WaPo: Developers of collapsed Florida building accused of paying off officials to get permits

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The collapsed Surfside Champlain Towers South was given a building permit in the 1970s after its developers contributed to the election campaign of local officials.
• Canadian lawyer Nathan Reiber was among the developers of the building and faced previous cases in his home country.
• All stakeholders who were involved in developing the project have already passed away.

The Washington Post reported that the developers of the Surfside Champlain Towers South ━ the building that collapsed early Thursday ━ received preferential treatment after allegedly paying off local authorities back in 1981 to secure building permits.

The news outlet revealed that at the time, Surfside’s developers sponsored the candidacy of at least two town-council members in exchange of returning back the favor should allegations rise in the future.

The doomed 12-story tower was almost lined-up for a $15 million renovation program to pass a 40-year certification requirement before it collapsed. The tragedy yielded at least nine fatalities and over 150 unaccounted for individuals, per the report.

The Post also added that all the stakeholders who had been involved in the design and development of the condo building were already deceased.

One of the developers of the project was the late Nathan Reiber, who previously faced tax evasion and legal misconduct charges in Canada.

During the 1970s, Reiber, a Canadian lawyer who passed away in 2014, was charged with tax evasion by Canadian officials when he and his colleagues allegedly skimmed money from their apartment building businesses.

In 1984, the Law Society of Upper Canada cited Reiber with professional misconduct since he flew to Florida to get away from his tax evasion case. He was eventually forced to go back to Canada to deal with the charges.

While in Florida, Reiber’s group had initially failed to start the building’s construction because of faulty sewers as they were handed a moratorium in 1979. They were granted to proceed with the development after paying half of the sewer repairs at about $200,000.

After getting approval from officials despite the moratorium, competitor developers slammed the move, claiming that Reiber and his group received special treatment.

A year later, the developers reached out to two local council members to reimburse their campaign contributions. This was the same time the allegations surfaced that Reiber’s group had given financial support to local authorities to obtain the permits.

The Washington Post has reached out to Reiber’s widow and two of his children but did not receive a response.

Aside from Reiber’s group, two companies were also involved in the building’s construction: Brieterman Jurado & Associates (engineering firm) and William M. Friedman & Associates (architectural firm).

Speaking with the Post, Manuel Jorado said that he handled the electrical and mechanical side of the company while Brieterman, who passed away in the 1990s, managed the structural aspects of their projects.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Manuel Tapia-Ruano of the architectural firm that handled the condo building said that it was Friedman himself who handled it. Friedman passed away in 2018.

Source: Fox News