Herald staff report

 The fallout from the Elian Gonzalez dispute claimed Miami City Manager Donald Warshaw as its victim Thursday when he was fired by Mayor Joe Carollo, angry over the Miami Police Department's role in the federal raid that seized the boy and the subsequent exile demonstrations.

 Announcing the firing at the City Commission meeting Thursday night, Carollo said Warshaw had been ``bad-mouthing'' him and had mismanaged city government.

 ``This is not an easy thing for me to do,'' Carollo said in an emotional statement. ``I have gone through so much in my years as mayor that it would have been enough to kill 20 mayors . . . but I've never run away from my responsibilities, I've always put this city first. I have been, Mr. Warshaw, an honorable mayor. I put this city above everything else.''

 The firing will take effect May 7, unless four members of the five-person City Commission vote before then to block it. It's unclear whether Warshaw has enough support to keep his job.

 Carollo did not specifically cite the Elian case in his announcement. But in recent days, he has made clear his insistence that Warshaw fire Police Chief William O'Brien. Warshaw had refused to do so.

 The mayor is angry because O'Brien did not inform him beforehand of the federal raid Saturday that removed Elian from the home of his Little Havana relatives, and because one of O'Brien's chief aides accompanied immigration agents to clear their way through a police barricade outside the house.

 He has also been critical of the way police handled exile demonstrations in support of Elian's Miami family.

 City Commissioner Arthur Teele asked Carollo to hold off on the firing until after a massive exile demonstration planned for Saturday so there would be no confusion about the police department chain of command.

 ``The worst thing that could happen to this city is to have 200,000 people that are doing the right thing by showing their support for Elian, and have 40 people create a disturbance,'' Teele said. ``I appeal to the mayor to take no action on these management issues until after Saturday.''

 But Carollo noted that the firing will not take effect until May 7.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald