A board election at a Sunny Isles Beach condo tower devolved into chaos, with multiple people arguing and one person grabbing and tearing ballots, leading officials to cancel the election with plans to reschedule it, according to police.
The fracas erupted on Wednesday during a meeting tied to the election at the St. Tropez on the Bay II condominium association, a 96-unit building part of the three-tower St. Tropez complex on Northeast 163rd Street/Sunny Isles Boulevard.
It marks the latest example of tensions erupting at a South Florida condo association meeting, as condo owners at many properties have for years clashed with board members, sometimes pulling in the attorneys and managers hired to assist associations.
Police arrived at St. Tropez II, 200 Sunny Isles Boulevard, shortly after noon and saw Jacob Gold, the husband of a unit owner, “blocking the doorway and refusing access” to people trying to enter the room where the meeting was held, according to a Sunny Isles police report. A short time later, as arguments continued, Gold “reached into the [ballot] box and tore several ballots.”
A Facebook video gives a glimpse into the situation, showing people yelling and a police officer grabbing a man by his bookbag, escorting him away from the commotion. The man is holding pieces of paper that appear to be ballots. The video was posted by a user with the name St. Tropez on the Bay II on the Sunny Isles Beach Insider Facebook page.
Gary Mars, the association attorney, told officers that the association president was trying to cancel the election, “which prompted Mr. Gold to obstruct entry,” the police report says.
Gold, who said he was at the meeting “as the president’s assistant,” didn’t deny he stepped in at the meeting and said he had reason to.
He alleges the meeting was the culmination of weeks of infighting between association president Boris Benjaminov and its property management firm, KW Property Management. Gold alleges that KW had “hijacked” the election process and organized it as “an outsider,” even though the board or the president have to vote on and have final say on election procedures. KW acted without permission from the board, Gold said. He also said some unit owners reported issues with the online voting system.
Benjaminov couldn’t be reached for comment. KW didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“That basic prerequisite of having a board or the proper officer acting on behalf of the board calling for an annual meeting for the election never happened,” Gold said. “I may not be the most popular guy for stepping in but at least in helping the president, we are going to have a proper election.”
Now, they will seek a court order to have an independent monitor oversee the election, Gold said. He said that if he hadn’t acted, then St. Tropez residents would today have “two boards, two presidents and a referee for the next year.”
Criminal charges weren’t pressed against Gold, according to the police report.
Mars said the election will be held at a future meeting. He declined to comment further.
The St. Tropez on the Bay II Facebook user alleged Gold isn’t a unit owner at the building but a guest of his wife. Gold declined to address whether he owns a St. Tropez condo. He said he won’t be “discussing personal issues.”
Gold is not listed in property records as a unit owner.
“Whether or not I live there is irrelevant,” he added.
Board elections are a common source of issues at South Florida condo associations. After months of litigation at the two-tower 1060 Brickell condo in Miami’s Brickell, a judge sided with unit owners seeking to oust former president Jacob Kessler. In September, the judge ordered a new board to replace the former directors and also ordered the former directors to turn over all records and control of the association.
South Florida’s largest homeowners association, The Hammocks, was at the center of the biggest alleged board fraud scheme in recent memory in which ex-leaders allegedly siphoned millions of dollars from HOA coffers. The Hammocks also had issues with elections: At the 2022 election, before police arrested four former board members and the husband of one of the ex-board members, voting polls closed early, infuriating homeowners. The former board cited a bomb threat for the early closure, but investigators said the HOA never provided proof of this.
The former Hammocks president, another ex-board member and the third person arrested have pleaded not guilty, and are awaiting trial. Two other board members arrested pleaded guilty and are cooperating with investigators.
Read more
Residential
South Florida
“Running amok”: Florida lawmakers fall short with HOA, condo law
Residential
South Florida
Turmoil at Brickell condo complex over money and power
“Recipe for fraud”: The alleged scam that rocked South Florida’s biggest HOA
