Hialeah taxpayers have paid tens of thousands of dollars for mayor’s security detail

Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo is making history in several aspects of city government, including how the city is spending taxpayer money on security for him.

According to public records, Calvo has had one formally designated sergeant-at-arms: Rudi Ginestra, a Hialeah police officer who has worked for the city since 2017 and has a base salary of about $99,700.

Ginestra was appointed to the assignment on Jan. 18, six days after Calvo was sworn in. His regular schedule is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but his payroll records show that his work for the mayor often extends well beyond those hours, resulting in substantial overtime and other additional pay.

From January through July 10, the city paid Ginestra $37,900 in a combination of overtime and call-back pay. Call-back pay is compensation for employees who are called back to work after their regular shift or while they are off duty for an additional assignment.

The additional pay is an amount equivalent to about 38% of his annual base salary in less than six months.

Put another way, Ginestra’s extra-duty pay alone during that time was nearly as much as the $44,000 annual salary of a Hialeah City Council member. The elected officials do not receive a city-provided vehicle, car allowance or personal security detail.

By July 10, Ginestra had accumulated 433.5 hours of overtime and 93.25 hours of call-back pay. The payroll records show repeated two-week pay periods in which Ginestra accumulated between 30 and 60 hours of overtime.

During one pay period, Feb. 1-14, Ginestra logged 60.5 hours of overtime. That pay period included Calvo’s attendance at Dade Days, the annual advocacy event in Tallahassee during the Florida legislative session, to which Ginestra accompanied him.

Ginestra is frequently with Calvo at press conferences, council meetings, town halls, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and other public events. He also has been living in Hialeah Housing Authority quarters since 2023, paying $250 rent, public records show.

The housing authority manages 1,117 public housing units and low-income Section 8 properties across Hialeah, serving primarily elderly and disabled residents and low-income families. It also manages 625 affordable housing units owned by the city.

That arrangement between the authority and the city has allowed Ginestra to save an estimated $1,800 to $2,100 a month in housing costs this year, or roughly $10,800 to $12,600 during the six months in which he received the extra payments for Calvo’s security details. During that period, his total earnings reached $95,000, including additional compensation.

At least 14 other Hialeah police officers also live in housing authority units or other public housing in the city, according to city records. But Ginestra pays the lowest rent among them and is the only one who serves as the mayor’s sergeant-at-arms.

However, the cost of the mayor’s security extends beyond Ginestra.

Aileen Perez, a Hialeah police officer who is a training instructor, with a $91,600 approximately base salary, is serving as alternative security for Calvo and his girlfriend, Melianni Terrero.

Perez has accompanied Terrero at political activities and has frequently been seen with Calvo at public events, including City Council meetings and town hall meetings.

Through July, Hialeah has paid Perez $5,800 for 72.5 hours in call-back wrk, according to payroll records.

Frank Espildora, another Hialeah police officer, has also been assigned to accompany the mayor. His regular base salary is about $84,000. The city has paid him about $15,400 in combination with 143.5 hours in call-back plus 75 overtime, according to payroll records.

Together, the three officers received more than $59,100 in additional pay from the time Ginestra was appointed as sergeant-at-arms through July 10, the most recent payroll records available.

But the actual cost of the mayor’s security detail may be higher.

Hialeah’s new budget allocates $89.4 million to the Police Department, out of a total city budget of $514.4 million. But neither Ginestra’s assignment nor that of any other officer providing security for Calvo is separately identified. Their salaries and additional compensation are included in the Police Department’s budget.

For a mayor who ran on transparency, it is difficult to determine from publicly available records exactly how many officers are assigned to protect him.

Police officers have told the Miami Herald that the number can vary when Ginestra is on vacation or when additional security is needed. Depending on the event, they said, three or more officers could be assigned to the mayor’s security detail.

Why does he need protection?

Months before the Herald obtained the payroll records detailing the security detail’s cost in overtime, the mayor’s office said Calvo needs protection because he has been targeting Hialeah businesses that he claims have ties to the Cuban regime.

Soon after taking office in January, Calvo launched a Cuba Business Advisory Task Force to review more than 290 local businesses that send goods to Cuba. However, eight months after the task force was launched, Hialeah has not provided an update or released any public findings from the review.

When the Herald asked this week about the taxpayer cost of the security detail, Calvo’s spokesperson referred questions to Hialeah Police Chief George Fuente.

Fuente said questions regarding Calvo’s security should be addressed by the mayor or his office. He said, however, that he did not “recall” receiving any threats against the mayor, while adding that elected officials always face some level of risk.

Calvo’s chief of staff, Jose Torres, said in July that the mayor “had cars chasing him in the past, and other odd actions around his home.” Torres made the comments when the Herald asked why he had called a Miami officer in June after Calvo was pulled over for traffic infractions while driving a Hialeah police vehicle in Coconut Grove.

Miami police said the vehicle’s red and blue emergency lights were activated during the traffic stop. Calvo was cited for failing to obey a traffic-control device and for operating a vehicle with prohibited flashing red and blue lights. Calvo pleaded not guilty to both civil citations, and the case remains pending.

READ MORE: Body cam: Miami cop questioned Calvo about turning on police lights on his car during stop

Calvo’s security detail has also included the use of a city-owned police vehicle.

An unusual arrangement

Having a sergeant-at-arms is not unusual among elected officials in Miami-Dade County. But there is no public record showing that another Hialeah mayor has ever formally had a sergeant-at-arms to provide personal security.

Although several police officers and city employees told the Herald that former Mayor Carlos Hernández, himself a former police officer, was routinely accompanied by a police officer who drove him around, there is no public record showing that Hernández designated a police officer to serve as his sergeant-at-arms.

Beyond Calvo’s regular security detail, his chief of staff, Jose Torres, is also a Hialeah police officer, providing another potential layer of security for the mayor.

Before Torres was appointed to the administrative position, his salary as a police officer was $135,000. Since becoming Calvo’s chief of staff, Torres has received three raises this year, records show, bringing his annual salary to $205,000, the highest salary for a chief of staff in Hialeah’s history. Torres salary is $70,000 more than when he took the position and $55,000 more than Calvo’s $150,000 salary cap. The mayor also receives a $40,000 expense account.

This story was originally published October 1, 2026 at 5:46 PM.