Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro is under renewed scrutiny after a Florida Commission on Ethics investigation found probable cause in January that Castro had a conflicting relationship involving her private business and obligations as a city official through information shared in a press release this week.
According to the investigation, which began in December 2023, the Commission found probable cause to believe that Commissioner Castro had a "conflicting contractual relationship involving her private business and her responsibilities as an elected official" toward M.E.D. Expeditors, Inc., claiming it continued to pull permits within the City of Goral Gables even after Castro's election as commissioner in 2023.
A supplemental report to the investigation from August 2025 details 132 permit applications from June 5, 2024, to July 30, 2025, associated with Commissioner Castro's business domain [email protected] and her company's Merrick Way suite in Coral Gables. Castro was under penalty of perjury that the company did not pull a single permit in Coral Gables since 2024.
M.E.D. Expediters assists clients with construction permits and other municipal approvals. Castro touted M.E.D. Expediters as a "successful permit expediting firm" in her commissioner biography.
While objectively significant, probable cause does prove Castro, who highlights her expertise in business operations, behavioral analysis, and organizational strategy", broke any law. That will only come if an infraction is eventually found, which could result in Castro's censure to a fine up to $20,000 and her possible removal from office.
Castro has also been at odds with the city in the past, including with Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago. Now, Lago is questioning the lack of attention on the state's investigation into Castro.
“The conflict between Commissioner Castro’s private business and her public office has been known since she was elected. Now the Florida Commission on Ethics has found probable cause— and for almost nine months, the Miami Herald has said nothing,” Lago said through the release.
“Yet when I was falsely accused of being under an ethics investigation, the Herald wasted no time reporting it. I was never under investigation. So why the double standard?" Lago questioned. "Why was an allegation against me news, but an actual finding of probable cause against Commissioner Castro isn’t?”
Mayor Lago was accused of being in an ethics investigation by a local radio station, despite no formal filing. The matter between Lago and the radio station was ultimately settled and dismissed.
Castro is facing off against Nestor Menendez in the Group IV commission race for another term. Menendez is a lifelong resident of Coral Gables and previously served on Coral Gables' Planning & Zoning Board and its Charter Review Committee.
The election is Nov. 3.
