Miami Beach Tennis Report Analyzed

8/16/2019 Miami Beach Tennis Report Analyzed

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MIAMI MIRROR – TRUE REFLECTIONS

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Mayor Philip Levine and Police Chief Daniel Oates advertising Customer Service for private contractor

AUDIT OF MIAMI BEACH TENNIS MANAGEMENT REPORT 2015BY

DAVID ARTHUR WALTERS

27 May 2016

The 2015 Annual Report of Miami Beach Tennis Management LLC (MBTM) was presented to City of Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and his city commissionerson 22 September 2015 at the behest of the mayor‟s right-hand commissioner,

Michael Grieco. The wildly popular mayor is a real estate developer and mediarelations mogul, and enjoys a close friendship with the Clintons.

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MBTM was awarded the contract for management of the city‟s two tennisfacilities, one at Flamingo Park, the other at North Shore, in April 2014 afterseveral years of grueling controversy over the quality of management provided by

the previous contractor, Greensquare, Inc. (GSI) for over a decade.

The Report was based on a Power Point Presentation submitted via a 28 Augustemail to the commission by David Custin, who is registered with the city as alobbyist for MBTM. Mr. Custin leveraged his experience as a lowly paidgerrymandering clerk with the state legislature into local prominence as a lobbyist.He handled the wealthy mayor‟s 2013 campaign as well the mayor‟s slate ofsponsored commissioners, resulting in the mayor becoming a de facto strongmayor in a city with a weak mayor charter.

Howie Orlin (left) to Bruce Turkel: "Bruce is my partner."

Mr. Custin did not appear at the commission meeting to present his handiwork.Instead, he appointed Bruce Turkel, a so-called branding expert, to lobby on his

behalf as “lead presenter,” with MBTM director Howie Orlin standing by in a

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secondary capacity to “provide support, technical information, and answer anyquestions you may have.” Mr. Orlin had very little to say except to identify Mr.Turkel as his “partner.”

Mr. Turkel is the CEO of Turkel Brands. He offers to consult or consults with thecity on tourism and branding issues. For example, at a 2014 meeting of themayor‟s blue ribbon panel on the development of North Beach, Mr. Turkel was

present to propose what his firm could do for the city. Although the tennis center presentation was ostensibly made to favorably influence the commission in itsfuture consideration of renewing the tennis center management contract, the cityclerk has stated that he is not registered as a lobbyist with the city.

The previous tennis center contractor did not present annual reports to the citycommission. In fact, the city was remiss in auditing its operations until a

vociferous clamor was raised by an independent community tennis association, theMiami Beach Tennis Association Inc, formed in July 2009 by Rebecca Boyce, its

president, and Gayle Durham, its secretary and director.

The main complaint was not against the tennis professionals led by the famous Nick Bollettieri‟s son, Jimmy Bollettieri, but against Victor Weithorn, theoperations manager, who happened to be a sitting commissioner‟s brother -and-law,for failure to properly maintain the courts. That complaint led to ancillary issuesincluding uncorroborated allegations of embezzlement, drug use and favorable

exemption from drug testing, employment of undocumented professionals, failureto collect employment taxes, bathroom misconduct, rudeness to customers, andwhatever else could be thought of to get rid of the management team. The cityagreed to rebuild the entire center, and the dissident players argued against themanagement‟s insistence that some courts should be hard courts. The new centerhas 17 new clay courts.

The tennis impasse was resolved when Mayor Levine and his friends took over thecity. After some agonizing wrangling including a lawsuit, the contract was handedon a golden platter with a brand new Flamingo Center to Howie Orlin‟s MBTM.

Mr. Orlin had previously managed the city‟s tennis centers, and had himself beenousted over lousy maintenance. The big difference back then, over a decade ago,was that the centers were publicly managed, so Mr. Orlin was “just the manager,”an employee of the city. Reliable sources present at that time, who do not wish to

be identified, say that there was little he could do about the maintenance becausecity officials refused to provide sufficient resources, and that was the reason he


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was relieved of his job and the management contracted out to GSI. But privatemanagement was no fix, because GSI was allegedly losing money in one way oranother and had insufficient funds for maintenance.

