Emails show quiet audit of LHCC
The Little Haiti Cultural Center (LHCC) received another blow, following reports that the center is the target of a corruption investigation by Miami police. The Miami Herald reported that, according to publically released emails from the city, an investigator was pulling rental records from the facility since Jun 2013, and was reporting to the city’s Department of Real Estate and Asset management – the organization that oversees the center.
The released records about the investigation do not specify particular lines of inquiry. But the news followed the recent, controversial dismissal of the center’s longtime director, Sandy Dorsainvil. Dorsainvil was fired by the city without warning, which sparked protests from several local advocates and residents, who protested at a recent City Hall meeting, calling for an explanation from City Manager Daniel Alfonso, who refused to expand on his office’s original statement thanking Dorsainvil for her service. His refusal and urged city commissioner Keon Hardemon to call for a vote on firing Alfonso.
Dorsainvil, who started working for the center in 2013, did tell The Miami Herald that she was aware of the rumors of an investigation. Hardemon, who also hired Dorsainvil in her office after her dismissal, said he was aware of the investigation into the center, but assured that he has seen nothing in the report that made him concerned about Dorsainvil’s leadership at the LHCC. Meanwhile, the LHCC has been operating as normal, with a slew of upcoming events scheduled this month for the Haitian Heritage Month celebrations in South Florida.
