Miami Mayor's Lawyer Disputes Abuse Evidence

M I A M I, Feb. 9, 2001 -- 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.

Carollo could face up to a year in jail if convicted on themisdemeanor charge but that is unlikely because he has no priorrecord, said Ed Griffith, a state attorney's office spokesman. Hecould be allowed to enroll in an anti-domestic violence program andavoid a trial, Griffith said.

It isn't the first time Carollo has feuded with the policedepartment. Last year, Carollo fired City Manager Donald Warshawdays after Police Chief William O'Brien failed to inform the mayorabout the April 22 federal raid of the home where the Cuban boyElian Gonzalez was staying.

Carollo had demanded Warshaw fire O'Brien, but Warshaw refused.O'Brien resigned days later while Warshaw and Carollo accused eachother of corruption. Protesters criticizing the city's divisivepolitics threw bananas at city hall.