Posted on 06/28/2021 8:26:58 AM PDT by rxsid
Developers of doomed Fla. tower were once accused of paying off officials: report
The developers of the Miami condo tower that collapsed were once accused of paying off local officials to get permits for the site — which needed $15 million in repairs just to bring it to code, a new report says.
Building rivals claimed that the partners behind Surfside Champlain Towers South were receiving preferential treatment when it came to getting through the permit system as the site was being built in 1981, the Washington Post said.
Surfside’s developers had contributed to the campaigns of at least two town council members, then demanded that the donations be returned when the allegations surfaced, according to the outlet.
...
All of the principals believed to have been involved in the design and construction of the building are already dead, the outlet said.
The developers behind the project had included Nathan Reiber, a Polish-born Canadian who was also once charged with tax evasion and cited for legal misconduct in Canada, the report said.
Reiber, who died in 2014, had been charged with tax evasion by Canadian authorities in the 1970s when he and his partners were accused of skimming cash from apartment buildings they owned.
They allegedly skimmed tens of thousands of dollars from coin-operated laundry machines in the buildings and pocketed about $120,000 from phony construction checks, the Washington Post said.
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The following year, the Champlain developers asked two local council members to return their campaign contributions amid accusations that the company had paid off officials to get the permits.
Two other firms — consulting engineers Brieterman Jurado & Associates and architects William M. Friedman & Associates — were involved in the construction of the site.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
...was wondering about that. Design looks the same, obviously roof is different/newer/recently redone .
Dang. Not good.
It took several minutes for the building to fall with the final even seen in the video being that last several seconds.
I note the horrible condition of the roof color, as compared to the other structures surrounding it. Obviously, that’s a possible indicator of poor maintenance by the HOA, perhaps pointing to other lapses.
Also, look 3 buildings to the right in the picture. Notice anything similar?
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