Steve Shiver, a Homestead mayoral candidate, politically smeared with false allegations of bribery and unfounded allegations of drug use, was forced to keep quiet his role as an FBI informant.
For years, his political opponents and their associates publicly assassinated his character with vicious politically-motivated attacks.
According to records, the political attacks were fabricated by Shiver's opponents as a strategy, which many in the Homestead community believed were correct.
Shiver never made any substantive statements in his defense, so many members of media and the public had a misinformed opinion of Shiver since he didn't seem to bother defending himself against the accusations.
After finally going public about his role informing the FBI of political corruption, the allegation was false.
Shiver, 53, broke his silence in an interview with the Miami Herald on Friday, which detailed bombshell explanation almost no one saw coming.
Shiver's recent public statements — that he worked as an undercover informant tasked with investigating corruption for the FBI — not only vindicates him of the alleged crimes of bribery and illegal drug use, it uncovered another an ironic secret few community members saw coming.
"In this case, I wasn't allowed to defend myself," he told the Herald, explaining his role and relationship with the FBI was secret.
It was frustrating for me, but I feel vindicated now that it's finally coming out."
In his interview with the Herald, published on Monday, Shiver explained he was not previously permitted to talk about his role working as an FBI informant because it would have compromised the bureau's investigation into corruption into some of the same politicians and contractors who ironically accused him of taking bribes.
Shiver's experience in public office ranges from serving in the past as mayor and commissioner of Homestead, county manager of Miami-Dade as well as the executive director for the Benevolent Police Association.
He hopes the revelation of is previously-secret role as a confidential FBI informant will strengthen his bid for Homestead mayor.
He's also optimistic that the release of field notes to the public detailing corruption in Opa-Locka will clear up the truth and help voters understand the truth about allegations made about his character, which were published by Miami-area news outlets.
"When you have lived in the public eye as long as I have in my career in public service, there will be favorable headlines and those not so. It depends on the agenda behind the article or the anonymous sources as well as the 'spin' on news stories by the reporter," Shiver said in a telephone interview with True-Homestead.
"The release of the field notes surrounding the Opa-Locka corruption finally tells the truth behind several years of bad headlines reported by many and being used against me in political hit mailers by those who know the truth. I am praying that the voters of the city of Homestead will see their scare tactics and understand they are scared of the truth and integrity I bring to the office."
"They should be scared," he emphasized.
Complications with Shiver's political reputation began in 2015 when the FBI tapped him to investigate political corruption around the same time he was appointed city manager by Opa-locka, a city notorious for corruption.
According to Shiver, he had been in communication with the feds even before he was formally hired as Opa-locka's city manager just after then-Mayor Myra Taylor and her husband Reverend John Taylor to give them thousands of dollars in cash because they were experiencing financial strain.
Shiver, a confidential source for the FBI, had to keep his mouth shut after a general contractor in Opa-locka. George Howard accused him publicly of soliciting a $150,000 bribe from him in exchange an agreement to pay his invoice for work performed on a sewer project in Opa-locka.
A month after Shiver took on the job as city manager, Howard, who was involved the kickback scheme, boldly issued a letter branding Shiver as a middle man who sought out the bribe in order to pay Mayor Taylor and her husband, who intended to use the kickback money for a down payment to build a church.
All of his political opponents currently running in Homestead's October 1 election have levied accusations of controversy surrounding Shiver's history as a politician, bureaucrat and a businessman who has been the subject of so-called investigations by the Homestead Police Department.
The department began a probe investigating Shiver after an acquaintance was pulled over in March by the department for driving erratically.
After allegedly finding drugs in the car, Shiver's acquaintance made a deal with police after convincing them he could help them land a "bigger fish," — Shiver, who he stated planned on running for mayor in Homestead.
The acquaintance claimed Shiver would buy "eight balls" of cocaine costing $200 for each purchase.
Shiver's acquaintance agreed to work undercover with Homestead police detectives to prove his claims.
Instead, police say, he returned to inform Shiver detectives were conducting an investigation attempting bust and arrest him in an ongoing narcotics investigation.
Detectives eventually closed the case due to lack of evidence.
In the fall of 2015, Shiver used his position as city manager to audio record discussions with George Howard, the then city manager of Opa-locke, Mayor Taylor and her husband under the direction of FBI agents.
In one recording, Shiver captured Howard asking the new city manager to pay him $272,000, which he claimed was to change an order on a pump station project, according to records.
Howard planned to use $150,000 to give Mayor Taylor and her husband in an apparent kickback scheme, an investigator's report shows.
Shiver also made an audio recording of Taylor attempting to convince the city manager to participate in the kickback scheme with Howard, an investigator's report detailing the investigation states.
