city in which he warned of danger “Structural damage”, from the initial construction: the pool deck did not drain well and was not properly waterproofed and the accumulated water leaked onto the concrete slabs in the garage and corroded the columns. It was unclear whether county officials were requiring resort owners to correct these flaws.

One of the companies, Brieterman, Jurado and Associates, was mentioned in the reports as one of the culprits for the structural and electrical problems in the construction of the Champlain. Breiterman is deceased. Asked by the Post, Jurado said he had done nothing with waterproofing or inspections. “To be honest, I don’t remember”, said Jurado, 92. “I don’t even remember that building in Surfside.”

From President Joe Biden and Florida Governor Ron de Santis to local officials, they all promise to investigate what happened. For this, a team of structural engineers came from all over the country to examine the rubble and Obtain evidence for further investigation. But structural engineers consulted by Clarin agree that this is a complex task that can take years.

Among the missing are several citizens of Latin American countries. One of them is the Chilean lawyer Claudio Bonnefoy, a close friend of the former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet. His daughter, Pascale Bonnefoy, who traveled to Miami to closely monitor the rescue operations, pointed to the “hard” work of the rescuers, but asked what had happened. “Solidarity, we have received a lot, and it has been very pleasant, but I think that what you have to do is investigate the causesHe told CNN.