THE OIG STAFF

The Inspector General has the authority to appoint all staff members, and all OIG staff serves at the will of the Inspector General.

The OIG strives to reflect the diversity of our great community. The OIG staff is 50% female, 23% black, 18% Hispanic and 9% Asian. The Inspector General is committed to recruiting qualified employees who reflect the makeup of Miami-Dade County.

MEET OUR KEY PERSONNEL

Christopher R. Mazzella, Esq., C.I.G.
Inspector General

Mr. Mazzella was appointed as Miami-Dade’s first Inspector General in September 1998, upon retiring from a distinguished thirty-four year career with the FBI. He leads the Office of the Inspector General in its investigation of fraud, waste, mismanagement and corruption within Miami-Dade County government. Since its inception in the fall of 1998, the OIG has prosecuted officials involved in bribery, official misconduct, fraud, and election law violations. Mr. Mazzella recently earned the designation of Certified Inspector General by the National Association of Inspectors General (visit LINKS to learn more about the National Association).

As the County’s Inspector General, Mr. Mazzella has also participated on a number of task forces aimed at restoring the integrity and ethics of County government. For instance, his participation on the Debarment Task Force played an important role in the adoption of legislation strengthening the County’s debarment policy on excluding dishonest contractors. He also participated on committees studying procurement and lobbying reforms, and participated in the Ethics in Business and Government Committee of the Miami Chamber of Commerce. This group drafted a model business code of conduct. Mr. Mazzella often lectures to various professional organizations regarding the types of fraud cases investigated by his Office.

During his career with the FBI, Mr. Mazzella investigated and supervised complex organized crime and public corruption cases. In a famous organized crime investigation code-named “Operation Gangplank”, the leadership of the Philadelphia organized crime family was dismantled. Mr. Mazzella was also responsible for a number of prominent public corruption prosecutions in South Florida.

Mr. Mazzella also held a number of executive level positions at the FBI. He was Legal Counsel for several field offices. While assigned to the Office of Legal Counsel in Washington, D.C., Mr. Mazzella conducted liaison activities with Congress and was instrumental in drafting legislation expanding the jurisdiction of the FBI. He served as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Coordinator for the Florida Caribbean Region. In that capacity, he coordinated the FBI’s drug programs and investigations in the Florida Caribbean region, involving over 200 Federal, State and local law enforcement personnel.

Mr. Mazzella earned a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, where he graduated with honors and was inducted into the Bench and Robe Honor Society. He also received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts Degree in Political Science from St. John’s University in New York. He is a member of the Florida, New Jersey and Missouri Bar Associations. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and Federal District Courts in Missouri, New Jersey and Florida.

Alan Solowitz
Certified Inspector General, Certified Fraud Examiner
Deputy Inspector General

The Deputy Inspector General, Mr. Solowitz, is primarily charged with heading the Investigations Unit. The Investigations Unit is responsible for investigations that may arise out of any of the more than forty distinct County departments.

Prior to joining the OIG, Mr. Solowitz was a Law Enforcement Investigator with the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud, a Senior Investigator with the State of Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and was a police officer with the City of Miami Beach Police Department for 28 years. There he held the positions of Assistant Chief of Police, Chief of Investigations and SWAT Commander.

His extensive investigative background includes organized insurance fraud, health care fraud, corporate fraud, organized crime, money laundering, narcotics, violent criminal and racketeering investigations. Mr. Solowitz is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Institute on Organized Crime. He is a member of the American Institute for Industrial Security and is also a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Mr. Solowitz received his Bachelor of Public Administration degree from Barry University. In January 2000, Mr. Solowitz became a Certified Inspector General.

Patra Liu, Esq., C.I.G.
Assistant Inspector General/Legal Counsel

Patra Liu manages and supervises the legal, audit and administrative units of the Miami-Dade Office of the Inspector General (OIG). She is the chief legal advisor to the Inspector General, providing independent legal advice on both procedural and substantive matters. She monitors proposed legislation and advises the Inspector General of any potential implications for the office. As Legal Counsel, Ms. Liu is responsible for all the OIG’s legal matters, including the filing of administrative debarment actions, ethics complaints, enforcing subpoenas, and defending the OIG in civil actions. She is responsible for reviewing all subpoenas and reports issued by the Office. Additionally, Ms. Liu coordinates the activities of the Audit Unit and actively coordinates contract and project oversight assignments. She also oversees all the administrative operations of the office, including the Office’s finances and its annual budget. Ms. Liu joined the Miami-Dade OIG in March 2000. She took on the additional responsibilities of Assistant Inspector General in February 2002.

Ms. Liu began her legal career as a criminal prosecutor with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office. Her focus was on the investigation and prosecution of economic crimes. As an Assistant State Attorney assigned to the Economic Crimes Unit, Ms. Liu prosecuted numerous cases involving health care fraud, insurance fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and various schemes to defraud.

Directly before joining the OIG, Ms. Liu served as a Florida Assistant Attorney General (AAG) to the State’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. There she served as the Miami Bureau’s in-house legal advisor, coordinated legal action with federal prosecutors, and prepared and negotiated civil settlements. Ms. Liu handled civil cases involving the False Claims Act, the State’s civil theft statute, applications for other injunctive relief involving the proceeds of Medicaid fraud, and forfeiture actions. During her tenure as an AAG, Ms. Liu was cross-designated to prosecute criminal cases by both the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and the Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Ms. Liu received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She has a Bachelor of Arts History degree from the same institution. She is a member of the Florida and Washington State Bar Associations. Ms. Liu became a Certified Inspector General in March 2003.