Howie Orlin and Hillary

Wherefore the “partnership” approach between the contractor and the ci ty realized by this particular mayor has its merits inasmuch as the maintenance is nowdescribed by many players as perfect, while the management quality is ranked by

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the officers of the former tennis association, which was disbanded when itsobjective was accomplished, as “8.5 out of 10 instead of a minus 1.”

Maintenance is the main thing, and if that is done well, recreational players do not

seem to care about anything else as long as they can get a court to play on. Indeed,now that the maintenance is “perfect,” any questions about anything else are perceived as “harassment.” For instance, the response I received to my questionabout the promise made to the commission that a community tennis associationwould be formed was greeted with, “Stop harassing Howie!”

In retrospect it is obvious that the purpose of the Annual Report was not really toexamine tennis center operations, but was devised by the mayor‟s men to give hima well deserved public pat on the back during his campaign for reelection. Specialcare was taken at the commission meeting to tell the mayor and his commissioners

that the center was “improved by Mayor „Get It Done‟ Philip Levine,” referring tothe mayor‟s controversial fast-track programs that have, according to opponents,

run roughshod over residents and businesses.

The mayor, returning the compliments, said he had heard nothing but praise forMr. Orlin, and that Howie had done what he had promised the city to do, ten timesover. As if the mayor had taken his cue from Donald Trump‟s repetitive rhetoricaltechnique, he emphasized of Howie‟s “passions,” and said, “You done an amazing

job. We‟ve heard from everybody in the community, you‟ve done an amazing job.”

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Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, who had formed a scandalized political actioncommittee, Relentless for Progress, to publicly laud the mayor, told Mr. Orlin,

“I‟ve been very impressed by what you‟ve done.”

So, given an alleged absence of complaints about the centers, and the total lack ofinterest among constituents who are not tennis players, the reason for the firstAnnual Report ever was to promote the mayor.

The public is well advised, however, to keep a wary eye on government no matter

how good it seems to be doing so that history does not repeat itself. This mayor,who rose from being a deckhand hawking tours on cruise ships to founding andheading Royal Media Partners, is a professional public relations man. He has beenridiculed for becoming exceedingly concerned with his own public image since he

became a politician. Hardly anyone had heard of him before he ran for office.

Turning to the Annual Report, we notice that it is long on pictures and short onwords. The 24-page document has fewer than 600 words, and 17 numbers. Most ofthe words make up lists of programs that any tennis center should be doing to serve

tennis players. CUSTOMER SERVICE is a bold heading on the report.“CUSTOMER SERVICE” was the motto plugged by campaigning Mayor Levine,and plastered on City Hall when he was elected, as if the words themselves provethat customers have been well served.

David Custin, the architect of this Annual Report and mayor‟s strategic consultant,threatened to sue a journalist for libel for what he suspected she might write before

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Mr. Levine was elected the first time. The mayor closed his office‟s ComplaintWindow after he took his seat, and reigned in an intimidating manner. After he wasre-elected, he referred to the opposition as “screamers and yellers,” promising they

would not be heard again until the next election. The editors of the only daily

newspaper, the Miami Herald, attacked him at the outset, but then climbed on board.

Of the numbers on the Annual Report, only 8 are financial, and only 4 of them areoriginal numbers appertaining to the income statement, cherry-picked to lead oneto the conclusion that the center under new management is doing wildly well incomparison to how it did under the previous management that insisted it was losingmoney hand over fist, but it loved tennis so much it wanted to lose even moremoney from unknown sources. Mr. Orlin‟s company offered a lot more rent, muchto the perhaps feigned astonishment of certain sitting commissioners.

The city resisted auditing the old company, and when it finally did conduct anaudit, as a result of the clamor raised with no help from the mainstream press,whose beat reporter, David Smiley, deemed the controversy boring, the audit wasdamning but still inadequate, lacking a balance sheet approach to financialanalysis.

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Given the new numbers, from which one has to work back algebraically and thenmake a guess as to the gross revenue, perhaps there is indeed probable cause tosuspect, as was suspected all along, that the old team may have absconded with

several millions over their long tenure. That money if taken would have involved

city facility membership fees, and would have reduced percentage rent to the city.The figures on the Annual Report were unsupported by any details. Did themayor‟s slate of commissioners even bother to ask to see the financial statements?Did they ask the city auditor to examine and compare the financials of bothcompanies to ascertain if there was reasonable suspicion that public funds werestolen; and, if so, to inform the F.B.I. and Internal Revenue Service?

