(Last month, at the request of the State Attorney’s office, we pulled this column an hour before press time in order not to disrupt an ongoing criminal investigation.)

Imagine fact and fiction becoming one.

Imagine a city government providing all the color, background and substance for a best selling thriller.

Imagine it being true.

"The Firm." John Grisham's first book-turned-movie. A slick, riveting mystery which tells the story of Mitch (Tom Cruise), a top Harvard Law graduate who is lured to work at a law firm that is secret cover for the Mafia. There is a firm within The Firm, which keeps its private clients, its separate books, its secret agreements.

And once Mitch – realizing that his house, car and office are bugged – becomes privy to the more sinister side of this seemingly respectable law firm, he discovers that the only way to resign from The Firm is in a body bag. Unsuspecting plot twists, some sex, some lies, and some videotape, and this Grisham thriller weaves through to a surprisingly satisfying conclusion.

So, how fitting that in an issue that features the film industry's presence and impact in Miami [last month], I should attempt to write a fabulous plot that could someday turn into a hit movie, or worse case, an indictment or two.

So humor me please, as I craft a rough draft of this story. Even the most reticent of authors will acknowledge that their plots always contain anywhere from small bits to large chunks of truth and reality. So, for now, please assume as you will.

Imagine this: A city collects money from developers in the form of impact fees meant to fund or contribute to parks and infrastructure. One fine day it is discovered that hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees are still outstanding and uncollected, for incomprehensible reasons, for quite some time.

Simultaneous to that, city officials embark on a mission to address inefficiencies in the building department. A wise decision for a growing city where development and construction are booming; and its planning, building and zoning departments generate many and sundry complaints about snail-paced processing and slow bureaucracy.

Top that with an invigorated mandate from the citizenry to perform scores of capital improvement projects suddenly made possible by the hundreds of millions of dollars forthcoming from a Homeland Defense Bond approved by the voters.

Years elapse and too many projects have not been started or completed; yet seemingly loyal, accomplished and competent city employees are overworked to the max, incapable of adding more to their workload.

These irregularities lead some inquisitive city minds to launch an internal investigation with the cooperation of the police department. Ever so quietly, with only a handful of people involved (maybe even one of the bad guys) they consider installing surveillance cameras in the offices of some of the suspect unproductive employees, and tracking devices on a number of city vehicles.

They start with a check of employee e-mails. Nothing seems amiss, save for one poor sucker caught spending a tad of time on porn. Yet productivity is still unaccountable.

Mounting public and political pressure to spend $150 million in bond monies leads to the firing and replacement of the department head in charge of capital improvements. Outside consultants are brought in to jumpstart overdue projects.

And all seems well, at least better, in the magic city.

Then a disturbing letter is received. The anonymous sender writes about "The Firm," describing it as an underground company being run from within the bowels of the city.

The prior investigation is relaunched, this time with increased intent and technological ingenuity. Ghost software which generates computer screen snapshots every fifteen minutes, is installed in select computers in key city departments.

These snapshots reveal that a dozen city employees are indeed overworked, not with city business, but rather with their own company's business. "The Firm," is highly productive and well staffed, working as a full-fledged engineering firm for private and very personal profit, on government time, city equipment, and subsidized by taxpayers dollars.

It's the perfect recipe for success: experienced, licensed professionals who know the ins, outs and abouts of departmental bureaucracy, are hard at work during their "city" day generating construction plans, providing inspection services, plan reviews, and even running permits within the city – for outside clients, and for handsome fees.

Suddenly, it all makes sense. An administration that was hell-bent on launching projects with real funding in place was butting up against invisible barriers placed by its own employees, too busy working on their secret company to address the people's business.

The investigations are completed, and a number of city employees are charged with felonies, placing the city in the limelight yet again, only this time commended for cracking down on the malfeasance and corruption of a few highly sophisticated operators within its midst.

Now, truly successful books – and movies – involve endless details, background data, factual research, and thorough character development. That surely will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, this is just a rough draft, of a tough story in a great city.

Seeking a surprisingly satisfying conclusion.