"You could go to jail for this," Shiver can be heard telling Mayor Taylor during an interaction at his City Hall office.
But she didn't.
Neither dd Howard.
However, the FBI's investigation into public corruption in Opa-locka ultimately ended up with seven people with close ties to Mayor Taylor charged and convicted.
All of Mayor Taylor's associates pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy charges that involved extorting local business owners in Homestead for several thousands of dollars in exchange for permits and municipal licenses.
"I've done a lot of things in my life," Shiver told the Herald.
"But I'd never worn a wire before for the FBI."
Howard's company was renovating low-income apartment complexes, but he conducted work on the pump station project because of his housing development.
However, records show the last invoice, requesting $272,000 to perform additional work to change orders was falsified by an Opa-lock official to cook the books to cover up the kickback deal with Mayor Taylor and her husband.
Records indicate Shiver managed to record several undercover discussions with the mayor as well as her husband he would later hand over to the FBI for the corruption investigation.
Shiver sent a message to an ethics investigator requesting to speak with him in mid-October 2015.
The city manager for Opa-locka city manager had just recently received a letter by Howard accusing Shiver of soliciting him to bribe on Mayor Taylor's behalf.
The letter written after Howard accused Shiver of soliciting the bribe on the mayor's behalf after Howard demanded payment for his company's sewer project if it involved a kickback to the mayor.
According to Howard's version of events, which doesn't line up with evidence recorded by Shiver, Shiver "expressly stated" the city's payment towards his sewer project could only happen if the mayor received a kickback.
"Upon hearing your insidious requests, I emphatically stated that not one cent of this money would kickback to the mayor," Howard wrote in a 2016 letter, forwarded to the city commissioners and building director.
"Such an act would be blatantly illegal and would in no way be something that my company or I would ever be a party to."
Howard was not only lying about his accusations against Shiver but also about plotting his scheme to kickback money to the mayor, according to the ethics investigators summary."
"Shiver said he was afraid Howard would attempt to leak the letter to the Miami Herald and further sully his reputation," Karl Ross, the ethics investigator assigned to the case wrote in a 9-page report.
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/homestead/article235380472.html#storylink=cpy
A week after receiving Howard's letter, the Miami-Herald published a news story with a headline that read "Contractor claims Opa-locka manager Steve Shiver sought bribe."
Due to his confidential role with the FBI, Shiver did not respond to Howard's bribery allegation."Unfortunately, I can’t talk about it, but it will all come out in the end," he said in a statement.
The plans for the proposed kickback scheme unraveled because Shiver declined to back the kickback arrangement to pay Howard so he could kick back a portion of the money to Mayor Taylor and keep the rest for himself, records show.
In subsequent news coverage, Howard stated he only agreed to the kickback arrangement to recover money he said the city owed him.
Mayor Taylor previously stated to news media she didn't take part in any backroom deal to arrange a kickback as part of Howard's sewer project to profit her family.
"I would not have condoned that at all," the mayor told the Miami Herald.
"I've never asked anyone for anything."
Shiver's job as city manager in Opa-locka lasted only three months before the city offered him an $87,500 severance package.
Due to the political attacks by his opponents, Shiver's career in politics would not rebound until hired in 2018 as the executive director of the Dade County Police Benevolent Association.
In May, Shiver resigned from that position after the Herald published a news article detailing his bankruptcy as well as his financial troubles related to a theme park.
Shiver decided to run for mayor of Homestead shortly after the PBA job ended.
The race got off to a bad start for Shiver when City Manager George Grestas issued a 109-page memo to the City Commission that contained exhibits describing the Homestead Police Department's narcotics investigation, which they claim fell apart when their informant tipped off Shiver about their intentions.
Grestas' memo states two criminal investigations into Shiver were ongoing.
One of the investigations involves one of Shiver's associates named Janet LeGrand, arrested for faking civil engineer credentials while seeking to obtain multi-million dollar deals Homestead and Florida City, where Shiver's father serves as the vice mayor.
Shiver says Grestas has historically been a long-time antagonist.
"He takes this memo, this dossier if you will, and uses the public’s fear to try to manipulate and intimidate the election," Shiver said in an interview with the Herald.
According to Shiver, allegations of current ongoing investigations are false.
"There is no investigation," he said.
"I know that for a fact from my friends that are in the police department who have been told to do things that they will not do anymore."
Previously, Grestas helped authorities build their case against the previous mayor Steve Bateman, who received a prison sentence after being found guilty of corruption in 2014, according to the South Dade News-Leader.
Batement declined to comment publicly about his case.
If no candidate wins by a majority of votes on October 1, there'll be a runoff.
In 2017, only 1,900 of over 70,000 potential voters participated in the election.
September 23, 2019