Apparently not, for what the commissioners were told they were looking at in thesesuperficial, cherry-picked numbers, was another motto of their mayor, printed

boldly on the Annual Report: TRANSPARENCY. The management of the center

“has been done in absolute transparency,” said the Power Point lobbyist.

So where is the support for the numbered items, the financial statements, thereports breaking down the revenue into categories? Oh, they are tossed into boxes.If someone is interested in them, they can advance the clerk $50 to look into the

boxes, pull out the bundles, take them apart, copy certain things wanted, like theincome statement and balance sheet. Otherwise why look? More rent has been

paid, the courts are well maintained. Who cares about the particulars? What we seeat the presentation of the Annual Report is smiling politicians and lobbyists and the

boldly printed phrase TRANSPARENCY, now orally claimed to be “absolute,”and this after a lot of bragging about the new management‟s automatic computerreporting system.

The community was told about that wonderful system during the bidding process because, back then, when rent was less but in arrears, and money was allegedly

slipping away, good accounting was deemed crucial. We assumed the reportingsystem would be paperless, and we were told that the public would have onlineaccess to the reports.

But no, the officials, when asked to put the information online, said no written promise to do that was on record. So it is business as usual. Anyone interestedmust pay for the public information or go over and dig through the material as wehad to do before, a virtual Stone Age process that impedes transparency; the

politicians who obviously could care less about the detailed reports know that. Yes,we have an advanced public record law, but they would make it unlikely thatanyone will ask for records, and, if they do, make sure there are impediments that


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only a well funded, controlled media outlet could overcome. After all, onlylegitimate editors and publishers should decide what is newsworthy.

I dropped by the Flamingo Park tennis center, and I asked Mr. Orlin, whose presence there is in part due to my coverage of the situation over the years, to seeat least the financial statements, which would be perhaps two or three pageswithout notes. After all, the information is public record, so would he mind givingme a copy?

“I don‟t have them,” he said. “The city has them.”

Mr. Orlin has in fact been doing a bang-up job managing the new center. It is mostwonderful that after all these years he is finally back on the job and has the supportof city officials. The situation, however, just so happens to be fortuitous at this

time. We have no way of knowing how long that will last. The subject we areconcerned with here is good government, and we want that to outlast this managerand his public partners. We want good government forever, and for that we mustkeep our eye on it and make sure it is rendered as transparent and honest as

possible. Why even bother to require the submission of detailed reports and noteven look at them?

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That being said, let‟s take a peek— and that is all we will get unless we want todrive to South Beach and rummage through some boxes — at other figures on theAnnual Report.

We see the phrase “out of pocket” applied to a stated $30,000 for after school programs, and $39,000 for the summer program. We have pictures of Howie withthe kids, we may have seen him with kids, and we admire him for his passionatecontributions to introduce kids to tennis without charge, which, by the way,happens to be in his contract.

How much money was actually spent? We cannot tell if cash was expended forthose programs without the income and expense report that nobody is interested inlooking at. Did MBTM pay instructors to teach the kids, and does that total$69,000? We know the IRS would frown on a deduction taken simply for helpingkids play games.

We see from a Jan. 27, 2015, report by Channel 7's Lynn Martinez, that someoneelse, namely Mr. Orlin‟s Miami Beach Tennis Foundation, has taken credit for anafterschool program at the tennis center. Would that be the same program? Shereported that John Eagleton, an All-American Miami Hurricane tennis playeroriginally from South America, and Howie Orlin, who played tennis as a little boyon Miami Beach and then for Clemson University in South Carolina, created a free

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after school program funded by Orlin's foundation to teach tennis to hundreds ofkids who learn how to win and lose, be responsible, and follow orders.

We see another $50,600 listed as “MBTM OOP.” That is not an “oops!” it means

“out of pocket.” It is reportedly for “courts, umbrellas, shop, common areas.”David Custin, who apparently produced this Power Point presentation, has littleknowledge of accounting categories, or has cherry-picked some details from thefinancials that nobody else is expected to see.

