4 January 15–21, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | KEEP WATCH Miami Police investigate possible Rolex gifts from former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN T he Miami Police Depart- ment is investigating al- legations that former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez gifted Rolex watches to his four sergeants-at-arms before leaving office. Last month, local activist Thomas Ken- nedy, who has previously contributed opin- ion pieces to New Times, filed an internal affairs complaint asking the department to investigate whether the former mayor had given officers high-end luxury watches in the days leading up to Mayor Eileen Higgins’ swearing-in. “It has come to my attention that multiple sources allege that four City of Miami Police Sergeant-at-Arms, Pierre Cazassus, Yamil Martinez Sanchez, Stanley J. Paul-Noel, and Andrea Preston, each received a Rolex watch from then-elected official, now private resi- dent of Miami, Francis Suarez,” the com- plaint reads. “If true, this would be a clear violation of Miami Police Departmental or- ders related to gifts and gratuities.” Rolex watches can cost anywhere be- tween about $6,000 and upwards of $100,000, depending on the model and whether they were purchased on the second- ary market. Kennedy added to his emailed complaint this week, “Sources tell me that Sgt. at arms Alexander Lamprou was also offered a watch by Francis Suarez and may have declined. His interview would be crucial to your inves- tigation.” A major from the department’s in- ternal affairs section replied, acknowledging receipt. Lamprou did not respond to New Times’ requests for comment via text mes- sage or phone. Suarez had also not returned New Times’ phone calls or text messages by the time of publication. In the City of Miami, sworn police officers serve as sergeants-at-arms, providing secu- rity to commissioners and the mayor. During his tenure, Suarez faced scrutiny for bringing his sergeants-at-arms along as he traversed the globe. The city also spent more than $20,000 on police officers assigned to Suarez’s security detail during his short- lived presidential campaign. Records reveal that two of the officers — Cazassus and Paul-Noel — were quietly de- moted last month, resulting in pay cuts. Department records show they are now as- signed to the intelligence and terrorism unit within the criminal investigations division. An inter-office memorandum for Paul- Noel reads, “In accordance with Civil Services Rules and Regulations, you are rolled back to your previous civil service classification of Po- lice Officer effective December 17, 2025.” His pay was docked from his sergeant-at-arms an- nual salary of $181,431 to an hourly rate of $32. For Cazassus, also previously classified as a sergeant-at-arms, the inter-office memo- randum states, “In accordance with Civil Ser- vice Rules and Regulations, you are rolled back to your previous civil service classifica- tion of Police Sergeant effective December 17, 2025.” His pay was docked from $218,139 an- nually to an hourly rate of $65. The transfers are permanent, an MPD spokesperson wrote to New Times in an emailed statement, adding, “We cannot con- firm long-term or future status of any em- ployee.” They also noted that MPD had opened an investigation into the allegations. Rolex watches can cost upwards of $100,000, depending on the model and whether they were purchased on the second- ary market. MPD departmental rules prohibit officers from accepting or soliciting gifts to prevent corruption and bribery. “Employees will refuse to accept any gifts, presents, subscriptions, favors, gratuities, or promises that could be interpreted as seeking to cause the employees to refrain from per- forming official responsibilities honestly and within the law,” one of the rules reads. Suarez told the Miami Herald that he had given “a gift” to the sergeant as a “token of ap- preciation.” “Toward the end of my tenure as Mayor, during the holiday season, I chose to give a gift to my sergeant-at-arms as a personal ex- pression of thanks for their many years of dedication to protecting me and my family,” Suarez said in his statement. “These gifts were purchased with my own personal funds, in recognition of the time and sacrifices they made — often away from their own families — in service to mine. They were intended solely as a token of appreciation and gratitude, and nothing more. I am disappointed that this gesture has been characterized as anything other than that.” [email protected] Miami Mayor Francis Suarez walking in the paddock with his city of Miami police escort at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix. Photo by Michele Eve Sandberg | METRO |
