Opa-locka raided customer deposits — $1.7 million belonging to residents, businesses

Just months before a critical audit of the city’s failing finances, Opa-locka leaders made a desperate decision.

Facing a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall, city officials turned to a source of funds that would close the deficit and mask the government’s fiscal crisis.

But the money didn’t belong to the city.

Opa-locka officials quietly tapped into the security deposits belonging to thousands of water customers — $1.7 million —wiping out nearly all of the funds and depriving local residents of their lawful money for years to come, the Miami Herald found.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article106779512.html