The bottom line is that MBTM had some income and some expenses, meaning thatthe company is doing business. A few items are mentioned for good measure.Promises to do things are said to be kept. Never mind the details. Mostimportantly, the courts are well maintained. Players come and go. The kids aretaken care of. The city gets its pound of flesh. Nothing else really matters.

One fascinating statement given past history is that MBTM “rebuilt” 9 clay courts.

That is over half the 17 clay courts at Flamingo. Rebuilding a court is not simply“resurfacing” it. “Rebuilding” means the court is demolished and rebuilt. A courtmay have to be rebuilt twice over its entire life.

Howie Orlin is deservedly congratulated for bring the North Shore tennis center upto par from its deplorable state under the previous management. But he inherited a

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brand spanking new Flamingo Park center, thanks to the previous cityadministration. So why did he have to rebuild 9 Flamingo courts?

Well, a contractor who wishes to remain anonymous because the city would

retaliate against him if he were identified told me that Jimmy Bollettieri saidseveral of the brand new courts turned over to him after the center was rebuilt weredefective. His critics insinuated that his company damaged them.

I asked John Rebar, Director of the Parks Department, to look into the matter andlet me know how much the rebuilding of the courts cost and whether thecontractors who built them should be pursued for recovery of the rebuilding costs.He said he would do some research. He was unaware of the costs because heapparently has not seen the financials turned over to his department.

It could very well be that the term „rebuilt‟ used in the report was an exaggerationdevised to impress politicians and the public.

Mr. Rebar said he had researched my question, and, after looking at the numbers,which indicated the work involved "clay, lines, etc., everything needed toresurface" he as "absolutely sure it was not rebuilding." He said his staff "reviewsthe reports for compliance," that he works closely with Howie, and, if something isnot right Howie would have informed him and demanded that the city take care ofit. The false statement on the Annual Report to Mayor Levine and his

commissioners could not be attributed to officials because the Report "wasintended as an update and not intended as any official document."

In fact, the tennis center's 2015 Annual Report is patently false or misleading inseveral respects. It is obvious from Mr. Rebar's statement that Mr. Orlin is not veryindependent, that he is just a manager subject to official controls. Furthermore, that

the highly esteemed David Custin would concoct such a report as a registeredlobbyist to unnecessarily exaggerate the virtues of a client indicates that all hiswork should be regarded with suspicion and carefully examined to ascertain if hisstatements are true. A public relations source I consulted said the Report is

downright amateurish. Perhaps not: it had the affect intended if the purpose was to pat the mayor on the back indirectly by extolling the virtues of the contractor heand his slate of commissioners awarded the contract to. In any case, the fact thatthe city commission took the specious statements on the unsubstantiated reportfor granted without inquiry demonstrates its utter negligence and subservience toMayor Philip Levine, who is, according to the city's charter, supposed to have nomore power than a chairman with one vote.


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One of the most important statements made in the Annual Report is that a USTACommunity Tennis Association (CTA) would be created in the future, and thatthere would be 9 USTA tournaments held.

Mr. Orlin seemed unaware of the CTA commitment when I visited the center. Hesaid he was handling the functions of a local association. A player at the center

also mentioned Mr. Orlin‟s foundation.

The reason Mr. Orlin‟s MBTM has the current management contract is because

Rebecca Boyce and Gayle Durham formed the Miami Beach Tennis AssociationInc. to organize players to resolve the maintenance issues. Ultimately, that meantridding the center of its GSI management team, which itself organized an in-houseassociation, unregistered with the state, to oppose the reform effort. Once that

purposed was realized, the independent association was abandoned, and the statehas dissolved it for lack of an annual report.

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The USTA defines a CTA as “an organized group of dedicated volunteers and professionals who come together to support community tennis programs. As anassociation, the group works to coordinate and maintain programs and services,

guaranteeing they are open and accessible to all. These tennis enthusiasts may act

as advocates, program administrators, promoters, or fund-raisers. Fueled by localvolunteers, these not-for-profit associations exist to promote and develop the gameof tennis in the community.”

