Former Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo has agreed to settle a whistleblower lawsuit accusing him of corruption and retaliation.
Attorneys for Carollo and the Bayfront Park Management Trust filed a notice this week in federal court stating the parties had “resolved this matter” and were finalizing settlement documents.
The agreement ends a lawsuit filed in January 2025 by former Bayfront Park Management Trust Executive Director Jose Suarez and former Finance Director Jose Canto.
The men accused Carollo of misusing public funds, steering money to political allies and retaliating against them after they raised concerns about financial practices at the agency.
The settlement amount was not disclosed.
Legal news outlet Law360 first reported on the settlement Tuesday.
“The parties in this case, and their counsel, and their insurers, all worked together on a sensible resolution,” attorney Jeff Gutchess, who represented Suarez, told the Miami Herald.
Carollo continued to deny wrongdoing Wednesday, calling the complaint “the most frivolous lawsuit with no merit whatsoever.” He told the Herald the settlement was a business decision by the defendants’ insurance company and “not a huge amount.”
The lawsuit drew attention because Suarez had once been considered a Carollo ally. He served as Carollo’s Chief of Staff at City Hall from 2019 to 2022, before Carollo hired him to lead the Bayfront Park Management Trust in March 2024.
Suarez resigned in December 2024, then sued the next month alongside Canto.
Their complaint alleged the Trust — which oversees Bayfront Park, Maurice Ferré Park and major events including Ultra Music Festival — lacked proper accounting controls and competitive bidding procedures.
The lawsuit also claimed Bayfront Park funds improperly benefited Carollo and his allies. According to WPLG, Suarez and Canto alleged $60,000 in Trust money supported Carollo’s Little Havana Fridays event and $150,000 went to a broadcaster friendly to him.
Suarez and Canto further alleged they were “attacked, defamed and constructively discharged” after attempting to improve transparency and ethics within the agency.
A federal Judge dismissed the original suit in March, but allowed the plaintiffs to refile. Suarez submitted an amended suit in April without Canto, the Herald reported.
Carollo, 71, entered government service as a police officer and became the Miami Commission’s youngest member at 24 in 1979 and almost immediately began clashing with the city’s then-Police Chief, who accused him of inappropriate and allegedly unlawful acts, including bribing cops and seeking police favors for friends.
In 2023, two local businessmen successfully sued Carollo for violating their First Amendment rights by weaponizing city resources to harass them after they backed his political opponent. An appellate court upheld the judgment in July 2025. This past March, the U.S. Supreme Court kept the $63.5 million verdict intact.
Carollo, a Republican and two-time Miami Mayor, ran for Mayor again last year after reaching term limits in his second stint as a City Commissioner. He placed fourth in the 13-person contest that ultimately went to Democrat Eileen Higgins.
