Miami Mayor's Lawyer Disputes Abuse Evidence

M I A M I, Feb. 9 -- The wife of Mayor Joe Carollo was not hit in the head by a tea canister, his lawyer said, accusing police of making up the story that landed the mayor in jail overnight.

The bump raised on Maria Ledon Carollo's head Wednesday morningwas "the result of an unfortunate accident," Attorney Ben Kuehnetold The Miami Herald. He declined to elaborate.

He accused police of concocting a story of a thrown terra cottatea container to support an unwarranted charge of domesticviolence.

"The tea container is not terra cotta," Kuehne said. "It's acardboard box that contains tea. There is no way Mayor Joe Carollohit his wife with a terra cotta pot. I would like to see the terracotta pot.

"Joe Carollo did not throw anything at Mari. He never intendedto hit her."

Carollo, 45, was charged with misdemeanor battery and spent thenight in a Miami-Dade County jail. He was freed Thursday on a$1,500 bond and ordered to stay away from his wife.

Carollo himself, in a brief telephone interview, wouldn't gointo details but said he did nothing wrong, the Herald said.

"I'm not guilty of any crime. What's been portrayed by policehas just not been accurate," he said.

Change of Heart on Charges

A Miami Police spokesman said the department stood by itsdescription of the tea box.

"They can dispute it," Officer Jorge Pino said late Thursday."We would not put out information that we were not sure of."Police would not provide the newspaper with a photo of the box,saying it was evidence in an active case.

Ms. Carollo, 42, told police who answered a 911 call made by oneof the couple's two daughters that her husband threw a terra-cottatea canister, hitting her in the head, Lt. Bill Schwartz saidThursday. He described the canister as being "about the size of asoup can."

Ms. Carollo, who filed for divorce last year, originally wantedher husband arrested, but later asked that charges be dropped,police said. Police charged him anyway, saying it's not unusual fordomestic violence victims to seek leniency for their abuser.