Would not a local community tennis association be a good thing to have? CTAsare essential in the organization of leagues, and USTA members are qualified to

play in sanctioned tournaments. Some Florida CTAs are independent, and some arenot. Some actually manage tennis center as nonprofits. That way, fees should belower, and the management would ideally be in the hands of the local playersinstead of being political tools. Of course they would like any organization have

internal political issues.

I contacted David Custin, the lobbyist who authored the CTA promise, for anexplanation. He did not respond. I contact Mr. Orlin again on the subject via email.He did not respond. Mr. Custin normally only responds to reporters he recognizesas legitimate; i.e. who are employed by press organizations over which he feels hehas some control.

I contacted Ms. Boyce and Ms. Durham, asked them for their opinion on

maintenance and management, and pointed out that the city commission was told aCTA would be formed, which would be advantageous for forming leagues.“Are you going to force someone to create that organization?” asked Ms. Durham.“Anyone can form any organization. They don't need Howie or you to tell them toorganize it. I just don't understand what you are trying to accomplish.”

As for USTA leagues, she said, “I don't think the USTA has a league playing outof Flamingo, but they have had leagues there recently. Right now the league atFlamingo is SFWTDL (South Florida Women‟s Tennis Doubles League) notUSTA, The SFWTDL is a 50-year-old organization. Any tennis player can form a

team and have that team join any league, like the USTA or SFWTDL. The USTAdoesn't create teams, the players have to take the initiative and do that. I spoke toHowie, and he said he feels his newly formed foundation takes the place of a CTA

because it creates a junior tennis program, specialized clinics, as a charity. And itthe future will create tennis teams.”


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Age Division restructuring was instituted in 2013. Players are encouraged to formteams in their appropriate age division to provide good fair, competitive matches.If they can appoint a captain, form a team at their given NTRP level and Age

Division, and reach out to the Local League Coordinator in the Area, we can

provide a USTA Florida local league experience. We realize USTA league tennisis not for everybody given the National rules/regulations, and the structuregoverning the program, which is why USTA Florida strives to accomplish theirmission to promote and develop Tennis for all, whether it be USTA league tennisor local recreational league play. I would recommend you reach out to the tennis

players at those two facilities to get factual information as to whether their needsare being met. They obviously have a lot of great options available.”

I had indeed reached out to a few tennis players who had been around MiamiBeach for a long time. All scoffed at the idea of a CTA. “People will run the other

way when dues are mentioned,” said one. “USTA is good for the magazine, andthat‟s about it,” said another, adding, “You may get a T-shirt.”

Nationwide, we find complaints on the Web that USTA area coordinators do alousy job in coordinating and promoting events, and that they do not respond tonew members who reach out to them. The organization says it promotes tennis, butis not welcoming to new members. There is no real support from anywhere. Youmay not get your subscription, and the T-shirt may be the wrong size. Tournamentfees, say $40 for one match, are too high for some people, especially students.

Even after you join, it is difficult to find someone to play with. Most of the playerswho join the USTA just play for fun. There are other leagues and events to play inthat you don't need to be a card carrying USTA member. If you can find others to

play with, USTA is not worth it. Leagues fall through and no refunds areforthcoming from organizers, so players are left with cheap T-shirts.

On the other hand, there are worse ways to spend money. The magazine alone isworth the dues. You may get a U.S. Open T-Shirt. Money goes to training anddeveloping young talent, and supports the U.S. Open. You can join leagues, playteam tennis, or play in tournaments, and you find the best players in USTA

leagues. Some coordinators do a good job. Your money does not go into rich people‟s pockets. Hobbies cost money, and USTA is relatively cheap. Golf andeven bowling can cost more than tennis. If you are a chronic complainer noorganization is good enough for you.

The bottom line is that the USTA is what it is from the grass roots up. Local players can make the most of it or nothing of it.


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Team-sport leaders do seem more enthusiastic than tennis leaders when it comes tosupporting the future of their sports. Maybe we need more basketball stars helpingwith tennis. They will probably find it an unforgiving and thankless task.

If local politics is your game, the history of tennis in the City of Miami Beach is

emblematic of the character of its government. No matter what your sport may be,it is advisable to keep your eye on the ball.
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Miami Beach Tennis Report Analyzed

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