NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — North Miami Beach Mayor Michael Joseph was set to be in the hot seat Thursday evening with a vote to censure him on the city commission’s agenda.

It comes after investigators alleged that his actions and behavior broke rules and put the city at risk.

The report concluded that Joseph put the city in “substantial legal, financial and ethical risk.”

It was filled with evidence and corroborating testimony from a roster of city employees, shocking some of the mayor’s fellow commissioners.

Joseph planned to seek a deferment on the censure vote.

“A lot of things surprised me,” Commissioner Lynn Su said. “What I heard that were rumors have been substantiated by recorded interviews and testimony.”

The outside investigation documented thousands of dollars in public money on his first class travel upgrades and potential crime, asking the city’s IT chief Ricardo Castillo to disconnect recording equipment and edit recordings of city manager interviews.

Joseph’s preferred candidate was not chosen.

“I had heard from one of the employees, from the manager, that one of the employees was really upset because Michael threatened him,” Commissioner Jay Chernoff said, referring to Joseph.

The city’s outside investigation finds Joseph was inappropriately influencing which vendors were picked for city business. Among the companies mentioned was Figgers Communications.

Coincidentally, the mayor’s relationship with Figgers was in Thursday’s ethics allegations against U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, for whom Joseph’s fundraising activities were being questioned.

Joseph’s censure vote pertains strictly to city activities. His attorney called it premature and asked to defer.

If Joseph is censured Thursday night, that amounts to a formal reprimand.

But much more severe consequences could potentially come if Miami-Dade prosecutors that any of the allegations amount to a possibility for criminal charges.

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