Two Miami-Dade County health inspectors have been arrested on charges of committing a violation by compeling a bribe from the restaurant owner, officials said Wednesday.
In total, Charles Bryant II and Craig Bethel forced $14,620 from 15 companies, Miami-Dade’s Rosie Coldero Stutz said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Both men who worked for the Miami-Dade Environmental Management Office have been accused of creating fake health violations and threatening businesses by shutting down businesses if they didn’t pay.
“Think about how they felt,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Randle said at a briefing, referring to the restaurant owner. “It felt like they were being taken away.”
The first complaint was received by the Sheriff’s Office in April, resulting in the arrest of 44-year-old Bryant II on charges of illegal compensation and official misconduct.
When Bryant was arrested this week, he had already been on probation for five years since his July arrest conviction that rocked three restaurants, according to county court records.
Bryant’s attorney Jay White told the Herald that he had never seen the recent arrest affidavit and could not comment on the details of the case.
“I’m amazed that these accusations are coming out now,” White said. “They’re ahead of his previous cases, which are closed.”
The hints about Bryant continued to sue detectives, with more casualties moving forward, Koldero Stutts said.
They then began an investigation into Bethel booked at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Centre, with 10 counts of illegal compensation and each count of illegal activities by civil servants by civil servants, according to prison records.
Bethel was booked Wednesday, with the judge setting the bond at $85,000.
In a media briefing, Cordero-Stutz, who highlighted his running for sheriff on a platform that tackles corruption last year, said he is asking more business owners to move forward as he believes more business owners may be involved in a similar scheme as more casualties.
“It’s an important issue in our community and will not be tolerated,” Cordero-Stutz said.
Bethel was hired on May 18, 2020, according to county records. Bryant was hired on December 31, 2018. County pay data shows that both men had a yearly salary of around $42,000.
An arrest affidavit detailing Bethel’s charges was not immediately available.
According to Bryant’s arrest report in July, he went to the South Garden Chinese restaurant at 10855 SW 72nd Street in April, wearing a county uniform, notifying the owner that a waste oil tank was violating and that the correction was costing $50,000.
According to the report, he told the owner that if he pays a “$3,000 tip,” the issue would be gone.
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In May, Bryant went to Bangkok Bangkok restaurant at 12584 SW 88th Street and told him that the oil trap would cost $60,000, but he wouldn’t write if he paid a $6,000 “helper fee,” according to the affidavit.
Then in July he arrived at the El Magey Taquero Mucho Mexican restaurant at 9817 SW 40th Street, where he told employees he had leaks in the business’s grease strap and would be fined unless he paid $2,000.
But instead of paying for the be-bailing, the employer told Bryant that she would have to fine her, saying, “And she’ll deal with the payment at that point.”
Miami Herald staff writer Doug Hanks contributed to this story.
