Miami City Commission candidate answers questions about his past legal problems

As Miami voters go to the polls in a rare Monday election, one of the candidates for city commission is responding to questions about criminal charges he faced between 1995 and 2010.

The candidate for the District 2 seat on the city commission, James Torres, faced at least four charges while living in Arizona, ranging from accusations during divorce proceedings to a traffic-related violation. Most were dismissed, one resulted in probation and another in a fine.

No records exist detailing the circumstances of these charges because they were destroyed after a certain amount of time, as is allowed under Arizona law. Information about the charges, which were found on private database TLO by private investigator Eladio Paez were provided to the Herald by a political operative.

The findings were not revealed in a background check on Torres in late January on a database service called Accurint used by the Herald and available to the public. That search revealed a few traffic infractions but no criminal charges. A separate search with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement did not return any results.

Torres, 51, works in sales for a telecommunications company. He worked in advertising sales at the Miami Herald, leaving in 2019. He answered questions about the charges in an interview Saturday.

The charges

▪ October 1995: Torres was charged with aggravated assault and interference with judicial proceedings, according to archived records located by the Herald on Saturday in the court system for Maricopa County, Arizona. He said he was in the process of a divorce, and there was an order dictating his visitation rights with his children. He told the Herald that he was one hour and 45 minutes late in returning the children to his ex-wife, violating the court order. He said she called the police and falsely claimed he assaulted her after he was late.

Torres’ ex-wife, Lorie Fowler, did not respond to the Herald’s requests for comment.

Torres said the court dropped the assault charge and put him on probation for interference with judicial proceedings, the legal description for the violation that resulted from his being late in returning the children to their mother.

“What the court did find is that I violated the order in terms of the time constraint,” he said. “They told me, ‘If you have to be there at 3, you’re not gonna be there at 6.’ ”

▪ March 2000: Torres was charged with endangering the life and health of a minor and aggravated assault. He said the charges stem from false accusations made in family court as his divorce proceedings continued, and he said Fowler made the claims because she wanted full custody of the children. He said he was accused of hitting his children.

“I was never arrested. Never in a holding cell or in the back of a squad car,” Torres said. “The judge said, ‘I know the game you are playing here, and this is unwarranted and unfounded.’ All of it was dismissed.”

▪ July 2005: Torres was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal damage. He said the charge is the result of a confrontation he had with a drunk stranger in his neighborhood who was yelling at residents, including hollering racial slurs and insulting him and his family. Torres said he had the kids that day, and he said he felt the need to defend his family.

Torres said he was given a notice to appear in court when police arrived and found him arguing loudly with the man. In court, the charges were dismissed.

▪ July 2010: Torres received a traffic citation that included a “false swearing” charge for which he was found guilty, according to the private investigator’s database search. Torres said he was pulled over by police shortly after purchasing a vehicle with tinted windows. He did not have an Arizona permit required for the tinted windows, leading to the charge and a $185 fine. He said the state classified the lack of paperwork as “false swearing.”

According to Arizona law, “A person commits false swearing by making a false sworn statement, believing it to be false.”

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Attacks from another campaign?

Torres, who was recommended in the District 2 race by the Herald’s Editorial Board, said he believes he’s having mud slung at him because he’s a serious contender in the 13-person race. He accused another candidate, former judge Martin Zilber, and a Zilber supporter, former Miami commissioner Marc Sarnoff, of trying to smear him.

Zilber and Sarnoff denied involvement.

Zilber, who’s been the subject of attacks based on his time as a judge, said “I don’t like it, and I think it’s a shame. I had no knowledge. I don’t think it’s nice or correct.”

Zilber is a former Miami-Dade judge who resigned from the bench in May 2021 amid various allegations of misconduct. In 2021, he swore under oath that he accepted responsibility for a judicial committee’s findings when it looked like he might settle the matter. After the Florida Supreme court sought a harsher punishment, Zilber resigned.

A 2022 Florida Bar inquiry found no probable cause to sanction Zilber. During the Bar inquiry, Zilber challenged the allegations one year after taking responsibility for them.

Sarnoff, an attorney at Shutts & Bowen, contributed $25,000 to a pro-Zilber political committee.

READ MORE: Here are the people and businesses funding campaigns in Miami’s special election

Polls are open for District 2 special election Monday

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the regular polling places for voters in Miami City Commission’s District 2, where 13 candidates are seeking to serve out the remainder of Ken Russell’s term until the next election in November. First results are expected to be posted by 7:15 p.m., according TO the Miami-Dade County supervisor of elections office.

Miami Herald research director Monika Leal contributed to this report.